Chair of the Australia Council for the Arts, Rupert Myer AM today welcomed the announcement by Minister for the Arts, the Hon. Tony Burke MP that Tony Grybowski has been named as the Australia Council’s new CEO.

“The members of the Council, our staff and members of artistic communities across Australia join me in expressing our delight that Tony has been appointed CEO, effective immediately,” said Mr Myer.
 
“Tony has been Executive Director, Arts Organisations at the Australia Council for the past five years and is well known to artists and arts organisations for his passion and commitment to creativity.
 
“He knows the arts landscape very well and from all perspectives – as a musician, an arts administrator and a member of state and federal funding organisations. He has worked extensively with youth and community arts and will bring a unique blend of experience to the role of CEO.”
 
Tony Grybowski has spent a lifetime in the arts that include many years as a performing musician. In Arts Administration, Tony has 25 years of experience which include management positions with the Sydney Symphony, Musica Viva Australia and seven years as General Manager of the Australian Youth Orchestra. He also spent a period with the
State Government of Victoria at Arts Victoria. His experience covers work with individual artists across the spectrum of art forms and arts organisations, both large and small, in Australia and internationally. 

Tony Grybowski said he was honoured to be taking on the role. “For me, this is the best job in Australia. Being vitally involved in nurturing and supporting creative expression of all kinds, at a time marked by technological change and extraordinary innovation in the sector, is a challenge of the most exciting kind.

“With the announcement of the new National Cultural Policy, Creative Australia and passage of the legislation to make the Australia Council more flexible and responsive will come great opportunity. I see an even more exciting future for the arts in Australia and for the Council’s role, including the new proposed Sector Strategy Panels, in supporting and developing a more creative and enriched community,” he said.

Mr Myer praised Libby Christie who has acted in the role of Chief Executive since 1 January for navigating the organisation through an unprecedented period of change that included the release of Creative Australia and the introduction of the new Australia Council legislation into Parliament.

“We are very fortunate to have an executive of Libby’s talent within our ranks and we thank her for her stewardship of the organisation at an extremely active time for the arts sector.”

Mr Myer said Tony Grybowski’s appointment comes after an extensive search.

“We naturally cast our net widely, but were very pleased to find our internal succession planning has delivered us the outstanding candidate,” he said.

Tony Grybowski – Biography
 
Tony Grybowski was educated in Melbourne and graduated from the University of Melbourne with degrees in music and education in 1988. Tony commenced his career in Arts Administration with the Victorian Arts Centre, working with the State Orchestra of Victoria. He subsequently spent three years working with the Sydney Symphony and in 1992 was appointed to the position of Planning and Operations Manager with Musica Viva Australia, a position he held for 6 years. In 1998 Tony was appointed to the position of General Manager of the AustralianYouth Orchestra and steered this national company through a period of significant growth and development. After seven years with the AYO, Tony returned to Victoria and joined the Arts Victoria as General Manager of the Programming and Innovation Unit, leading a range of cultural policy work. Tony joined the Australia Council in November 2007 as Executive Director, Arts Organisations Division.

During his career Tony has served on a range of Boards and Committees, including; Deputy Chair Youth Music Australia, Board of the Institute of the Arts at the Australian National University and the Orchestral Association of Australia. Tony was an inaugural member of the Australia Council’s Youth Panel and served for five years on Arts NSW’s Music Committee and as Deputy Chair of the Queensland based contemporary music ensemble, Elision.

http://www.australiacouncil.gov.au/news/items/news-features/australia-council-welcomes-new-ceo-tony-grybowski