Our host, Stephanie Fortunato speaks with Andrea Dempster Chung, Co-Founder & Executive Director of Kingston Creative, about their long-term strategy to build a cultural district in downtown Kingston – and what it takes to turn natural talent into a thriving creative ecosystem.
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About the guest:
Andrea Dempster Chung, is an engineer, entrepreneur and executive. She is the Cofounder and Executive Director of Kingston Creative an organisation seeking to transform Downtown; the founder of Bookophilia, a bookstore that promotes Caribbean literature and the founder of Go Global Art, an art marketing platform which helps artists from developing countries gain access to global markets. +
Hilary Knight speaks with Rachel Parent, Directrice Générale HUB Montréal about building a global creative network at the intersection of culture, tech, and business – and why keeping things human is more important than ever.
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About our guest:
Rachel Parent, is Directrice Génréale of HUB Montréal, an international market event for digital creativity. She leads strategy and development for HUB’s global network of cultural, technological, and creative sector participants. Previously active in the music and screen industries, Rachel brings a cross-sectoral perspective to how innovation happens in cultural ecosystems. +
In this new episode of Reflections from The Three Bells, Adrian Ellis reflects on the slow unravelling of downtowns – and what it will take to reimagine them as civic, cultural, and residential spaces fit for the 21st century.
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About our contributor:
Adrian Ellis is the founder of AEA Consulting (1990) and the Global Cultural Districts Network (2013). He has worked in senior management and as a board member in both museums and the performing arts and as a strategy consultant to leading clients in the cultural, public, and business sectors around the world. +
Adrian Ellis speaks with Katrina Sedgwick, Director & CEO of MAP Co, to discuss the ambitiously complex transformation of Melbourne’s arts precinct – and how principles of collaboration, creativity, and care are guiding one of Australia’s largest cultural infrastructure projects.
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Guest bio
Katrina Sedgwick OAM, is the inaugural CEO of MAP Co. She has held leadership roles across festivals, film, broadcasting, and museums – including as Head of Arts at ABC Television and Director & CEO of ACMI, Australia’s national museum of screen culture. She led ACMI’s $40 million transformation before joining MAP Co in 2022. +
Stephanie Fortunato speaks with Mouna Andraos and Melissa Mongiat of Daily tous les jours about their book Strangers Need Strange Moments Together, participatory urban art, and why moments of shared joy between strangers are essential to building healthy, resilient cities.
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About our guests:
Mouna Andraos & Melissa Mongiat, are the co-founders and co-directors of Daily tous les jours, a Montreal-based award-winning art and design studio known for creating large-scale interactive installations that invite public participation. Their work blends storytelling, technology, and design to transform everyday environments into spaces of encounter and collective imagination. +
In this new episode of Reflections from The Three Bells, Adrian Ellis, shares insights on capital project planning and the value of defining purpose and impact before building and design.
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About the contributor:
Adrian Ellis is the founder of AEA Consulting (1990) and the Global Cultural Districts Network (2013). He has worked in senior management and as a board member in both museums and the performing arts and as a strategy consultant to leading clients in the cultural, public, and business sectors around the world. +
Our host, Hilary Knight speaks with Freya Salway, Head of the Lab at Google Arts and Culture Lab which engages artists, institutions and audiences through experimentation with new digital technology. They discuss the lab’s mission, collaborations, and approach to R&D and partnerships.
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Guest bio
Freya Salway is head of the lab at Google Arts & Culture, collaborating with artists, technologists, curators, scientists and cultural institutions globally to explore the application of advanced technologies for arts and culture.
Since 2018, she has supported artistic experimentation with A.I. through residency programs and bespoke collaborations, partnering with renowned artists, innovators and cultural organizations. She has also worked as an independent consultant, enabling artists, brands and broadcasters to deliver creative projects, and previously led arts partnerships for Sky Arts, the U.K.'s only TV channel dedicated to the arts.
In this new episode of Reflections from The Three Bells, Hilary Knight explores the fast-evolving immersive experience landscape, where big players scale up rapidly and independent creators strive to remain empowered to help shape its future.
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About the contributor:
Hilary Knight is a creative leader with over 20 years of experience driving strategy, innovation, and digital transformation for cultural organisations worldwide. Currently a Senior Associate with AEA Consulting, she has held senior roles at the BBC, Channel 4, Film4, and Tate, where she led pioneering initiatives that embedded digital thinking and expanded audiences. +
Our host, Stephanie Fortunato speaks with Shey 'Rí Acu' Rivera Ríos, Artist – Writer – Cultural Worker from Providence, Rhode Island, by way of Borikén. Together, they delve into Shey’s visionary, interdisciplinary work at the intersection of art, civic engagement, and cultural advocacy. At the heart of their conversation: storytelling, identity, community, and resilience.
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Guest bio:
Shey ‘Rí Acu’ Rivera Ríos, Shey 'Rí Acu' Rivera Ríos (they/them) is an interdisciplinary artist and cultural worker who uses storytelling across mediums to create immersive worlds of magic and liberation. Rivera was born and raised in Borikén/Puerto Rico and is based in Providence, RI - land of the Narragansett and Wampanoag peoples. +
In this new episode of Reflections from The Three Bells, Adrian Ellis, shares key insights from AEA Consulting’s Cultural Infrastructure Index – now in its ninth edition.
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Contributor's bio:
Adrian Ellis is the founder of AEA Consulting (1990) and the Global Cultural Districts Network (2013). He has worked in senior management and as a board member in both museums and the performing arts and as a strategy consultant to leading clients in the cultural, public, and business sectors around the world. +
Our host, Adrian Ellis, speaks with Rachel Moore, President & CEO of The Music Center in Los Angeles, about the organization’s evolving role as both a cultural and civic anchor – from its response to recent local challenges and its leadership in the newly designated Grand Avenue Cultural District, to its commitment to democratic values, inclusive programming, and long-term relevance.
Guest bio:
Rachel Moore is the President & CEO of The Music Center in Los Angeles, one of the largest performing arts centers in the U.S., where she oversees programming, civic partnerships, and a portfolio of over $3B in public assets. A former professional dancer with American Ballet Theatre, she went on to become its CEO and spearheaded nationally recognized diversity and policy initiatives in the arts.
With deep experience in cultural leadership, public service, and nonprofit finance, Moore has served on numerous boards, advised on arts equity and Olympic planning, and authored The Artist’s Compass. She is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and continues to advocate for the civic value of the arts in public life.
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In this new episode of Reflections from The Three Bells, Stephanie Fortunato explores the power of practicing radical joy as a guiding principle for cultural leadership in an increasingly divided and hostile era where empathy is too often mistaken for weakness...
Contributor bio:
Stephanie Fortunato is Director of Special Projects of the Global Cultural Districts Network. Her expertise sits at the intersection of cultural planning and urban development, collaborating with local communities on creating policies and partnerships to strengthen neighbourhoods and transform public spaces. +
Our host, Stephanie Fortunato, speaks to Nourhan Bassam, Founding Director of The Gendered City. They discuss the necessity to rethink how cities can be more socially inclusive, the role Cultural Districts can play in promoting that inclusivity, and the many inspiring initiatives Nourhan is championing to push feminist urbanism forward.
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Guest bio:
Nourhan Bassam, a feminist urbanist and architect with a Ph.D. in Urban Design and Placemaking, is the visionary behind "The Gendered City" which started as a book and grew into an organization. The Gendered City works on diverse feminist urban projects and research fields all centered on creating just and gender-equal cities through feminist placemaking and active citizen participation. +
Mapping empathy… In this audio essay, Hilary Knight shares the many benefits of empathy in improving an organization’s workflow and enhancing visitor experience – and offers a framework to leverage it.
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Contributor bio:
Hilary Knight is a creative leader with over 20 years of experience driving strategy, innovation, and digital transformation for cultural organisations worldwide. Currently a Senior Associate with AEA Consulting, she has held senior roles at the BBC, Channel 4, Film4, and Tate, where she led pioneering initiatives that embedded digital thinking and expanded audiences. +
Our host, Hilary Knight, interviews Anab Jain, Co-Founder and Creative Director of Superflux, to explore the studio’s innovative work of creating visceral experiences that encourage audiences to imagine theoretical futures, and the power of tapping into human emotion.
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LinkedIn:
Guest Bio:
Anab is a designer, futurist, filmmaker and educator. As Co-founder and Director of Superflux, she catalyses the Studio’s mission to leave a meaningful legacy for our planet and its future custodians. https://superflux.in/index.php/team/anab/#
In this second episode of Reflections from The Three Bells, our host, Adrian Ellis, shares his personal perspective on the evolving responsibilities of cultural institutions and their role in navigating an increasingly polarized world.
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Credits:
The Three Bells podcast is produced by AEA Consulting for the Global Cultural Districts Network (GCDN). Episode direction by Gregorio Lucena Scarpella. Production support by Alyssa Cartwright. Sound mixing and theme music by Artwave Studio. The views and opinions expressed by the hosts are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of AEA or GCDN.
Our host, Stephanie Fortunato, speaks with Natasha Sharma, co-Curator of the Govandi Arts Festival, about how engagement with the arts and creative interventions can help displaced or overlooked communities reclaim space, agency, and narratives of belonging.
In this first episode of our new format, our host, Stephanie Fortunato, shares her latest reflections on the state of our world and our industry through a thoughtful audio essay: We must unleash radical thought…
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