Our team

Learn more about our team at Bundoora Homestead Art Centre.

To contact one of our team please email bundoorahomestead@darebin.vic.gov.au or call (03) 9496 1060

Art and Collections Coordinator

Leah Crossman

Leah has worked in Melbourne’s vivacious arts scene for over 15 years, across local council, private galleries, community spaces and fine art auction houses. She's a passionate arts manager with expertise in curation, marketing, and public programming.

In her role as Art & Collections Coordinator at Darebin Council she oversees the strategic and creative direction of Bundoora Homestead Art Centre, and the management of public art across the municipality.

Leah holds a Master of Art Curatorship from University of Melbourne, and prior to joining Darebin Council worked across a range of visual arts organisations including Alcaston Gallery, Deutscher and Hackett, Brunswick Street Gallery, Art Afficionado Tours, Alison Kelly Gallery, and the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art. She has served on the Banyule Council Arts Advisory Committee since 2021 and has sat on a number of public art commissioning panels.

Leah has two small children and is passionate about contemporary textile art.

Curator

Sarah Werkmeister

Sarah Werkmeister is a curator, writer and researcher based in Narrm Melbourne. She has worked with RMIT Culture Galleries, QUT Art Museum, Shepparton Art Museum, Public Art Melbourne, Next Wave, YIRRAMBOI Festival, Blak & Bright First Nations Literature Festival, BIRRARANGGA Film Festival, The Thousands, 4ZZZ and many more. She has written extensively on art and worked with L'Internationale Online to develop publications around the environment (Ecologising Museums, 2016) and feminism (Feminisms, 2018), and has co-edited a chapter on the 13th Istanbul Biennial inI Can't Work Like This: A reader on recent boycotts and contemporary art (2017).

Her curated exhibitions include On Earth (QUT Art Museum, 2021), Lol (Metro Arts, 2021) The Number You Have Reached (Success, with Tim Woodward, 2016), and The Impossibility of Possibility (Bus Projects, 2012). She has served on the Darebin Art & Heritage Advisory Committee, the Outer Space board, and the Bus Projects Artistic Advisory Committee. She holds a Masters of Art Curatorship from the University of Melbourne.

Exhibitions & Collections Assistant

Katie Ryan

Katie Ryan is a visual artist and arts facilitator based in Naarm/Melbourne. Born and raised in Ireland, she has been living and working in Australia since 2013. Katie’s work in the arts has been dedicated to supporting experimental arts practices, creating spaces for knowledge exchange and increasing accessibility in the arts. 

Katie completed a Bachelors of Fine Art (2016) and the Honours program (2017) at the Victorian College of the Arts (Melbourne University). Since graduating she has been an active member of the arts community in Naarm/Melbourne. She has taken leadership roles in a number of artist-run spaces and maintains a collaborative curatorial practice. From 2021-2023 she was the Organisation Coordinator at KINGS Artist-Run, one of Melbourne’s longest running artist-led galleries. 

Katie’s most recent collaborative projects include co-curating ‘Other Body Knowledge’ (2022), a public program and exhibition on disability informed art practice and accessibility, in partnership with disabled artist Jane Trengove; ‘Accumulates in the throat, emerges from the mouth’ (2021), a group exhibition to mark the opening of KINGS Artist-Run’s new venue; and ‘It Comes in Waves’ (2020-2021), an intergenerational conversation series produced in collaboration with the Women’s Art Register. 

Operations Team Leader

Krystal Parrella

Krystal is a dynamo in the world of festival operations and production, having orchestrated some of the most renowned festivals across Australia and England. With a flair for logistics and a deep passion for music, Krystal seamlessly blends the art of event planning with the joy of live entertainment. Her keen eye for detail and unyielding enthusiasm for creating unforgettable experiences have made her a linchpin in the festival circuit.

Marketing and Development Officer

Lauren Holmwood

Lauren has extensive experience working in arts organisations in marketing, memberships, audience engagement and public programs.

Most recently Lauren has worked as the Marketing & Membership Coordinator at Art Education Victoria, as well as Memberships Officer and Public Programs Representative at the NGV. Lauren also has local council experience, having worked at Counihan Gallery in Merri-Bek for over five years.

She is a marketing and communications extraordinaire who is passionate about meaningful audience engagement and development.

Education & Public Programs Officer

Stephanie Hicks

Stephanie is a visual artist working primarily across drawing, sculpture and textiles. Stephanie is passionate about fostering positive creative and social outcomes within the community. She brings extensive experience in programming and facilitation from roles in libraries, galleries and community spaces, and from alongside her art practice.   

Venue Services Officers

Mark McCarthy

Mark McCarthy is a Melbourne-based artist with a career spanning more than 20 years. Since graduating from the Victorian College of the Arts, he has gained a reputation for his unique approaches to painting, holding multiple solo and group exhibitions throughout Victoria. He has extensive experience in management, customer service and gallery work.

Vincent Agostino

Vincent is a practicing Children's book illustrator, Graphic Designer, Photographer and lecturer at Melbourne Polytechnics Illustration degree course. He has experience across branding, design, art installation, curation, retail sales and hospitality. Vincent has a passion for all arts, cultures and travel.

Jule Small

Jule is a creative chameleon and takes great joy in ambiguity. His work traverses spoken, written, performed, unformed and unclassified media. This is his first bio, but not his first rodeo.

Venue Service Officers (casual)

• Ariane Pietrzak
• Elly Kyriakopoulos
• Fiona DiBerardino

Image: Stained glass ceiling at Bundoora Homestead Art Centre by Auguste Fischer