ICE

The ICE Team

Executive Director, ICE and Switch

LENA NAHLOUS is a cultural development worker, arts manager and writer. She has worked for over a decade in non-government organisations, managing and collaborating on initiatives that have engaged thousands of people, particularly women, refugees, migrants and young people. At ICE, she established Artfiles, a portal and directory for Western Sydney artists, the Switch Multimedia and Digital Arts Access Centre and was a co-founder of the Sydney Arab Film Festival. In 2006 Lena spent four months in Hong Kong as a recipient of an Asialink Arts Fellowship and in 2008 is undertaking the Asialink Leadership program. She is also a published writer and has produced work for radio, anthologies and performance. Lena also sits on the NSW Government Arts Advisory Committee.

Acting Executive Director, ICE and Switch

LISA TORRANCE is originally from Scotland, and comes to ICE with a broad range of experience across the arts and cultural sector. She spent six years at the Sydney Writers’ Festival, as Associate Director and Business Development Manager. Prior to this Lisa has undertaken project management roles with Sydney Festival, Boccalatte, Sydney Opera House, JCM, Company B and noise Festival. Lisa has worked extensively between Sydney and Scotland, where she held senior positions in marketing, publicity, development and event management at major arts companies including the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Edinburgh International Book Festival and Edinburgh International Film Festival and Glasgow Art Fair.

Manager – Research and Policy Development

CAITLIN VAUGHAN has had over ten years experience in advocacy and community development, as well as in campaigns, publications and media. She has worked as a trade union organiser, waitress, policy analyst, project manager and has long followed side interests in photography, literature, cultural history and music. In recent years, she has turned her attention full-time to cultural development, including a stint at the University of Western Sydney’s Centre for Cultural Research on research into creative industries, arts development and cultural planning.

Manager – Cultural Development Program

MOUNA ZAYLAH has worked in the arts and community cultural development sector for over 12 years. She has worked at ICE since 1998 as an Arts Administrator, Marketing Coordinator, and Arts Project Manager. She has also worked in numerous arts roles in Western Sydney, including Urban Theatre Projects (1992-7); Promotions Coordinator, Arabmade exhibition (1998); Workshop and Artist Residency Coordinator, Furious, Pacific Wave Festival (1998); Curatorial Assistant, Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre (1998); Publicist, Gibran Khalil Gibran, TAQA Theatre (1999). She is a qualified trainer with a Certificate 4 in Workplace Assessment and Training, and a Certificate in Community Cultural Development (CCDNSW).

Manager – Creative Enterprises

INDU BALACHANDRAN holds a Master of Economics from the University of Sydney and a Bachelor of Business from the University of Technology Sydney. Her previous roles have included business management at the Medical Deans Australia and New Zealand Incorporated and Executive Director of Youth Challenge Australia (an international and indigenous community development with young volunteers). She has also worked at the Sisters of Charity Outreach as the Resource Development Manager and worked in India with women and girls to improve access to health and education and also on a project offering rural Indian women an integrated development platform of adult and children’s education, income-generation schemes, health, microcredit, and legal services. Indu also teaches and performs Veena (Indian instrument) and vocal music (Karnatic Indian classical music).

Manager – Operations

JILL CHAMBERS has many years operational management experience within within cultural organisations predominately British Council Australia. Jill has a Bachelor of Business as well as Certificate IV in training and assessment. Jill joins ICE from the Australia Council for the Arts where she expanded her skills and knowledge in Human Resource Management.

Manager — Marketing and Communications

KRISTY MAYHEW has a passion for the arts and loves to be surrounded by creative people as much as possible. Before her leap in marketing, she was a Landscape Designer for 8 years and worked widely across the environment sector. Highlights from that time include being a Discovery Ranger for National Parks and taking people on Aboriginal Heritage walks in Ku-ring-gai Chase. Before coming to ICE Kristy had worked in publishing as the Marketing Manager for TIME Magazine South Pacific (Australia and New Zealand), and in television, as the Marketing and Publicity Coordinator for The WORLD MOVIES Channel. Kristy holds an Associate Diploma in Business Marketing.

Urban Music Project Coordinator

TREY THOMAS (aka MC Trey) dubbed ‘a national treasure’ by Inthemix.com.au, has firmly established herself as a prominent artist within hip-hop and urban music in Australia over the past 12 years. Since 1995 Trey has entertained crowds around Australia, NZ, US, UK and Japan. She has released two albums, ‘Daily Affirmations’ and ‘Tapastry Tunes’, and has performed around Australia, Fiji, NZ, USA, Japan and the UK. She has also performed on the Big Day Out Tours and supported and performed with some of the biggest names in hip-hop, including Lupe Fiasco, Common, The Fugees, Ugly Duckling, Naughty by Nature, Run DMC, Michael Franti, RZA, XZIBIT and JURASSIC5 and more. She has hosted TV music shows, coordinated the Hip-hop festival, ‘Urban Xpressions’ and many other hip-hop and community music events. Her most recent release was a collaborative album with Maya Jupiter and DJ Nick Toth as ‘Foreign Heights’, which received an ARIA nomination for the ‘Get Yours’ remix. Trey started at ICE as a project participant in 2001 and has been contracted over the years as a workshop facilitator and performer. Her full-time stint at ICE was realised in 2006 through winning a Vodafone Australia Foundation ‘World of Difference’ grant. She is now employed part-time as ICE’s Urban Music Program Coordinator.

IT and Facilities Officer

JEROME PEARCE has worked on many levels with the wider community providing Technical Support, especially with Mac users. He is a volunteer at macosx.com, an online technical support website for anything and everything Mac. From the age of five, he started watching, listening and playing with computer equipment, opening up and putting all the pieces back together. Jerome gained a Diploma in Digital Media at the Design Centre at Enmore, attaining skills in Graphic Design, Photography, Video and Web Development. Jerome is currently providing ICE with technical support and streamlining ICE’s IT processes.

Youth Digital Cultures Project Coordinator

MARIA TRAN has graduated with a Bachelor of Psychology from the University of Western Sydney, 2007. Since then, she has emerged into the art of film making and is the supporting director for award-winning youth film production Rumble Pictures. Her recent works include Metro Screen funded short film “A Little Dream” and conducted free English/arts-based workshops with orphans from Vietnam. Her film footages lead Maria to make award-winning “Happy Dent”; a video self-narration of a streetkid’s day. She is passionate about youth empowerment and has interests in hidden life stories of diverse people from all walks of life. Her other interests include, acting, performative fight choreography, martial arts, photography and digital storytelling and is completing CCD project “Maximum Choppage: Round 2”.

Digital Media and Training Centre Coordinator

GARY PARAMANATHAN was born in Sri Lanka, and grew up in Inner West Sydney. He graduated with a commerce degree from the University of Sydney. Gary has since worked in marketing and management roles at Microsoft and NSW Health. His transition into the arts began with a film course, a stint in theatre and a gradual move towards writing and directing short films. Gary has since worked as the Create Media project coordinator, working with and representing refugee and migrants young people in Western Sydney. He has written and directed a number of successful short works, including the award winning films ‘This Woman’s World’ and ‘Die’. Gary also founded and co-directed Colourfest, Australia’s first national culturally diverse film festival. He currently works at ICE as the Switch Digital Media and Training Centre Coordinator. In this role Gary will be a catalyst in transforming ICE into a registered training organisation and a cultural/artistic hub in the heart of Parramatta.

Coordinator, Artist Professional Development Project

*DONITA HULME-CAWI*has been involved with arts and community organisations for 15 years. She has recently returned from a two-year assignment through Australian Volunteers International (AVI) with CreatiVITI, a community arts organisation based in Nadi, Fiji. Donita has provided communications and administration services to arts organisations including Community Cultural Development NSW and Casula Powerhouse. She also has ten year’s experience with the Australia Council for the Arts.

Parenting Stories Project Coordinator

SALEH SAQQAF has worked extensively as performer in theatre, radio and television since 1970. He graduated from UTS in 1992 with a Bachelor of Arts (Mass Communication). He has since worked as a journalist and broadcaster with Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) Australia and has facilitated media sessions and provided training in television and radio production for many community groups.

Executive Assistant to Executive Director

YU YE WU has a BA in English Literature and Art History (Honours) from the University of Sydney. Prior to working at ICE Yu Ye was a gallery assistant at Gallery 4A. Whilst at University she was actively involved on campus as a committee member for the Sydney University Red Cross Society. She was also a Faculty of Arts mentor and a volunteer at Sydney University Art Gallery.

Coordinator, Digi Diaries

Over the last ten years, AMIN PALANGI has gained extensive industry and educational experience, working and teaching in the film, television and computer industries. He has produced Films, Documentaries and Animations that have been screened and awarded at prestigious film festivals across Australia and internationally. Currently pursuing his PhD. Amin has earned a MA from the Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS) in Sydney, and a BA with honors at the Australian National University’s Centre for New Media Arts (CNMA).

Administration and Resource Officer

GEORGIE LAMPE has a wealth of experience in admin roles. She has also been actively involved in community projects and festivals in north-western NSW, both as a photographer and arts administrator. She participated in developing school age children in artistic and self empowering workshops as well as capturing photographically the effect this had on the children’s lives. Georgie has been working as a documentary photographer since 2001 after graduating from UWS with a BA of Design (Vis Com), with honours in Photo media. She has recently worked in Egypt photographing archeological dig sites for Macquarie University, as well as projects in Ethiopia and Western Sydney.

Project Officer

ANTIGONE FOSTER joined ICE for the East London West Sydney creative development in July and August, and is still working on that as well as TropWest. She brings a decade of two parallel universes to her work at ICE, her day job world of support roles across education, not-for-profit and the design sector alongside a career as a self-managed recording artist, including five years working in London and producing her debut album AntigoneLand on her own label Yoctopus.

Consultants

Chief Consultant to ICE for the Emerging Communities Program

BARRY GAMBA works with emerging communities to develop relevant digital arts projects and skills in filmmaking, radio, digital music production and web-based projects. He also coordinates the 10×6 Theatre Project. Barry has had extensive experience in the arts sector, including as Supervising Producer of Metro Screen’s Multicultural Mentorship Schemes (2000-02) and Raw Nerve (2002-03); Coordinator of Sydney’s Multicultural Theatre Festivals (1992-93), Producer of Multicultural Theatre Alliance’s 10×6 project; Editor of two successful short fiction anthologies; and Multicultural Arts Officer at Ethnic Communities Council of NSW (1992-99). He coordinated readings for the Sydney Writers Festival featuring emerging writers from culturally diverse backgrounds (1993-2000). In 2001 Barry completed the prestigious Australia Council Fellowship from the Community Cultural Development Board.

Design and Technology Consultant

BEN HOH is a writer, researcher and award-winning new media designer. He has worked on various new media arts projects with migrant and refugee communities, is currently writing a postgraduate thesis on blogs, geopolitics and war.

Urban Music Training Consultant

NICK TOTH is a leading hip-hop performer, entertainer and educator in Australia who has toured Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan, Austria, UK & US. In Sydney he has been heavily involved with the local hip-hop community and club culture as a DJ/producer, radio host and DJ course tutor. Nick has an acute awareness of the cultural contexts and historical roots of contemporary music, from hip-hop and R&B to dancehall reggae and deep funk to electro. He holds a BA in Communications. Nick organises and runs DJ courses at youth and community centres and is recognised as one of Australia’s best turntablists. Nick has supported & toured with 50 Cent & G-Unit, Missy Elliott, Sean Paul, Xzibit, Run DMC, RZA (Wu-Tang), Cypress Hill, De La Soul, Black Eyed Peas, Jungle Brothers, Grandmaster Flash, Jazzy Jeff, Spearhead, King Kapisi and more.

SWITCH and Sydney Arab Film Festival Consultant

FADIA ABBOUD supports and develops cultural programs and the development of CCD practice and arts programs, projects and activities within diverse communities (particularly refugee, migrant and NESB) in Western Sydney. Fadia is also a filmmaker and video tutor with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from UTS. She is currently making a documentary funded by the NSW Film and Television Office Young Filmmakers Fund, while continuing to teach young people videomaking in different communities around Sydney. Fadia has recently worked on a number of filmmaking programs with young people as well as working on the Sydney Arab Film Festival.

Graphic Designer

MEIYING SAW is a graphic designer and illustrator who loves the smell of freshly-printed ink on paper. She hopes she will never have to give up using QuarkXpress and Freehand, and is currently mourning the demise of self-service photocopiers in the city. A brief catalogue of her work can be seen at ragingyoghurt.org

Writer

As a peripetetic writer with over 15 years experience, MONIQUE CHOY has written for a diverse range of clients including Lonely Planet, the Australian Museum and the United Nations. Her work has been published in Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Hong Kong. Monique has a special interest in online communication and currently works as a web publisher for the ABC. Her interactive fiction The Last Laugh is published by Interactive Press – find out more at www.nettlesoup.com.au