Lena Nahlous is an experienced CEO, producer, curator, artistic director and facilitator with a long-term commitment to racial equity in the arts, screen and creative sectors. She is currently the CEO of Diversity Arts Australia and host of The Colour Cycle podcast.
Lena has over 20 years-experience in arts, cultural and media organisations where she has developed artist brokerage and training programs focusing on creatives from culturally and racially marginalised backgrounds and young people.
Lena drives sector-wide change through strategic partnerships, research, and innovative projects that empower artists as advocates. Her exceptional management and creative expertise resonate in recent achievements: DARTS’ Shifting the Balance report, the transformative Creative Equity Toolkit, the groundbreaking Pacesetters project, and the Fair Play capacity-building program.
Lena's legacy includes a history of building arts infrastructure, from organisations to digital media centres and platforms. In her former role as Executive Director of Arts and Cultural Exchange, she established initiatives like the Arab Film Festival, Switch digital media centre and Artfiles, an artist employment and brokerage program.
In 2020, Lena won the Western Sydney Woman Leader of Change Award.
Currently seeking a Churchill Fellowship, Lena aims to undertake research for the development of a digital cultural archive. This archive will meticulously chronicle the historical contributions made by culturally diverse and migrant artists and creative workers. Lena's journey exemplifies an unwavering commitment to equity and preservation, leaving an indelible mark on the artistic landscape.
Project
To develop Australia’s first open-access digital archive of culturally diverse artists and creatives
Lena Nahlous
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