The NSW Far South Coast’s Four Winds is delighted to announce that one of the country’s top arts administrators, Leigh Small, has agreed to become its new executive director, effective June 13.

Four Winds chairman Michael Darling says he, the Board and FW team are thrilled to have secured someone of Leigh’s calibre and experience to lead the festival in its next phase of evolution.

“Leigh is one of the most experienced arts administrators in the country, having run Sydney Film Festival and Sydney Dance Company, and previously worked in executive roles at the Sydney Opera House, Sydney Theatre Company and Belvoir St Theatre,” said Mr Darling. “She is a Dignams Creek resident with a great love of the NSW South Coast, and comes brimming with ideas on how to take Four Winds into a new phase.”

Four Winds began as a biennial fine music festival in 1991. It has grown to become a multi-faceted organisation, including its signature Festival held annually near Bermagui at Easter. Four Winds also presents a November Youth Music Festival lead by David Hewitt, an emerging Indigenous program lead by Walbunja, Ngarigo woman Cheryl Davison, in addition to performances, workshops, musicians-in-schools and artist-in-residence events throughout the year.

Musicians who have graced its stages over the years include Richard Tognetti, Archie Roach, Elena Kats-Chernin AO, James Crabb, Genvieve Lacey, William Barton, Bobby Singh, Lou Bennett, Paul Grabowski, plus the Australian String Quartet, the Navarra String Quartet (UK) and the First Nations Djinama Yilaga Choir.

“William (actor William Zappa) and I bought a property in Dignams Creek 12 years ago, and since Covid we spent more and more time here. We are proud to be part of one of the many and varied communities in the area,” Ms Small says. “There is so much potential to grow events and audiences in regional Australia. Four Winds has done an incredible job on this score and I look forward to exploring possibilities for embedding Four Winds even more deeply in its local community, enriching its audiences and working with partners new and existing to take it strongly into its next phase.”

Leigh Small has worked at the top of the arts sector for more than 30 years. She was executive director of Sydney Dance Company during a ten-year high point in Graeme Murphy’s tenure, and from 2010 to 2022 was CEO of the Sydney Film Festival, during in which the festival doubled in scale, audience and revenue. She has held executive and board positions across many of Sydney’s leading cultural organisations, including the Sydney Opera House, Sydney Theatre Company and Belvoir St Theatre.

As a freelance producer, she has worked with Queensland Performing Arts Centre and the English National Ballet, and produced The Iliad Out Loud for the Sydney and Adelaide festivals, and 2021 Four Winds Festival. Recently she has worked with Wendy Beckett on developing theatrical productions for the Australian market, and strategic planning for Redline Productions at the Old Fitz in Sydney.