ACMI Director & CEO Katrina Sedgwick OAM to step down to lead Melbourne Arts Precinct

ACMI Director & CEO Katrina Sedgwick OAM to step down to lead Melbourne Arts Precinct

ACMI Board President Janet Matton AM has announced the resignation of Director & CEO Katrina Sedgwick OAM, who will depart ACMI (the Australian Centre for the Moving Image) to take up the role of Director & CEO Melbourne Arts Precinct Corporation (MAP Co), after more than seven years at the helm of Australia’s national museum for screen culture.

ACMI Board President, Janet Matton AM, said: “On behalf of the ACMI Board, I’d like to thank Katrina Sedgwick for her outstanding leadership of ACMI, which has included rising to the ongoing challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Katrina is a wonderful ambassador for the moving image and leaves a legacy of a newly transformed museum that lies at the heart of Victoria’s creative industries. I’m certain that Katrina will continue to be a huge asset to our city through her leadership of Melbourne Arts Precinct Corporation.”

Katrina has been the Director & CEO of ACMI since 2015, leading the organisation through a $40 million renewal project, underpinned by co-design methodology, which transformed ACMI into a multi-award winning, multiplatform museum. After closing to the public in May 2019, ACMI successfully navigated the impact of COVID, reopening in February 2021 with the project on budget, as a museum where the physical and digital are fully integrated across the building and online. Today there are no barriers to where and how ACMI can be accessed.

At the heart of Katrina’s vision for ACMI has been the creation of a more inclusive, accessible and diverse museum. In 2015 she established a new executive role, recruiting Seb Chan as Chief Experience Officer (CXO) and built an Engagement team – a first in the Australian museum sector, focusing on UX design and creatively harnessing technology to expand and extend the visitor’s experience. ACMI’s rebrand, launched in October 2020, has again won recognition globally and delivered a dramatic expansion of diverse audience engagement with the museum. ACMI’s collection has also been leveraged to increase access tenfold while ACMI’s touring arm has doubled its reach nationally and internationally.

Katrina’s strengths as a commissioner and champion of cross-disciplinary collaboration also leave a lasting impact on the exhibition making, collection and commissioning programs. Through ACMI’s renewal project and in consultation with the Indigenous Advisory Group, Katrina led the way for the organisation to invest over $1 million in artist commissions and acquisitions, including $880,000 of direct funding to artists across 15 commissions; 70% of these projects are by First Nations artists and 60% feature women in a lead creative role.

Katrina established ACMI’s inaugural First Nations Committee (FNC) and first First Nations identified programming roles, and in consultation with the FNC will soon be recruiting a new First Nations identified role within the ACMI executive team - Director, First Nations, Equity & Social Policy. This role will support ACMI to place First Nations culture at the centre of Australian culture and continue the ongoing work required to champion diversity and inclusivity.

Katrina’s pioneering work setting up ACMI X, a 2,000 square metre state-of-the-art co-working space in the heart of Melbourne’s arts precinct, was also the first for an Australian museum. The space is made up of over 60 creative practitioners, startups and businesses working with creative technology in the film, TV, videogames and art sectors. Not only does ACMI X foster the building of community, it enables discovery, learning and growth for individuals and businesses alike, as well as creative fusions and cross-disciplinary partnerships between co-workers and ACMI’s own employees at ACMI X.

Over her time at ACMI, Katrina has participated in many volunteer roles on committees to develop policy across the creative industries. A member of the Creative Industries Taskforce in 2015, Katrina was instrumental in contributing to the Victorian Government’s inaugural Creative State Strategy 2020 and was co-Deputy Chair on the Creative Industries Advisory Group for the Creative State Strategy 2025. She contributed to the Victorian Government’s Federation Square Review, was a member of the Winter Event Advisory Committee (which led to the establishment of Rising) and the VicScreen steering committee. The Chair of Back to Back Theatre, Katrina was also awarded an Order of Australia Medal in 2020 for her services to performing arts, screen industries and visual arts administration.

Outgoing ACMI Director & CEO, Katrina Sedgwick OAM, said: “Leading ACMI has been an extraordinary honour - I’m so grateful to the ACMI Board and the incredibly talented staff – along with our partners, committees, collaborators and volunteers. Together we have positioned ACMI at the forefront of museum culture on a local and global scale not just in terms of our programs but our focus on making ACMI more accessible, welcoming and reflective of our communities. I could not be prouder of our achievements. And as I move into this new role, I look forward to collaborating with ACMI and our colleagues across the sector as we seize the extraordinary opportunity of the Melbourne Arts Precinct to enable the cultural capital of Australia to further flourish though the incredible talent that resides in our city and state.”

Victorian Minister for Creative Industries Danny Pearson said: “Katrina has been a transformative leader at ACMI, where she has realised an extraordinary vision for a different kind of museum experience.”

“From the $40 million renewal project, to establishing the ACMI X creative co-working space, to investing in local creatives, Katrina has established ACMI as a global leader.”

Melbourne Arts Precinct is being transformed into one of the great creative and cultural destinations in the world thanks to a bold, city-shaping Victorian Government vision. $1.7 billion has been announced to fund the first phase of Australia’s largest cultural infrastructure project, which is being delivered by MAP Co.

Katrina will conclude her role with ACMI on 31 March 2022 and commence her new role with MAP Co on 4 April 2022. Graham Jephcott has been appointed ACMI’s Acting Director & CEO while a global search commences for Katrina’s successor.

Images and a bio can be downloaded here.

About ACMI:

ACMI is Australia’s national museum of screen culture. The museum reopened in February 2021 after a two-year, $40 million redevelopment – an architectural, programmatic and technological transformation where audiences can navigate the universe of film, TV, videogames and art. ACMI celebrates the wonder and power of the world’s most democratic artform – fostering the next generation of makers, players and watchers. ACMI’s vibrant calendar of exhibitions, screenings, commissions, festivals, and industry and education programs explore the stories, technologies and artists that create our shared screen culture.