How did the Brisbane Music Festival (BMF) begin, and how has it evolved?
BMF began in 2018, this is the seventh season in 2024! It began as a way to focus all of my curatorial ideas. I’m passionate about commissioning new works and collaborating with both performers and composers. The BMF is a way for me to organise all of my dream projects neatly under the one festival umbrella. The BMF has featured all of my eclectic tastes in music from Mozart to Radiohead.
How would you describe your role at BMF, what does it involve?
The roles I formally cite are Artistic Director and Producer. This encompasses all of the roles that an arts company would traditionally have a team for (marketing, philanthropy and grant writing, mentorship, etc.). I’d love to build the festival to the point where I can have people helping me with the management of it. It’s a tricky landscape to survive in within the arts. We all do as much as we can within our means!
What informs or inspires your programming choices?
The privilege of being an AD is that your curation is a deep reflection of your own artistic persuasions. The festival has over its seven seasons become more focused exclusively on contemporary music, and Australian work. I like to think of BMF being a platform for innovative and risk-taking art that doesn’t have a voice or platform elsewhere within the Brisbane scene.
How has your experience as an artist informed your work and your approach as the Artistic Director and producer of BMF?
Broadly speaking, curation is a powerful medium by which we can make a broader commentary on society. The way we program and the kind of work shared reflects on the kind of world we either do, or don’t, wish to live in.
What excites you most about the festival?
I enjoy that the contemporary programming of BMF provides audiences with new experiences. I hope that people come to BMF shows with curious open ears, and are given an experience that engages and challenges them in some way.
What can audiences expect from a BMF performance, and who should attend?
Audiences can expect to be captivated by new sounds, new ideas, new experiences. All are very welcome. In fact, the less preconceived ideas you have about art and music, the better!
For more information about the Brisbane music festivals upcoming concerts, visit the BMF website
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