KRISTY EDMUNDS BIOGRAPHY
Melbourne International Arts Festival, Artistic Director 2005, 2006, 2007 & 2008

As an artist, curator and Artistic Director, Edmunds has been a leading advocate for furthering innovative and leading contemporary art. After completing her Masters Degree in Theatre Directing and Playwriting in 1990 she moved to Portland, Oregon to take up the post as the Curator of the contemporary program at the Portland Art Museum. She worked as a filmmaker in residence with The Northwest Film and Video Center and coordinated the Northwest Film and Video Festival and the Media Arts Fellowships as part of the National Endowment for the Arts – Western States and Pacific Territories.

In 1995 Edmunds founded PICA, the Portland Institute for Contemporary Art, where she served as Artistic Director for ten years and still serves as an Advisor. In 2003 Edmunds launched the TBA (Time-Based Art) Festival at PICA, which was critically acclaimed as a global contribution for arts programming, and quickly established itself as one of the most impacting festivals within the US. After stepping down in 2004 a fund in her name was created in perpetuity. The Kristy Edmunds Fund for New Work is given to an artist annually to support the creation of new projects.

That same year she took up the prestigious post of Artistic Director of the Melbourne International Arts Festival and introduced to Melbourne her curatorial vision for presenting the works of contemporary artists across all art disciplines. Her first program of her four-year Artistic Directorship (2005–2008) introduced urban projects from around the world that address the global subject matter of our time. Edmunds’ inaugural program enjoyed both popular and critical success, resulting in spirited discussion and realised her desire for community engagement amongst the people of Melbourne and arts enthusiasts everywhere. Edmunds continues to provide a supportive platform for artists and with a particular emphasis on collaboration, in 2007 she pioneered a residency inside the 17-day Festival with Merce Cunningham and his artistic associates past and present, encompassing dance and music performances, visual arts installations across commercial galleries and public spaces, public discussions and film works. Edmunds is the first Artistic Director in the Festival’s 22-year history to serve a four-year term.

Edmunds has served on numerous boards and advisory boards both in the United States and Australia. These currently include, the Advisory boards for the State of Design, the Centre for Art and Ideas as well as the Wilin Centre for Indigenous Arts and Cultural Development, both at the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA). Most recently she served as a panellist for the prestigious Berkshire Conference in Massachusetts and has previously served on the Northwest Business Committee for the Arts, the National Performance Network, National Dance Project (all in the US) and Lucy Guerin Dance Company.

In 1999 she served on an Executive Task Force for developing a Cultural Policy for the State of Oregon, which was eventually adopted and passed by the Legislature in 2001 leading to the Cultural Trust. In 2003 she assisted in the creation of the “Memphis Manifesto” a landmark document, spear-headed by Richard Florida, outlining new trends and values for the creative economy that has since been adopted by city governments internationally as a benchmark for imagining city rejuvenation strategies.

Edmunds was the recipient of the 1998/99 Freedom of Expression Award, given by the Oregon Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. She was also a recipient of the prestigious Governor's Arts Award, Oregon's highest recognition for artistic leadership in 2002, the Marylhurst Women of Distinction Award in 2003 and was the 2004 Bonnie Bronson Award Fellow. In 2007, the Merce Cunningham Dance Company initiated the Kristy Edmunds Scholarship, in her honour and to support five Australian dancers to attend workshops with the company in New York City.

Edmunds completed a four-year consulting post in 2000, serving as the Lead Facilitator to the Ford Foundation for their Internationalizing New Works Initiative, a multi-year project developing and documenting "best practices" for international exchange within the field of the performing arts. Edmunds has taught at universities and colleges including Western Washington University and Pacific Northwest College of Arts.

Since her arrival to Australia in 2005, Edmunds has been invited to give keynote addresses at numerous high profile events including the VCA 2005 Graduation Ceremony, the Victorian Indigenous Arts Awards, the opening of the Festival of German Films and the Public Galleries Association of Victoria’s annual meeting. She has been a selection panel member for the AusDance Awards, a judge for the Melbourne Queer film Festival and a judge for the Kodak Salon Photography Awards, amongst others.

She has received numerous grants and awards for her work as an artist in various disciplines, and is currently represented worldwide by the Elizabeth Leach Gallery.

_{Photo: Lisa Tomasetti}