Catherine Croll

Coming Home

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Catherine is currently employed as Director Special Projects Red Gate Gallery, Beijing. This follows a 6 months stint as Director of the Red Gate Gallery International Artist Residency Program – Red Gate AIR

On October 20th 2009, the China Daily ran the following story about her work: How Sweeping Strokes can Link Cultures

Background

For over 20 years Kate Croll has been a respected practitioner in the areas of Community Cultural Development (CCD) and Cultural Planning, sharing her practical knowledge with others through her positions as a facilitator and trainer.

She has had an extensive career in the areas of community capacity building, brokering partnerships between local government, arts workers, volunteers, non profit organisations and business sponsors.

In 2008/09 Catherine was employed as the Manager/Curator of the Sydney Olympic Park Traveling Exhibition – Coming Home – Featuring the work of 37 Chinese Australian Artists, this exhibition was held at the Linda Gallery – 798 Art District Beijing during May 2009.

Catherine is also the Manager of the Randwick City Council – Mayors Public Art Project, designed to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Randwick being declared a city in 1859. A panel comprising; Tony Bond (AGNSW), Scott O’Hara (Resident Representative) and the Mayor of Randwick, Bruce Notley Smith assessed applications from a short list of 5 artists with Ruark Lewis being awarded the contract.

In 2008 Catherine was employed as Manager/Curator of the Sydney Olympic Park Authority From Mao to Now exhibition which featured the work of 80 Chinese Australian artists and other contemporary Australian artists who had studied or worked in the People’s Republic of China.

In 2007, Catherine spent 3 months traveling ’solo’ through remote areas of China’s Yun’nan, Sichuan and Fujian provinces, prior to taking up a 6 week residency at the Red Gate Gallery in Beijing.

In 2006 Catherine received a professional development grant from the Australia Council for the Arts to: Research and document traditional Chinese cultural practices and the ways in which those practices are being interpreted in contemporary arts. She traveled ‘solo’ overland through China for 3 months, culminating in an exhibition of her work titled Catherines Great Adventure, at John Paynter Gallery – Newcastle.

In 2004/5 Kate traveled to the Northern Territory to interview representatives from the key arts organisations and indigenous arts cooperatives from Katherine to the Tiwi Islands. Using the data gathered she developed and delivered an intensive training course for Top End artists called ‘Working with Communities’.

In 2001, Kate was responsible for the artistic design and construction of the Hunter Region Float for Centenary of Federation Parade. She was then seconded as Parade Coordinator for Zone 1 (Botanical Gardens to Oxford Street) which involved the recruitment and training of hundreds of volunteer marshals to assist in the coordination of thousands of performers and oversee the event which saw 500,000 people line the streets of Sydney.

In 2000, she was seconded from Arts Hunter by SOCOG (Sydney Olympic Games Organising Committee) to assist with the management of volunteers at the Sydney Olympic Games 2000. In this capacity she was responsible for over 2,000 volunteer performers in the Awakenings and Fire Sections of the Opening Ceremony and 8,000 performers in the Closing Ceremony.

As Principle Trainer for CCD NSW (Community Cultural Development NSW) from 2000 until 2008, she conducted ‘Assessment and Workplace Training’ Certificate IV for facilitators from across NSW, Tasmania and the NT and facilitated the ‘Creative Volunteering – No Limits’ training course offered by Regional Arts Australia to community organisations, volunteers and local government staff.

She is also the author of Australia’s first online Diploma in Community Cultural Development , and facilitator of the course which was offered annually through CCDNSW from 2003 to 2008.

Catherine Croll can be contacted via mobile +61 419 427 002 or China mobile +86 151 0157 5037 email