Usually we've got about four to six events on the go at any one time. They range from exhibitions at Nishi Gallery through to courtyard cinema sessions at A.Baker, music gigs at Monster and Hotel Hotel to slightly larger gigs like a Canberra Symphony Orchestra ensemble. Last year we were organising the National Gallery of Australia's after party which was called Light After Dark, or it might be events like Art, Not Apart and the Greek Film Festival.

How did you get a start in the events industry?

I like to run night-time events; my background is in underground DJ events so I've tried not to lose touch of that since I started the ANU party society UniVibes back in 2007.

I've always taken a liking to the events and arts industry. My interest has always been in starting a music and arts venue but because it's so hard to find the right place in Canberra to do that I found myself more involved in the events side of things. I still have a long-term vision to get that arts and music venue running.

What are you working towards at the moment?

I'm on the board of Music ACT as well, which is a really important and more administrative role for helping events become more accepted and easier to run. We've been working with the government towards a one-stop shop for events because at the moment events managers have to go through up to 17 government agencies for an event like Art, Not Apart. I'm also working on that festival each day and it's got an exciting future.

What do you hope to achieve in what you do?

My background is in cultural philosophy – I did my thesis on how an artistic culture can create more meaning in individuals and in society, so that is my ultimate drive.

Art is a really great metaphor for exploring how society works, what's wrong with it and what should be celebrated. When we have a large-scale event we start getting a wider reflection of Canberra's artistic scenes for people to explore and find what they really like. I think it's really important for self-belief as well as establishing a stronger connection with the place in which we live.

What is your vision for Canberra in five years' time?

More readiness by organisations and policy to facilitate better artistic practice. There's not enough policy, money and venues supporting the artistic scenes at the moment and we need to change that. I hope that in five years we'll see huge amounts of unique artistic activity in ways where we don't think 'Oh this is very Melbourne' or 'This is very hipster' but something that is unique to Canberra. I'd like us to have our own identity in terms of art. No one wants to copy someone else's culture, Canberra needs to have its own. We are growing our own cultural identity now and it is one of significance.

What will be Canberra's point of difference in its cultural identity?

Hopefully something more intelligent. We have the most educated population per capita of any city in the country, and we are also the most resourced, so I think that's going to result in really intelligent thought-provoking cultural icons, and also ones that utilise the geography that we've got like the beautiful lakes and the institutions. There's a level of quality here that is incomparable – no one can reach the heights of art as well as the National Gallery but we can partner with organisations and share knowledge and contacts so that we can get a really cutting-edge art scene here.