Our People
Staff & Volunteers
Kate O'Hara
Director
(she / her / hers)
Kate O'Hara is a dedicated arts professional with over 20 years of experience across institutional, not-for-profit, commercial, and independent arts sectors. Kate takes an innovative and thoughtful approach to her work, thriving in dynamic, multifaceted environments.
Since joining Umbrella in 2020, Kate has been instrumental in the organisation's growth. Working with the Umbrella team and Management Committee, she has focused on building partnerships, commissioning artists, and creating development and presentation opportunities. Her efforts extend beyond the gallery, bringing art to life on tour and in the stunning landscapes of North Queensland through the biennial PUNQ Festival.
Before her role at Umbrella, Kate managed Maningrida Art & Culture, a prominent Indigenous art centre in Arnhem Land. Earlier in her career, she worked with various arts organisations in Southeast Asia, including serving as the inaugural Curator and Manager of Romeet Contemporary Art Space in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Kate particularly enjoys working with diverse contemporary art communities and assisting with developing innovative programs to grow artist platforms and audience engagement.
Daniel Qualischefski
Deputy Director
(he / him / his)
Daniel Qualischefski is a curator, arts professional and artist who has worked in regional and contemporary galleries across eastern Australia. His roles have encompassed exhibition and project management, including budgeting and successfully applying for grants, design, public programs, marketing and collection management.
Daniel has delivered a number of significant projects at Umbrella, including co-curating with Kate O'Hara the nationally touring POSTWORLD exhibition, and curating the NAFA-commissioned FORCED PERSPECTIVE. In partnership with Townsville City Galleries, Daniel has also managed four years of the Transitions program, providing mentorship, critique and development for emerging North Queensland visual artists. Daniel was the 2023 recipient of a Museums and Galleries Queensland funded mentorship at the National Gallery of Australia and a participant in the 2021 QAGOMA Art as Exchange program on Girramay Country / Cardwell, North Queensland.
Daniel holds a Master of Arts and Cultural Management from the University of Melbourne, a Bachelor of Visual Arts and a Bachelor of Visual Arts (Creative Arts), Honours from the University of Southern Queensland (UniSQ). He was the inaugural 2023 UniSQ School of Creative Arts Alumni Fellow.
Daniel also creates multidisciplinary work under the artist pseudonym of Danish Quapoor. He has had work, reviews and writing published in the Journal of Australian Ceramics, Art Guide, Imprint and Lemonade Letters.
Amanda Galea
Business Manager
(she / her)
Amanda Galea has been a pivotal force at Umbrella since joining the team in 2020. With a strong foundation and accreditation in visual arts and business, Amanda has successfully managed various projects and initiatives. Her tenure as Festival Administrator for Pop Up North Queensland (PUNQ) showcased her ability to coordinate complex events. As Arts Administrator (2022), she demonstrated her expertise in supporting artists and cultural programs through curation, marketing, administration and financial management.
Beyond her formal roles, Amanda has actively contributed to the arts community through volunteer work. Her passion for photography has been invaluable in capturing the essence of Umbrella's exhibitions and events, ensuring their effective dissemination across all communication channels.
Erin Ricardo
Arts Program Manager
(she / her / hers)
Erin Ricardo leads Umbrella’s diverse schedule of public and private workshops, education programs and residencies. She manages the Studio Access Group and has coordinated major projects such as Umbrella's recent First Nations weaving conference Woven Together.
With a background in both visual arts and arts education, Erin has extensive experience delivering arts programs and community projects of diverse scales. She is committed to fostering creative engagement within the community and supporting artists to develop and share their practice.
Before stepping into her current role, Erin has worked in part-time and casual positions at Umbrella, facilitating public programs and coordinating shop consignments. Erin holds a Master of Teaching (Visual Arts) from the University of Melbourne and a Bachelor of Visual Arts with Honours from La Trobe University, Bendigo. She is a printmaker who exhibits her work and enjoys being an active member of the Gurambilbarra / Townsville arts community.
Sonia Warrell
Marketing and Communications Manager
(she / her / hers)
Sonia is a seasoned marketing and communications professional with a proven track record in managing corporate rebranding projects and elevating brand reputation. A critical thinker, she excels at aligning high-level organisational goals with purposeful, marketing initiatives. Sonia's expertise lies in her ability to not only execute creative campaigns but also to measure their impact.
Bringing a passion for collaboration, innovation and operational efficiency, she is dedicated to fostering a culture of continuous improvement. Sonia is committed to leveraging her extensive knowledge to drive audience engagement and ensure Umbrella's mission is communicated with clarity and impact.
Sonia has served on the management committee of Townsville Choral Society, including 2 years as President, establishing systems, policies and procedures. She also contributes her time, marketing expertise and photography skills to local performing arts not-for-profit organisations to help them showcase their community impact through captivating, high quality visual marketing.
Sabrina-Rose Toby
Arts Officer
(she / her / hers)
Sabrina Toby is a proud Gangulu woman from Central QLD who has resided in Gurambilbarra / Townsville for over a decade. Holding an Honours Degree in Visual Arts, her creative journey began under the guidance of her aunty (mum), whose teachings continue to inspire her multidisciplinary practice.
With over two decades in community leadership, Sabrina has served on executive committees for several Aboriginal organisations and founded a successful sporting organisation she managed for five years. Sabrina operates her micro-Aboriginal art business, Bara Bidyiri, and is passionate about exploring diverse mediums that reflect connection, culture, and identity.
As an Arts Officer with the Regional Arts Services Network (RASN), Sabrina supports artists and communities across the Gulf region. After completing her Creative Producer role for PUNQ Festival (2024), she joined Umbrella Studio Contemporary Arts in a permanent capacity. Sabrina received Highly Commended in the 2024 QRAA First Nations Artist category, with her artwork currently touring regionally. Her works have also shown at CIAF 2025. She recently curated her debut exhibition, Woven Together: Undivided We Rise.
Volunteering with Big Eye Theatre Inc., an Aboriginal arts organisation since 2019, Sabrina has facilitated art and jewellery workshops and is also a member of their dance group, Mala Jina Jalbu. She serves as the Blak Art Market TSV coordinator. Her practice explores storytelling, cultural identity, and collective healing, ensuring to honour the past while strengthening connections for future generations.
Margaret Robertson
Public Programs & Retail Assistant
Volunteer Studio Facilitator
(she / her / hers)
Margaret Robertson coordinates Umbrella's shop consignments and facilitates some of the weekend public programs. She is an active artist, longstanding Umbrella member and a leader in the Umbrella Studio Access Group (USAG). Margaret and Lynn Scott-Cumming have been appointed by Umbrella to supervise The Studio downstairs (in conjunction with the Arts Program Manager), particularly with regards to the printmaking presses and processes.
Lynn Scott-Cumming
Volunteer Studio Facilitator
(she / her / hers)
Lynn Scott-Cumming is an active artist, longstanding Umbrella member and volunteer, and a leader in the Umbrella Studio Access Group (USAG). Lynn and Margaret Robertson have been appointed by Umbrella to supervise The Studio downstairs (in conjunction with the Arts Program Manager), particularly with regards to the printmaking presses and processes.
Wing Hong Leung
Volunteer Studio Facilitator (darkroom)
(he / him / his)
Wing Hong Leung is a self-taught analogue photographer and a longstanding member of the local film photography community. His efforts were crucial in the set-up of Umbrella's darkroom, and he has been appointed by Umbrella to supervise the darkroom in conjunction with the Arts Program Manager. He enjoys sharing his knowledge about photographic processing and collaborating with the printmakers and other members of The Studio.
Volunteers
Reception Assistants, Gallery Assistants, Exhibition Install Assistants and Interns
Umbrella acknowledges the support of our amazing volunteers, particularly given our relocation and larger footprint (requiring more reception assistance). We are assisted by 26 volunteers with greeting / reception, exhibition installations and demounts, opening events and other tasks. We truly value and appreciate the help of our volunteers.
We also occasionally facilitate internships and work experience for those interested in the gallery world to gain valuable skills and insights.
If you are interested in volunteering or completing an internship with Umbrella Studio, see here: Volunteer
Photography credits
Kate, Alan, Daniel, Erin and Amanda's photos courtesy Amber Haines.
Sabrina's photo courtesy Amanda Galea.
Sonia's photo courtesy Hope Warrell.
Management COMMITTEE
Professor Stephen Naylor
Chairperson
(he / him / his)
Ineke Dane
Vice Chairperson
(she / her / hers)
Ineke Dane is an award-winning curator with a background in contemporary art theory, law, policy, photography and journalism, specialising in cross-disciplinary commissions with artists and architects. She has lived and worked in cities across the globe and currently resides in Meanjin Brisbane, Australia, for her role as Associate Curator, International Art at Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art QAGOMA. Prior to her role with QAGOMA Ineke was Associate | Senior Curator with UAP from 2018 to 2023, where she worked on numerous significant strategies and public art commissions including for the adaptive reuse of the iconic Sirius and AMP Capital Quay Quarter buildings (Sydney), for the redevelopment of Waterfront Place (Brisbane), and for new commercial and educational developments in Melbourne, Sydney, Townsville and Darwin. She also wrote and edited a monograph publication centred on integrated art for Ithra Cultural Centre in Saudi Arabia.
Before moving to Brisbane, Ineke worked with renowned arts philanthropist John Kaldor AO under Kaldor Public Art Projects, and independent public art curator Barbara Flynn, while living in Sydney from 2015 to 2018. In 2021 Ineke was awarded major Australia Council and Arts Queensland grants for her independent curatorial initiative Conversations on Shadow Architecture 2021-2022, a group exhibition which explored the cultural, social and political potential of space and architecture with new commissions from Australian and international artists and architects. Ineke regularly contributes written editorial pieces to art journals and features on panels in conversation with artists.
Brian Tucker CPA
Treasurer
(he / him / his)
Now retired, Brian spent forty years working as an arts accountant, for the last twenty exclusively as an auditor of Arts Organisations and Indigenous Art Centres across Australia. He has used this experience to advocate for and promote the arts and artists, appearing before Senate committees in Canberra to presenting workshops for the Directors of Art Centres in Darwin.
His work as auditor gives him valuable insight into the financial affairs of the not-for-profit arts sector and its resilience in the face of enormous challenges which continue today. He is presently the Treasurer of seven organisations and Chair of another and has occupied similar positions on over twenty organisations, from the tiny Queensland Poets Society to the somewhat larger Queensland Performing Arts Trust.
Apart from financial skills he also brings the benefits of knowledge gained in governance, strategic planning, and mentoring of the next generation. He also has a large collection of contemporary art.
Althea Harding
Secretary
(she / her / hers)
Alan Carpenter
Committee Member
(he / him / his)
Alan’s career has been characterised by leading complex projects transforming corporate vision to reality. After an early career as an engineering surveyor, Alan moved into project management in increasingly complex tasks culminating in leading development of a town in the highlands of Papua New Guinea. This required management of a complex array of disciplines, including, finance and administration, engineering, sociology, town and regional planning and economics and commerce.
More recently, at James Cook University (JCU), Alan led capital planning and development towards reconceiving and reshaping of the Townsville Campus from an isolated and institutional campus into an integrated university town with a thriving knowledge community. Alan led the project known as Discovery Rise from the germ of an idea to its current conception as a blended community of interests encompassing practitioners, researchers, learners and commercial interests. More recently he was employed by JCU as a strategist assisting JCU in enlarging the concept by partnering with Townsville University Hospital in creating a unified and seamless health and knowledge precinct, now called TropiQ. Alan also initiated and directed an energy and water conservation project at JCU which has as its flagship project a large district cooling initiative which ranked as the largest in Australia in terms of thermal energy storage and load shifting. The project has won several national awards.
Alan is now a freelance strategist, Treasurer for Townsville Multicultural Support Group and is nurturing a late career as a 3D artist practitioner.
Open Hours
Tues - Fri: 9am-5pm
Sat - Sun: 9am-1pm
Gallery closed Mondays, public holidays and during exhibition install weeks.
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Contact
408 Flinders Street,
Gurambilbarra / Townsville,
Qld, 4810 Australia
PO Box 2394,
Gurambilbarra / Townsville,
Qld, 4810 Australia
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Acknowledgement of Country
Umbrella Studio Contemporary Arts respectfully acknowledges the Wulgurukaba of Gurambilbarra and Yunbenun and the surrounding groups of our region - Bindal, Gugu Badhun, Nywaigi, Warrgamay, Bandjin and Gudjal - as the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we gather, share and celebrate local creative practice. We pay our respects to Elders past and present. We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders as the first people of Australia. They have never ceded sovereignty and remain strong in their enduring connection to land and Culture.
Umbrella is a Member & Signatory of the Indigenous Art Code. This means we are committed to fair and ethical trade with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists, and transparency in the promotion and sale of artwork. As a Dealer Member and signatory to the Code we must act fairly, honestly, professionally and in good conscience in all direct or indirect dealings with artists.
Help Us Elevate Regional Artists
We champion artists, amplifying their distinctive and authentic voices. We are an inclusive platform for independent, experimental, contemporary arts practice in local, national, and international arts landscapes. We have a 39 year history of connecting artists and audiences and we couldn't do it without your support.
Umbrella Studio Contemporary Arts is registered as a Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) with the Australian Taxation Office. Donations to Umbrella are tax deductible for amounts of $2 or more. Click here to donate.
Acknowledgements
Umbrella is supported by the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland, part of the Department of Education, and the Visual Art, Craft and Design Framework, an initiative of the Australian, state and territory governments. | Umbrella is supported by the Tim Fairfax Family Foundation and receives funding from Creative Australia through the Australian Cultural Fund. | Townsville City Council is a funding partner of Umbrella's program. | Vetta Creative is Umbrella's fortieth anniversary creative partner.
