Guiding the growth of Western Australia’s creative industries
The Creative Industries Action Plan is a key initiative under Creative WA, the WA Government’s 10-year vision for culture, the arts and creativity, and will deliver creative industries outcomes under Diversify WA, the State’s economic diversification strategy.
The action plan will set out a coordinated approach to supporting economic growth across the creative industries, including:
To oversee development of the plan, the Creative Industries Taskforce has been established, bringing together leaders from across the State’s diverse creative sectors, spanning screen, music, design, performance, digital innovation and First Nations arts.
The taskforce champions the action plan and engage closely with government, industry and education to ensure it reflects the sector’s needs and opportunities. Members will be consulted throughout the development of the plan, ensuring the needs, opportunities and ambitions of WA’s creative industries are understood and met.
Sandy Anghie is co-founder and Chair of Perth Design Week and has 19 years’ experience across architecture and planning, following a decade-long career across law and commerce. Anghie started her career as a corporate tax lawyer in 1997, working in Australia’s leading law and accounting firms - KPMG, Herbert Smith Freehills and EY. Anghie was one of the founding members of the registered charity Historic Heart of Perth Inc and led the city revitalisation project for its duration. Through both Perth Design Week and Historic Heart, Anghie has met and worked with hundreds of stakeholders and supporters across all levels of government, business and the community to drive positive change in Perth.
Julie Barratt is the Director Arts Strategy with DADAA, where she coordinates local, regional, national and international arts projects, manages arts workers, and supports the implementation of DADAA's strategic plan and arts program. Barratt has significant experience in business development and management, as well as community, disability and regional arts, having also worked as Regional Arts Project Manager for Accessible Arts NSW and Regional Arts Services Network Manager in Central Queensland. In these roles she also worked closely with Aboriginal people with and without disability.
Rikki Lea Bestall was appointed Chief Executive of Screenwest in May 2021 and brings more than 25 years of industry experience to the role. She previously spent eight years at the organisation, serving as Director Development and later as Head of Development and Production, before moving into independent producing and consulting in 2018. A Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts graduate, Bestall began her career in crew roles across Victoria, NSW, and Queensland. She later relocated to Los Angeles, where she developed and produced projects for major studios Sony Pictures, DreamWorks, and Disney/Touchstone. Bestall is deeply committed to developing local screen talent, both above-the-line and below-the-line, building thriving production companies, and championing local storytelling to ensure Western Australia’s voice is heard on screens worldwide.
Ian Booth is the CEO of Black Swan State Theatre Co, Western Australia’s major theatre company. Booth has over 20 years of experience in the Australian screen industry and is currently a director of Indian Pacific Pictures and Home Fire Creative Industries. Booth was CEO of Screenwest for over a decade, financing hundreds of screen projects, including Mystery Road, Breath, Red Dog, Satellite Boy, Paper Planes, Bran Nue Dae, Cloudstreet, SAS: The Search for Warriors, Outback Truckers, Lockie Leonard and many more. Originally a lawyer, Booth has worked at the ABC and has served on the Boards of national screen agency Ausfilm, Awesome Arts and the FTI. Booth is an Australian Government appointment to the Australian Children’s Television Foundation Board, and a Board member of the Committee for Perth.
Perth born and raised Mark Braddock was asked to represent Australia in the Young Creatives Competition at the Cannes Advertising Festival in 1995 which opened doors to numerous high profile advertising positions and global opportunities. Braddock, alongside his partner Tanya Sim, founded Block in upon returning to Perth in 2002. In 2021 Braddock co-founded the advocacy body IN:WA, which unites nearly 40 WA-owned businesses across the creative communications industry, including Advertising, Branding, Digital, Media, PR and Production. Currently Braddock is IN:WA’s Representation Lead.
Jacky Cheng is a multi-award-winning visual artist. Cheng has won 14 awards for visual arts, design, landscape architecture, and teaching, including National Australian VET Teacher/Trainer of the year award. Cheng’s work has appeared across Europe, Asia and the US, with solo exhibitions in Malaysia and across WA. Cheng is a board member of Regional Arts WA and SPACEDWA.
Chad Creighton is the Chief Executive Officer of the Aboriginal Art Centre Hub of Western Australia. He is a Bardi and Nyul Nyul man from the Kimberley region of WA. Born in Broome he lived in the township and surrounding communities for most of his life and has a diversity of knowledge and experience working in the arts, heritage and native title. He was previously the Native Title Unit Region Manager West Kimberley for the Kimberley Land Council and was responsible for the consultation and development of the Desert River Sea Project delivered by the Art Gallery of Western Australia. Creighton has a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Western Australia and a Post Graduate Diploma in Applied Heritage Studies from Curtin University. He is currently a member of the City of Perth Cultural Advisory Committee, WA Museum Boola Bardip Aboriginal Advisory Committee and Revealed Advisory Committee.
Josh Edge is the Executive Creative Director at Anthologie, a digital and design B-Corp specialising in creativity for impact. Edge's award-winning work as a Creative Director, advertising strategist and writer spans 21 years in WA. He also represents the Perth Advertising and Design Club (PADC), a non-profit organisation founded in 1981 as the voice of the individuals and organisations who create commercial communications in WA. Through its annual award shows, The Skulls and Diamond Skulls, PADC aims to raise the standards of excellence in the creative industries and to assist and acknowledge the creators of commercial communications in WA.
Iain Grandage is the Director of Programming at the Melbourne Recital Hall. He has previously held roles as Artistic Director at Perth Festival and the Port Fairy Spring Music Festival. Grandage received the Sidney Myer Performing Arts Award and was named West Australian of the Year for Culture and the Arts in 2023, and was recognised by the Helpmann Awards for his compositions for theatre (Cloudstreet, Secret River), dance (When Time Stops), opera — with Kate Miller-Heidke (The Rabbits), silent film — with Rahayu Suppangah (Satan Jawa) and as a music director for Meow Meow’s Little Match Girl and Secret River. Grandage was appointed Member of the Order of Australia in 2025 for significant service to the arts as a composer and artistic director.
A multi-award-winning writer, slam poet, performer, producer and cultural leader, Sukhjit Kaur Khalsa gained broad public recognition after appearing on Australia’s Got Talent in 2016. Khalsa premiered her award-winning theatre show Fully Sikh in 2019 and became Executive Director/CEO of the Blue Room Theatre in 2023. She was awarded an Order of Australia medal and published her memoirs to wide acclaim in 2025.
Hazel Law is the Festival Director of the Circular Fashion Festival, leading Western Australia’s premier celebration of circular fashion design and practices. An award-winning sustainable stylist, circular fashion event producer, speaker, and advocate, she founded The Curated Wardrobe to help people reconnect with their personal style and shop consciously. Her work in textile waste education saw her highly commended in the 2025 WasteSorted Awards for community events and engagement. As board member for the Circular Fashion Council and an active member of Fashion Revolution Australia, The Slow Fashion Challenge, and the WA Circular Textile Working Group, Law collaborates on industry wide efforts to reduce textile waste and strengthen Western Australia’s creative and circular fashion ecosystems.
Mat Lewis is the Director of the Creative Tech Village (CTV), Western Australia’s Creative Tech Innovation Hub, established with support from the WA Government through the New Industries Fund to accelerate creative innovation, digital capability and industry collaboration across the state. Lewis founded Creative Juices, and the Margaret River Wine Club and spent 17 years working in International Trade and Investment as the TradeStart Advisor for Austrade with the South West Development Commission. Lewis co-founded the Emergence Creative Festival and the Creative Corner and played a key role in the conception of including Cabin Fever, Strings Attached: WA Guitar Festival, and Margaret River on Tour internationally. His experience spans creative event design, destination development, industry engagement and strategic partnerships across government and industry. Lewis holds a Bachelor of Business from Edith Cowan University and a Postgraduate qualification in Multi-Media and Design.
Harrison Lorenz-Daniel (he/him) is a Boorloo-based theatre maker working across performance, direction, composition, and production. A graduate of the WA Academy of Performing Arts’ (WAAPA) Bachelor of Performing Arts (Performance Making), his practice centres on enhancing creative learning and developing collaborative processes to devise theatre with and for young audiences. His current research explores how emerging digital technologies can transform these creative learning experiences. A Performing Arts WA Awards (PAWA) nominated performer, Lorenz-Daniel has collaborated with leading companies across Australia, including Spare Parts Puppet Theatre, Company Bad, Fremantle Australia, and Sailing with Styx, contributing as a performer, deviser, composer, and theatre maker. He is passionate about theatre’s capacity to shape vibrant cultural futures for the next generation.
Tabitha McMullan is the current CEO of FORM Building a State of Creativity (FORM) an independent, not-for-profit creative organisation with a mission to be a leader in developing a vibrant creative economy for the benefit and wellbeing of all WA communities. Under McMullan’s leadership, FORM has delivered impactful cultural projects such as Thomas Dambo: Giants of Mandurah, Tracks We Share: Contemporary Art of the Pilbara, Southern Exposure and Scribblers on the Road. Prior to joining FORM, McMullan held leadership roles in activation and cultural experience, community development, and arts, culture and heritage at the City of Perth. With over 20 years’ experience in the international creative sector, across not-for-profit, university and local government organisations, she strongly believes in Western Australia’s place as a cultural leader on the world stage.
Mathew Palumbo is the Partner Liaison for the WA Games Industry Council (WAGIC), WA’s representative body for video game developers and the games and game-adjacent industries, supporting local game studios and developers while informing institutional and government decisions affecting the industry. Mat has developed games since 2014, seeing his first commercial title through to release for Steam VR and Meta App Lab in 2022. He has a Bachelor of Game Development from SAE Perth, an Advanced Diploma in Game Development (Design) from the Academy of Interactive Entertainment and a Project Management for Professionals Certificate from RMIT. In 2023 he founded Warsprite, a work-for-hire game development studio.
A Yawuru/Bardi woman born and raised in Broome, Dalisa Pigram also has Malay, Filipina, English and Irish heritage. Pigram has been Co-artistic Director (with Rachael Swain) of Marrugeku since 2008. Pigram has worked with Marrugeku since their first production Mimi (1996) where she was a co-devising movement artist. Pigram’s solo work Gudirr Gudirr (2013) earned an Australian Dance Award (Outstanding Achievement in Independent Dance 2014) and a Green Room Award (Best Female Performer 2014) with her co-conceived and co-choreographed works multi-award winning. In her community, Pigram is committed to the maintenance of Indigenous language and culture through arts and education working closely with and for her community. Pigram is co-editor of Marrugeku: Telling That Story—25 years of trans-Indigenous and intercultural exchange (Performance Research 2021).
Anna Reece was appointed Artistic Director of Perth Festival in 2023, the first Western Australian to hold this role. Reece has over 20 years’ experience spanning the Australian non-for-profit arts and cultural sectors. An arts executive, curator, and producer, her career focus has sat predominantly within major multi-arts festival contexts. Prior to her current role, Reece was director of Fremantle Arts Centre and spent 6 years with Perth Festival, working as Executive Producer of The Giants, Executive Producer of the festival and overseeing the production of unique large-scale public events. Reece also spent 3 years as General Manager and Co-CEO of Darwin Festival. Anna Reece holds a Bachelor of Dramatic Art in Production from the National Institute of Dramatic Art.
Daniel Romanin is co-founder and head designer of Western Australian womenswear label One Fell Swoop, launched with Nikolina Ergic in 2005. Known for precision drapery and locally made production, the brand champions strong ties with WA makers and manufacturers. Over two decades, Romanin has blended design with retail and buying expertise, including six years as store manager and buyer at Dilettante, where he shaped strategies and represented the business at Paris Fashion Week. He advocates for sustainable, small-batch production and skills retention, working closely with manufacturers, students, and emerging designers to strengthen pathways between training and local fashion businesses. One Fell Swoop remains proudly Australian-made, collaborating with a creative network to deliver garments that honour craftsmanship, sustainability, and the female form.
Dimmity Walker is a director of spaceagency architects, a Fremantle based practice committed to expressive, memorable architecture with an extensive and diverse portfolio recognised across state and national awards. Since joining spaceagency in 1995, Walker has played a central role in the development of the practice, her work is characterised by a considered and rigorous approach that balances conceptual ambition with technical clarity. She has contributed to many of the practice’s most recognised projects, guiding teams through all stages of design and delivery and reinforcing the practice’s commitment to project-specific, contextually responsive outcomes. Walker is an engaged and respected member of the profession, she is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Architects, has served on design juries, participated in public programs, and mentored emerging architects.
Tasma Walton is a Boonwurrung woman born in Geraldton, Western Australia. As an award-winning actor, she has performed roles in television including Mystery Road, The Twelve, Rake, Cleverman, Deadloch, Reckless, The Secret Life of Us and Blue Heelers. Her films include Ivan Sen’s Mystery Road, Jub Clerc’s Sweet As, How to Please a Woman, Kid Snow, Looking for Grace, Blessed and Fistful of Flies (winner of Sochi Film Festival Award for Best Actress). Walton is an accomplished writer, her first novel, Heartless, was nominated for an ABIA Award for General Fiction, and the first book in her children’s series Nerra: Deep Time Traveller was longlisted for the DANZ Children’s Book Award. In 2025 her novel I Am Nannertgarrook (published by Bundyi) was joint winner of the ARA Historical Novel Society Australasia Novel Prize.
Terri-ann White is the founder of Perth’s newest independent publishing house, Upswell Publishing, operating as a one-woman not-for-profit enterprise. To this she brings deep knowledge from previous roles as Director and Publisher at UWA Publishing and as founding Director at the UWA Institute of Advanced Studies. Together with experience teaching literature and writing in higher education settings, independent retail bookselling, and co-ordinating ‘ideas’ festivals, White maintains a creative practice as a writer of fiction and non-fiction. She is a serious enthusiast of dance, music, visual arts and literature.
Owen Whittle was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Western Australian Music in 2024. Prior to this Whittle spent 12 years in leadership roles at UnionsWA and has experience in leading member-driven organisations and achieving transformative results. Whittle has spearheaded campaigns on gender equality, workplace safety reforms, and public sector wage policies. Whittle is currently a member of the Salaries and Allowances Tribunal, the independent statutory authority that sets the pay for the judiciary, politicians and senior public officials, and is the Chairperson of the Work Health and Safety Commission. He was a board member of Workcover WA 2014-2024 and was previously a director and chair of the Welfare Rights & Advocacy Service.