Our Team

 
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Bridgette Van Leuven

  • Bridgette has been drawn to roles that celebrate creativity, culture, and education. She has a diverse range of experiences working in arts, education and policy & funding portfolios at organisations such as Arts NSW, Sydney Theatre Company and Sydney Festival. Recently Bridgette was the Head of Children, Families & Creative Learning at Sydney Opera House developing a national and international performing arts program through the establishment of both the Digital and Creative Leadership in Learning Program and the Associate Director at the Asia Education Foundation delivering intercultural and STEM learning programs to 22 countries across the Asia-Pacific. She is now the Head of Learning Experiences bringing art and science together through the establishment of the Science Gallery Melbourne’s STEM Centre of Excellence at the University of Melbourne in partnership with the Victorian State Government.

    Bridgette has been a participant in the 2017 Australia Council for the Arts Established Leaders Program and the 2018 Asialink Business Leaders program which has influenced her career direction and entrepreneurial purists. She has also been the Chair of the Robert Helpmann Children’s Theatre Committee, a Board Member of the Illawarra Performing Arts Centre, a representative on the Consumer & Carer Council for the Nepean Mental Health District, a Director of Critical Stages and an Advisory Member of the Blue Mountains City of the Arts Trust.

  • My favorite game is Heads Down Thumbs Up which was a perfect classroom game during my primary school years. I loved this game because you had to use all your senses of sound, smell, touch and some fun-filled guessing work.

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Lisa Barbagallo

  • Lisa is a Founder and Producer who has implemented many ambitious contemporary multi-arts programs for young audiences.

    Noting the fundamental role in the creation and establishment of key partnerships and network developments, Lisa has been involved in the formation of Dress Up Attack! a Music and Arts Festival for Children and their Grownups (est 2012), Kinderling Kids Radio (est 2015) and consultative play-based company Toy Diplomacy (est 2020).

    With senior roles at the Sydney Opera House for the Children and Families yearlong program, the establishment of Major Minor Music Foundation and participation across the music industry, Lisa is committed to building a vibrant, thriving and dynamic arts sector with a commitment to children and young people.

  • My favourite game is hide and seek, an all-ages game encompassing the thrill of the chase and the glee at the find.

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Jacqueline Hornjik

  • Jacqueline is a creative with a passion for innovative community engagement that advocates for equity and real change. She is a proponent for Western Sydney, for people with a disability, for life-changing education and creative learning, the arts, and innovative practices.

    Jacqueline has a Bachelor of Arts in Music and Performance Studies, a Masters in Marketing and Masters of Business Administration gained in her quest to find new ways to commercialise artistic and creative practice. She has been nominated for and has won numerous awards for her work in curating and producing various performing and visual arts programs dedicated to young audiences.

    Most recently she worked as a Producer for Children, Families and Creative Learning audiences at the Sydney Opera House and was also previously the Curator of the Way out West Festival for Children, Lead Facilitator for CPAC Youth, Theatre Producer/Curator at Casula Powerhouse, Founder of the Liverpool Performing Arts Ensemble, Deputy Chair of Arts Access Australia, Director of Grass Arts Co, Creative Producer at Critical Stages Touring and Marketing Manager for Monkey Baa Theatre Company. In January 2022 Jacqueline will head up Powerhouse Youth Theatre in Fairfield as their new Company Director.

  • My favourite game as a child was experimenting in the backyard with bugs and dirt and rocks. My brother grew up to be a scientist at Oxford University Hospital and as kids we would always find ourselves looking under the microscope with things we found in the backyard. It was both gross and exciting, and it was the highlight of my childhood.

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Julia Doszpot

  • Originally beginning her career in the corporate real-estate world, Julia realised the need for creativity in her work and moved into film and digital production helping clients connect with customers through film.

    Combining this creative experience with a passion in the arts, that began at the age of two, after seeing her first live performance (She’s sure her parents did not realise the can of worms they were opening with that one), Julia began working at the Sydney Opera House originally as a Digital Programming Coordinator for the Children, Families and Creative Learning team and then as an Associate Producer for Digital Programming. In this position Julia has the joy of working with both artists and young people to create unique and memorable learning experiences while also exploring the edges of the possible in terms of what can be achieved through digital story telling.

    Moving traditional workshops into a completely from home capacity during the Covid-19 Pandemic was a major achievement that also demonstrated the power of fun and play in overcoming difficult times.

  • I think my favourite game as a child would have to have crafting and making, I especially loved repurposing things bound for the rubbish. I have a particularly fond memory of building a whole doll house with my brother out of packaging peanuts. Thinking about it now, maybe this explains my compulsion to bring home every piece of furniture I find on the side of the road as an adult…