Our People

Liz Nowell is a curator, cultural leader, and writer with over 15 years’ experience in Australian and international art. Her work engages with socially responsive practices and focuses on expanding narratives in contemporary art. She has served as Executive Director of Arts Project Australia since 2023 and is currently co-Chair of the National Association for the Visual Arts (NAVA). Previously, she led the Institute of Modern Art, Adelaide Contemporary Experimental, and the Contemporary Art Centre of South Australia. Her curatorial projects include Rainbow Serpent (Version): Daniel Boyd, Marianna Simnett’s CREATURE (co-curator), and Yhonnie Scarce: Missile Park.

Liz’s contributions to the arts have been recognised through various awards and grants, including a New Work Grant (Early Career) and Early Career Residency Grant from the Australia Council for the Arts, and a Dame Joan Sutherland Foundation Grant. In 2018, she was acknowledged by Indaily as one of South Australia’s 40 under 40 business leaders. In 2023, she was an Australian Progress Fellow and a resident at the International Studio and Curatorial Program in New York.

Sandy Ferneé has held the role of Operations Manager at APA since 2011.  At APA, Sandy is a member of the Senior Management team, responsible for a wide range of operational duties including, HR, payroll, managing resources, advising on governance and policy and overseeing financial management. Sandy played an integral role in the transition to the NDIS and continues to manage this portfolio as part of the operations of the organisation.

Prior to her current role, Sandy served as Executive Director of Wildlife Victoria, where she transformed the organisation by expanding its income from $30,000 to over $1.5 million annually, and leading its response to significant natural disasters including the 2009 wildfires. Her leadership saw the expansion of the volunteer and membership bases, the development and implementation of key IT solutions, and building relationships with key stakeholders in the industry.

She is a dedicated community volunteer and contributes her expertise to other committees and boards in both the disability and animal welfare sectors. Her career displays her ability to lead and innovate across diverse sectors, making her a respected and influential figure in the arts, disability and animal welfare communities.

James McDonald is the Studio Manager at APA. With seventeen years’ experience working in various roles across the organisation, James has amassed a significant depth and breadth of knowledge of the practices of the 150 artists that work within this vibrant and creative space.  

Over his years of association with APA, James has curated several exhibitions, including two large solo retrospectives, and been a contributing catalogue essayist for a number of monographs, and publications about the history of the organisation. He continues to be involved in many facets of APA, sitting on the Exhibitions and Collections Committee, as a panellist and guest speaker at several Supported Studio summits, forums and educational events, and advising other organisations about the set up of creative spaces for neurodivergent artists. 

Having graduated in 2006 from RMIT with a Bachelor of Fine Art (Drawing), James also maintains a figurative painting practice, with his subject matter often drawing heavily from his experience at APA. 

Kirsten Matthews has held the role of Development Manager at APA since 2021. She leads the organisation’s fundraising strategy and manages key relationships with donors, philanthropic foundations, and trusts that support APA’s mission. In 2022, Kirsten established the APA Creatives individual giving program and now secures over $250,000 annually in private sector funding to support APA’s acclaimed gallery and studio programs.

Kirsten brings extensive experience across both the public and private sectors, including her role as Manager of the Australian Cultural Fund at Creative Partnerships Australia. Her professional background also includes consultancy work and roles in leading commercial galleries such as Niagara Galleries. She holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Art History from the University of Queensland and a Master of Arts in Cultural Heritage from Deakin University.

Beyond her professional work, Kirsten is a committed advocate for the arts. She has led private art collecting groups for over two decades, overseeing significant acquisitions of contemporary art. From 2016 to 2022, she served on the Darebin Art and Heritage Advisory Panel, and has contributed her expertise to selection and grant assessment panels.

Betty Musgrove is an accomplished arts marketing professional, practicing artist, and advocate for equity and inclusion in the creative industries. She integrates principles of access, representation, and justice into every project, using marketing not only to drive engagement but also to foster lasting cultural change.

Since beginning at APA in early 2023, she structured the organisation’s marketing department and led major campaigns, including partnerships with Food For Everyone and GUP Clothing, and the 50th anniversary media campaign in 2024, which gained nationally syndicated coverage. She also initiated and led the Language Advisory Group with APA artists, co-developing a language guide that centres artists’ voices and experiences in organisational storytelling.

Alongside her professional practice, Betty maintains a personal arts practice grounded in contemporary textiles that informs her passionate and authentic approach. In 2024 she brought her two worlds together, curating Soft Landings at the Australian Tapestry Workshop (ATW) – an exhibition celebrating the work of APA artists working in textiles, and the ongoing partnership with ATW.