Meet our team
Lubi Thomas
Curator
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.
Anna Nalpantidis
Creative Producer
Anna Nalpantidis is a creative producer, curator and director based in Naarm/Melbourne. With more than 10 years of experience, she has built a reputation for delivering complex and intricate works of scale that deliver on quality, ambition and diversity of artistic expression.
She is particularly interested in site-responsive work and has engaged audiences in chemical laboratory buildings, bathtubs in bookstores, community halls in regional towns, disused warehouses, libraries, vans, theatres, and galleries.
Anna has worked in senior roles for organisations including APHIDS, Melbourne Fringe and Next Wave and with presenting and venue partners such as RISING, The Substation, ACCA, ACMI, National Gallery of Victoria, State Library of Victoria, Arts Centre Melbourne, Now Or Never, MONA FOMA, Melbourne Fringe, WinterWild Festival, Platform Arts, Arts House, Performance Space, Fusebox Festival, PS21 and Transform Festival.
Anna has a Bachelor of Performing Arts / Bachelor of Laws (Honours) from Monash University, having completed her Performing Arts degree at the University of Exeter (with a focus on Interdisciplinary Spatial Practices and Site-Specific Art). She is currently the Chair of the Green Room panel for Contemporary & Experimental Performance.
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.
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.
She 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.
Over the years, 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 when it comes to creating content.
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.