Australia Council welcomes new CEO, Tony Grybowski

Help us congratulate ISPA member Australia Council for the Arts on their appointment of Tony Grybowski as their new CEO.  Below is the official press release sent out on May 16th, 2013. 

Chair of the Australia Council for the Arts, Rupert Myer AM today welcomed the announcement by Minister for the Arts, the Hon. Tony Burke MP that Tony Grybowski has been named as the Australia Council’s new CEO.

"The members of the Council, our staff and members of artistic communities across Australia join me in expressing our delight that Tony has been appointed CEO, effective immediately,” said Mr Myer.

"Tony has been Executive Director, Arts Organisations at the Australia Council for the past five years and is well known to artists and arts organisations for his passion and commitment to creativity.

"He knows the arts landscape very well and from all perspectives – as a musician, an arts administrator and a member of state and federal funding organisations. He has worked extensively with youth and community arts and will bring a unique blend of experience to the role of CEO.”

Tony Grybowski has spent a lifetime in the arts that include many years as a performing musician. In Arts Administration, Tony has 25 years of experience which include management positions with the Sydney Symphony, Musica Viva Australia and seven years as General Manager of the Australian Youth Orchestra. He also spent a period with the State Government of Victoria at Arts Victoria. His experience covers work with individual artists across the spectrum of art forms and arts organisations, both large and small, in Australia and internationally.  

Tony Grybowski said he was honoured to be taking on the role. "For me, this is the best job in Australia. Being vitally involved in nurturing and supporting creative expression of all kinds, at a time marked by technological change and extraordinary innovation in the sector, is a challenge of the most exciting kind.

"With the announcement of the new National Cultural Policy, Creative Australia and passage of the legislation to make the Australia Council more flexible and responsive will come great opportunity. I see an even more exciting future for the arts in Australia and for the Council’s role, including the new proposed Sector Strategy Panels, in supporting and developing a more creative and enriched community,” he said.

Mr Myer praised Libby Christie who has acted in the role of Chief Executive since 1 January for navigating the organisation through an unprecedented period of change that included the release of Creative Australia and the introduction of the new Australia Council legislation into Parliament.

"We are very fortunate to have an executive of Libby’s talent within our ranks and we thank her for her stewardship of the organisation at an extremely active time for the arts sector.”

Mr Myer said Tony Grybowski’s appointment comes after an extensive search.

"We naturally cast our net widely, but were very pleased to find our internal succession planning has delivered us the outstanding candidate,” he said.

Read the full press release on the Australia Council for the Arts website.