Horizon Festival welcomes new director

Horizon Festival, the Sunshine Coast’s premiere arts and culture festival, has welcomed a new leader, with director, producer, event manager and arts educator Lynne Bradley joining the team.

Lynne co-founded Zen Zen Zo Physical Theatre in 1992 and subsequently spent two decades building the company into an internationally renowned performance and training centre.

Having worked across Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, New York, New Zealand, the UK and Europe, Lynne has spent 30 years working as a passionate, Queensland-based leader in the arts and education sectors.

Lynne has spent the last three years directing the Masters of Professional Practice in the Performing Arts at University of the Sunshine Coast and joins Sunshine Coast Council to lead the Horizon Festival, as it continues to cement itself as a nationally recognised multi-arts festival.

“I’ve worked all over the world, and can honestly say the Sunshine Coast is one of the most incredible places to live and work, particularly in the arts,” Lynne said.

“I’ve worked extensively with artists and creatives across theatre, film, music, dance, circus, community projects, and cross-cultural performance, so the opportunity to direct this amazing multi-arts festival is incredible.

“As a director I believe you need to be embedded in your local community, to deeply understand the culture and values, what shapes our people and places and what makes us unique, while also keeping an eye on the global scene, to bring the best of the world here – the best arts products, artists, ideas, training, and innovations.

“As a festival, we need to know our audiences and participants and invite them in, make them feel at home, then engage, inspire, delight, surprise and challenge them – I can’t wait to bring Horizon Festival 2020 to life.”

Arts Portfolio Councillor Rick Baberowski said Lynne’s appointment created wonderful anticipation of how the festival would reflect her remarkable skill, experience and passions.

“You cannot have Lynne’s exciting international physical theatre experience and ensemble approach to production and not see a shimmer of new things coming to our Horizon,” Cr Baberowski said.

“I have a feeling our young festival is going to leap into new territory in 2020 and our growing Horizon audiences will be delighted to be taken there.”

In 2019 Horizon Festival attracted 31,204 attendances to the 10-day event engaging 665 artists and presenters, of which 419 were locally based. The festival attributed $2.3 million in economic benefit to the local economy.

The 2018 Horizon Festival was a national finalist for Regional Event of the Year at the Australian Event Awards and is in the running for a Queensland Tourism Award to be announced on November 8, 2019 at Novotel Twin Waters.

Horizon Festival is an initiative of Sunshine Coast Council.

About Lynne Bradley

During Lynne’s 25 years with Zen Zen Zo, she worked with many other arts organisations including La Boîte Theatre, QPAC and Brisbane Powerhouse, as well as having long-term partnerships with international arts organisations, including Maro Akaji’s Dairakudakan in Japan, Anne Bogart’s SITI Company in New York, and Scott Maidment’s Strut and Fret Production House in Australia.

As a director, Lynne’s work has won a number of performance awards, including Matilda Awards for Cabaret (Best Musical 2011), The Tempest (Best Independent Production 2009), Zeitgeist (Edinburgh Fringe Total Theatre Award Short-List 2009), Macbeth as Told by the Weird Sisters (Helpmann Award Nomination 2002), and In The Company Of Shadows (Philip Parson’s Prize 2017).

Lynne completed a PhD in innovation and cultural translation in 2016 and was then invited to design and direct the Masters of Professional Practice in the Performing Arts at USC, spending the past three years mentoring artists in the areas of arts product development, leadership, creative entrepreneurship, long-term career sustainability, and mental health and wellness.

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