Staff — Experimenta

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Our People

Meet our team

Kim de Kretser
Managing Director

Kim is a creative director, producer, curator, wilderness wanderer, and artist who specialises in bringing people together through art, conversations, public happenings, technology, and nature.

Kim is passionate about working with multi-disciplinary teams to produce experiences that illuminate creative possibilities, spark conversation, expand thought, inspire action, and promote positive social movements.

Throughout her 20+ years’ experience in creative management, Kim has engaged artists, scientists, great thinkers, highly-skilled doers, and community members in curated collaborations across an extensive list of public art exhibitions, projects, and festivals.

Kim’s most recent roles include Artistic Director of Immerse 2021 – Greater Melbourne’s largest public arts festival – and Community & Public Arts Officer, City of Knox (2018-2020). Other career highlights include producing the Victorian Government sponsored Land Art Generator Initiative 2018 (one of the world’s most followed sustainable design events), developing arts platform threeOclock Gallery (2016) and Arts for a Cause (2005-2010) and founding and directing her business (Peak Events, 2000-2012).

Kim holds  a Master of Art (Art in Public Space) from RMIT University and is an associate member of RMIT’s Contemporary Art and Social Transformation and AEGIS RMIT Research Network for Art and Environment. Her research projects include Fielding (2018) and Empire of Dirt (2017) – for RMIT University and its partners. Kim is currently an artist in residence at Linden New Art.

Kelli Alred
Creative Producer

Kelli is a creative producer, artistic director, curator, and program manager known for designing high-impact, artistic programs that challenge expectations and innovate industry norms.

With over two decades of experience Kelli has delivered exhibitions, commissions and festivals, as well as performances, participatory projects and public art across Europe, the USA, Asia and Australia.

She was Associate Curator, Public Art at Abbotsford Convent from 2021-22; Artistic Director of Channels Festival: International Biennial of Video Art from 2018-19 and Visual Art Associate for Melbourne International Arts Festival in 2019 and 2017. She was Vice Chair and then Chair on the Board of Directors for Liquid Architecture 2014-18; held the position of Executive Producer for SITUATE Art in Festivals throughout 2015 and was Program Manager, Digital Arts at Arts Centre Melbourne from 2012-13.

While based in the UK from 2000-12, Kelli was Curator, Intermedia Art at Tate Modern and Tate Britain from 2004-12; Commissioning Producer for Active Ingredient between 2002-03 and Gallery Manager at Site Gallery from 2000-02.

A few highlights include curating an after dark exhibition of public art spanning 4 acres of heritage-listed architectural and garden landscapes; co-curating an installation of interactive video portraits in Trafalgar Square; and presenting large-scale AV performances in Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall.

Santana Rudge
Marketing Manager

Santana is a digital marketer, content strategist, and freelance writer with over 15 years’ experience crafting content that educates, entertains, and inspires. She can be found doing anything from running a large international content team or developing campaign messaging to writing punchy web copy or sharpening a social media strategy.

Santana has worked in content and marketing for some of Australia’s biggest brands – including Jetstar and Australian Unity – and has contracted with digital agencies across Australia and Europe specialising in SEO, content marketing, and content creation.

Through her experience, Santana has developed an appreciation for the positive impact of customer-focused storytelling in marketing contexts. While specialising in content, she is a skilled marketing all-rounder. In fact, she considers being a marketing all-rounder as her superpower.

Throughout her career, she’s also had a side-hustle freelancing in the arts sector, developing content for – and providing marketing support to – actors, musicians, music venues, and not-for-profit arts and music organisations across countless projects.

Santana believes that storytelling, in all its forms, has the power to build a better world – something she plans to keep working towards one project at a time.

Her other true loves are live music, travel, and Spanish summers.

Jo Cumbrae-stewart
Office & Accounts Manager

Jo commenced her accounting career with Ernst & Young Chartered Accountants (E&Y), after completing a Bachelor of Commerce at University of Melbourne.
After leaving E&Y to travel, Jo returned to Melbourne and worked in financial positions with a number of advertising agencies including George Patterson Bates. Jo then took up a role as Business and Finance Manager with art gallery and consultancy, Australian Art Resources (AAR). After returning from maternity leave, Jo managed AAR’s art rental business, The Art Trust, before joining the Experimenta team in 2006.

Nicky Pastore
Senior Producer

Nicky has over ten years’ experience as a Creative Producer, and has immersed herself in numerous creative projects and initiatives. Through her work with Experimenta, she has led the presentation of their flagship touring exhibitions, Experimenta Make Sense (2017-2021) and Experimenta Life Forms (2021-2023). This has involved developing complex exhibition design and dynamic audience engagement opportunities for regional and metropolitan galleries across Australia. Nicky’s interests are to investigate new approaches for presenting remote accessed art and events, researching new opportunities for experimental interactive models and how audiences are adapting to self-directed experiences.

Through all aspects of her work, Nicky fosters a passion for socially engaged practice and strives to create inclusive pathways for artistic development. Her past endeavours have included positions at The Centre for Projection Art (2010-2017); Footscray Community Arts (2013-2015); Oh Yeah Wow Studio (2010-2017); and 100 Story Building (2016-2017 /2020).

Lubi Thomas
Curator-at-large

Lubi Thomas is an experienced curator working in the field of digital/new media arts and associate practice areas. In the past decade, she has developed and delivered an extensive range of exhibitions, projects, festivals, events, residencies and mentoring programs, as well as, public and education focused programming. Site-responsiveness is a key element in her practice, working closely with artists, creative technologist, and their collaborators to produce works and cultural experiences for a variety of audiences. Lubi’s master’s Curating in Uncharted Territories proposes a methodology for cultural programming development and sustainability for sites engaged in the display of, and engagement with, experimental creative practice.

Lubi takes a networked and site-responsive approach to programme structures, audience engagement, and partnership development. She has developed cultural programming frameworks for The Cube Brisbane, Creative Industries Precinct QUT, and Qld State Library.  Lubi has developed key partnerships with LEGO Education, Ars Electronica, FACT Liverpool, EMARE, and the Australia Council for the Arts to support these programming sites.  Lubi wears many hats with her key activities being as an Independent Curator and Artist, Experimenta’s Curator @ Large and curatorial advisor to Digital Placemaking Institute. Lubi works and consults locally, nationally and internationally.