Pat Swell —

Chief Executive, Access Arts

Since Pat was appointed Chief Executive of Access Arts in 2012 she has enjoyed leading Queensland’s peak body for arts and disability, which has a 36-year history of empowering people who experience disability or disadvantage to take part and excel in the arts. Access Arts’ visual artists now have an annual exhibition at KPMG’s prestigious offices in the CBD, our performing artists showcase in key venues, and each year one Queensland arts practitioner with disability wins the coveted $10,000 Access Arts Achievement Award which has proved an effective springboard in each of their careers. We also run strong programs for First Australians, and access and inclusion initiatives.

Coming from the UK where Pat championed Dance Umbrella’s Healthy Dancer program, served on the Board of Bucks Dance, was Strategic Director of Milton Keynes Theatre and Gallery Company, and spent 14 years in arts funding and development at Arts Council England.

With a Master of Business Administration, Pat serves on State Library of Queensland’s Disability Action Plan Task Group, Queensland Arts and Health Network, and until recently was a member of Griffith University Business School’s Alumni Advisory Group.