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ICE

The ICE Team

Director, ICE and Switch

LENA NAHLOUS is a cultural development worker, arts manager and writer. She has worked for over a decade in non-government organisations, managing and collaborating on initiatives that have engaged thousands of people, particularly women, refugees, migrants and young people. At ICE, she established Artfiles, a portal and directory for Western Sydney artists, the Switch Multimedia and Digital Arts Access Centre and was a co-founder of the Sydney Arab Film Festival. In 2006 Lena spent four months in Hong Kong as a recipient of an Asialink Arts Fellowship and in 2008 is undertaking the Asialink Leadership program. She is also a published writer and has produced work for radio, anthologies and performance. Lena also sits on the NSW Government Arts Advisory Committee.

Assistant Director

CAITLIN VAUGHAN has had over ten years experience in advocacy and community development, as well as in campaigns, publications and media. She has worked as a trade union organiser, waitress, policy analyst, project manager and has long followed side interests in photography, literature, cultural history and music. In recent years, she has turned her attention full-time to cultural development, including a stint at the University of Western Sydney’s Centre for Cultural Research on research into creative industries, arts development and cultural planning.

Cultural Development Program Manager

MOUNA ZAYLAH has worked in the arts and community cultural development sector for over 12 years. She has worked at ICE since 1998 as an Arts Administrator, Marketing Coordinator, and Arts Project Manager. She has also worked in numerous arts roles in Western Sydney, including Urban Theatre Projects (1992-7); Promotions Coordinator, Arabmade exhibition (1998); Workshop and Artist Residency Coordinator, Furious, Pacific Wave Festival (1998); Curatorial Assistant, Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre (1998); Publicist, Gibran Khalil Gibran, TAQA Theatre (1999). She is a qualified trainer with a Certificate 4 in Workplace Assessment and Training, and a Certificate in Community Cultural Development (CCDNSW).

Community IT Program Manager

LILIANA RUTI is an experienced community development worker, holding a Bachelor of Social Work, Associate Diploma in Social Sciences (Community Welfare) and Certificate 4 in Workplace Training and Assessment and has worked in various capacities in the social and community sector since 1993. She has worked extensively with diverse communities, including newly arrived migrants and refugees, Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islanders, social housing tenants, children and youth at risk of abuse, victims of sexual assault. Liliana has also worked with several community organisations, agencies and government to initiate and manage innovative projects to achieve social change. At ICE since 2003, Liliana draws on Information Technology as a tool for community development and organisational capacity building. Recently she has initiated the Connecting IT multimedia and digital arts training program for community-based organisations and has been instrumental in planning the 2005, 2006 and 2007 Making Links Conferences, focussed on IT capacity building for the Non Profit Sector.

Urban Music Program Coordinator

TREY THOMAS (aka MC Trey) dubbed ‘a national treasure’ by Inthemix.com.au, has established herself as a prominent artist within hip-hop & urban music in Australia over the past 12 years. Since 1995 Trey has entertained crowds around Australia, NZ, US, UK & Japan. Trey has released two albums, ‘Daily Affirmations’ and ‘Tapastry Tunes’. She has toured nationally and has performed in NZ, USA, Japan and the UK. She has also performed on the Big Day Out Tours and has supported and performed with some of the biggest names in hip-hop, including Lupe Fiasco, Common, The Fugees, Ugly Duckling, Naughty by Nature, Run DMC, Michael Franti, RZA, XZIBIT and JURASSIC5 and more. She was also one of the first music show hosts on Channel V, coordinated Australia’s first Hip-hop festival, ‘Urban Xpressions’ and has co-ordinated many hip-hop and community music events. She has recently teamed up with Maya Jupiter and DJ Nick Toth as ‘Foreign Heights’ and released an album. Trey is currently being supported by the Vodafone Foundation’s ‘World of Difference’ grant to work at ICE for a year, developing a series of urban music programs, including for at-risk young people.

IT and Facilities Officer

JEROME PEARCE has worked on many levels with the wider community providing Technical Support, especially with Mac users. He is a volunteer at macosx.com, an online technical support website for anything and everything Mac. From the age of five, he started watching, listening and playing with computer equipment, opening up and putting all the pieces back together. Jerome gained a Diploma in Digital Media at the Design Centre at Enmore, attaining skills in Graphic Design, Photography, Video and Web Development. Jerome is currently providing ICE with technical support and streamlining ICE’s IT processes.

Switch Training Coordinator

KIRSTIE BOERST spent almost 20 years in the film, television and multimedia industries before establishing her own small production company in Western Sydney. Passionate about filmmaking, Kirstie enjoys sharing her skills with others. She has been running training programs in filmmaking and mentoring young filmmakers for many years. She recognises the lack of access to training in Western Sydney and her main aim is to bring as many resources to the region as she can.

Artfiles Assistant Program Manager

AMRIT KAUR GILL is an artsworker with a passion for working with emerging artists, communities and groups in the areas of arts and cultural development. She has been involved with many arts organisations and festivals, including Sculpture by the Sea, Sydney Writers Festival, Short and Sweet, the Asia-Australia Arts Association and Gallery 4a. Amrit is due to complete a Bachelor of Art Theory/Arts double degree at the College of Fine Arts and University of New South Wales in 2008.

Youth Digital Cultures Project Coordinator

MARIA TRAN has graduated with a Bachelor of Psychology from the University of Western Sydney, 2007. Since then, she has emerged into the art of film making and is the supporting director for award-winning youth film production Rumble Pictures. Her recent works include Metro Screen funded short film “A Little Dream” and conducted free English/arts-based workshops with orphans from Vietnam. Her film footages lead Maria to make award-winning “Happy Dent”; a video self-narration of a streetkid’s day. She is passionate about youth empowerment and has interests in hidden life stories of diverse people from all walks of life. Her other interests include, acting, performative fight choreography, martial arts, photography and digital storytelling and is completing CCD project “Maximum Choppage: Round 2”.

Web Producer

AMBER CARVAN has been working as a writer, editor and producer in the arts industry for more than a decade. Prior to working at ICE, Amber was employed as Producer for the noise festival and Manager of the Australian Network for Art and Technology (ANAT). Her professional experience is informed by her work as a comic artist and zinester.

Consultants

Chief Consultant to ICE for the Emerging Communities Program

BARRY GAMBA works with emerging communities to develop relevant digital arts projects and skills in filmmaking, radio, digital music production and web-based projects. He also coordinates the 10×6 Theatre Project. Barry has had extensive experience in the arts sector, including as Supervising Producer of Metro Screen’s Multicultural Mentorship Schemes (2000-02) and Raw Nerve (2002-03); Coordinator of Sydney’s Multicultural Theatre Festivals (1992-93), Producer of Multicultural Theatre Alliance’s 10×6 project; Editor of two successful short fiction anthologies; and Multicultural Arts Officer at Ethnic Communities Council of NSW (1992-99). He coordinated readings for the Sydney Writers Festival featuring emerging writers from culturally diverse backgrounds (1993-2000). In 2001 Barry completed the prestigious Australia Council Fellowship from the Community Cultural Development Board.

Design and Technology Consultant

BEN HOH is a writer, researcher and award-winning new media designer. He has worked on various new media arts projects with migrant and refugee communities, is currently writing a postgraduate thesis on blogs, geopolitics and war.

Urban Music Training Consultant

NICK TOTH is a leading hip-hop performer, entertainer and educator in Australia who has toured Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan, Austria, UK & US. In Sydney he has been heavily involved with the local hip-hop community and club culture as a DJ/producer, radio host and DJ course tutor. Nick has an acute awareness of the cultural contexts and historical roots of contemporary music, from hip-hop and R&B to dancehall reggae and deep funk to electro. He holds a BA in Communications. Nick organises and runs DJ courses at youth and community centres and is recognised as one of Australia’s best turntablists. Nick has supported & toured with 50 Cent & G-Unit, Missy Elliott, Sean Paul, Xzibit, Run DMC, RZA (Wu-Tang), Cypress Hill, De La Soul, Black Eyed Peas, Jungle Brothers, Grandmaster Flash, Jazzy Jeff, Spearhead, King Kapisi and more.

SWITCH and Sydney Arab Film Festival Consultant

FADIA ABBOUD supports and develops cultural programs and the development of CCD practice and arts programs, projects and activities within diverse communities (particularly refugee, migrant and NESB) in Western Sydney. Fadia is also a filmmaker and video tutor with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from UTS. She is currently making a documentary funded by the NSW Film and Television Office Young Filmmakers Fund, while continuing to teach young people videomaking in different communities around Sydney. Fadia has recently worked on a number of filmmaking programs with young people as well as working on the Sydney Arab Film Festival 05 and 06.

Artist in Residence

ALI KADHIM ’s roots began on blank paper, in comics and martial arts. Spending half his life drawing comic characters and training, it was only a matter of time until he found himself filming his own short films with his friends. During a period where martial arts started fading in his life, his attention discovered the art of Le Parkour. He has been studying the artform since late 2002 and has been now given the chance to share his knowledge of the art to interested newcomers across Western Sydney. Although not neglecting his martial arts training, he also combines his talents as an analog and digital media artist to create films based on Parkour as well as martial arts. A recipient of the Australia Council for the Arts Emerging Producers in Communities program, Ali is based at ICE for 12 months.