About

Introduction

The Red Room Company is a not-for-profit organisation based in Sydney, Australia. We create, promote and publish new poetry by Australian writers, in unusual ways. Through a range of forms such as radio, podcast, live performance and collaboration with artists and designers, we broaden the public's definition of and experience with high quality Australian poetry. Our projects focus on commissioning new work and developing imaginative contexts in which this poetry can be creatively and critically explored. We focus on supporting the work of young and emerging writers through individual projects, and are increasingly interested in engaging with regional and remote Australian voices.  In 2007, we piloted our national poetry education program, Papercuts, which was launched nationally in March 2009.

The Red Room Company gratefully acknowledges its previous and current project supporters and our in-kind and private donors for their interest and investment in The Red Room Company and Australian poetry.

We would also like to thank our network of volunteers for their passionate contributions to our projects.

History

The Red Room Company grew out of the Red Room Radio Show on 89.7fm Eastside Radio. Produced and presented by Johanna Featherstone, Red Room Radio began in 2001. The show broadcast original poetry, writing, reviews and interviews with Australian writers to a local Sydney audience. Its focus was on bringing new poetry and writing to a wide audience that included poets, poetry lovers and those listeners not normally familiar with poetry.

In 2002, the Red Room Epic project was created, commissioning 30 writers under 35 years of age to write poetry for national community radio broadcast and online. Poets were interviewed and an audio epic poem was crafted. This project won the prestigious 'Best New Innovative Radio Program' at the 2002 National Community Radio awards run by the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia.

By the end of 2002, the Red Room Radio show and the Red Room project had developed a network of poets and poetry supporters Australia-wide. In order to continue creating original poetry inspired projects for the public in a free and creative environment, Johanna Featherstone established The Red Room Company and is its current Artistic Director.

Since 2008, Mr John B Fairfax AO has acted as Patron to The Red Room Company.

Our Staff

The Red Room Company is comprised of a small core staff, a tier of freelance and contract employees, and casual and volunteer members who assist on a project-by-project basis.  In addition, Red Room engages a growing advisory board of Australian poets selected to assist with the development of our projects. The team is a source of advice, feedback and judgment in relation to poems submitted to our projects, and encourages suitable poets to submit their work to the Company. All team members have been or are participants in a Red Room Company project.  Our permanent core staff is profiled below.

Artistic Director

Johanna Featherstone

Johanna established The Red Room Company in 2003.  Her poetry has featured in journals such as Quadrant, and the Best Australian Poems. In 2006 she created a series of literary TV shows, The Wordshed, in partnership with The University of Western Sydney where she is a research associate. Johanna is an honorary associate of The University of Sydney's School of Letters Arts and Media. Johanna received a fellowship from the St James Ethics Center in 2008. Her chapbook Felt was released in 2010 by Vagabond Press. 

Editor & Copywriter

Joel Scott

Joel Scott is The Red Room's Editor & Copywriter, looking after the website, the Sun Herald Extra series and grant applications. He is a PhD candidate at Macquarie University writing a thesis on translation and contemporary writing practice, which puts Benjamin's writings on translation and language into conversation with more contemporary French theorists, such as Levinas, Derrida and Deleuze. His poetry has appeared in Overland and Heat.

Art & Publications Director

Tamryn Bennett

Tamryn Bennett is The Red Room's Art & Publications Director, helping to co-ordinate publications, artist collaborations, live events and designing hand-bound books and small objects for the 'hand held' series.  She creates poetry in collaboration with visual artists and her current practice-led PhD develops comics poetry. Her poems have been shortlisted for The John Marsden Prize and appeared in Five Bells, Mascara, Nth Degree, as well as other university publications. www.tamrynbennett.com


Producer, Media & Communications

Tim Grey

Tim not only handles the dark arts of media and communications, he also lends his hand to producing The Red Room Company's major public projects. With both pen and camera, Tim's worked as a journo and editor on a number of titles in Australia and abroad. At the University of Wollongong he studied French Poetry and German Philosophy, and at UTS he studied Australian reporting. He writes poetry.

Office Manager - Assisting the Artistic Director & Education Director

Julia Ehemann

Julia has a visual arts and multi disciplinary design background in Graphics, Environments and Applied. Her role is assisting the Artistic Director and Education Director across a range of exciting projects. Her experience in the creative industry is broad, ranging from graphic design through to production, with her strength in client relationships. Recently, as a creative consultant and liaison, she has worked within the fields of the arts, green movement, advertising and with designers. Julia has a love of poetry, a passion for the creative process and believes in developing projects with a strong concept at their core.

Education Director

Tony Britten

Tony Britten is The Red Room Company's Education Director. He was previously an English teacher at SCEGGS Darlinghurst and is the co-writer of the education kits for the Cabinet of Lost and Found and Toilet Doors. Tony has presented workshops for Papercuts for teachers and students in a range of professional contexts. In 2003 he was awarded a Premier's English Literature Scholarship and travelled to the United Kingdom to research how the teaching of creative writing at the tertiary level might inform the implementation of the Higher School Certificate Extension 2 English course.


Programs Manager

Tegan Richardson

Tegan has worked as an arts administrator/manager for a number of arts and community based organisations including most recently Stalker and Marrugeku Theatre Company, The Redfern Community Centre, PACT Centre for Emerging Artists and Darwin Theatre Company. She has also worked as a performer and journalist.

Intern of awesomeness

Rory Platt

Web Design

Digital Eskimo

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Website Build

Michelle Craig, Ether Multimedia

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Original Site Design and Illustration

Michelle Moore

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Board of Directors

Bret Walker

Chairperson

Bret Walker SC is the Red Room Company's first ever Chairperson. He has practised as a barrister mainly in Sydney since 1979. His principal areas of advocacy and advice are public (Constitutional and administrative) law and commercial law. Appointed Senior Counsel in 1993. 

Matthew McCarron

Financial Management and Planning 

Matthew McCarron is a Senior Manager in KPMG's Middle Market Advisory practice.  Based in Sydney, Matthew provides transaction advisory services across a range of industries including consumer and industrial markets, property and construction, and agriculture.

Elliott Wheeler

Sound, Audio and New Technology 

Elliott Wheeler is a Sydney based composer for film, television and advertising and is the creative director of Turning Studios. Elliott's awards include the 2004 Tropfest for Best Original Score, St Kilda Film Festival for Best Original Score and multiple winner of Best Score for Award, ATV, APRA  and Kodak Gongs. He was musical director of Nylon studios from 2002-2007. Listen to Elliott's work here : 

http://www.myspace.com/elliottwheeler
http://www.turningstudios.com/
http://www.myspace.com/myrtlestreetconnection


Jane Thorn

Human Resources 

Jane Thorn (Director) Jane has worked as a librarian in the public and private sector, as a researcher for Telstra, general manager for Network Economics Consulting Group (NECG) and CRA International (Australia), and chief operations officer for Concept Economics.

Johanna Featherstone

Johanna established The Red Room Company in 2003.  Her poetry has featured in journals such as Quadrant, and the Best Australian Poems. In 2006 she created a series of literary TV shows, The Wordshed, in partnership with The University of Western Sydney where she is a research associate. Johanna is an honorary associate of The University of Sydney's School of Letters Arts and Media. Johanna received a fellowship from the St James Ethics Center in 2008. Her chapbook Felt was released in 2010 by Vagabond Press. 

Sue Jackson

Strategic planning and fund-raising 

Sue Jackson has a background in law, finance, communications and the not-for-profit sector. Bubbling under the daily toil is Sue's passion for the arts and fondness for Picasso's line that the arts, in our case poetry, washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life. Sue brings to The Red Room Company this passion and, in particular, her corporate foundation experience in not-for-profit strategy planning and evaluation. 


Patron

John B Fairfax AO

John B Fairfax AO began his career in 1961 as a cadet journalist at the Sydney Morning Herald, coming to join the Fairfax board in 1979. He is Chairman of Marinya Media and a director of Fairfax Media, and former Chairman of Rural Press. John is President of The Girls & Boys Brigade, and a Councillor of the Royal Agricultural Society of NSW.  He has acted as Patron to The Red Room Company since 2008.

Supporters

Partners