Photo: Nic Walker
Gill Minervini
Festival Director – Vivid Sydney
Bio
Creative director, producer, curator and consultant with more than 30 years’ experience in festivals and large-scale event direction. Known for her innovation, creativity, inclusiveness, financial effectiveness and strategic direction, Gill delivers memorable experiences that increase visitation and build profile for destinations through creative activity.
Her company, Gill Minervini Creative, provides festival and event direction, public art curation, creative and strategic advice to a range of clients including the Adelaide Festival, Museum of Old & New Art (MONA), Barangaroo Delivery Authority, Rugby League World Cup, Transport for NSW, City of Melbourne, City of Parramatta, Tourism WA, Events and Tourism Tasmania.
Gill was appointed Festival Director of Vivid Sydney in March 2021 and directed the 2022 and ’23 festivals. Produced by Destination NSW, Vivid Sydney is the biggest event in Australia and the largest light, music, food and ideas festival in the Southern Hemisphere. The 2023 festival was the most successful to date, from both critical and attendance perspectives, with nearly 3.5 million people enjoying the “best Vivid Sydney ever” and winning 17 International Festivals and Events Association Awards including the Gold Grand Pinnacle Award – the “Oscar” of the events industry.
Other highlights include as the Curator, Event Director and Artistic Associate of the Riverbank Palais for the 2017 – 2019 Adelaide Festival, Strategist and Curator of the B-Line Public Art Project for Transport for NSW (2019), director and producer of the Barangaroo Welcome Celebrations (Sydney) and producer/ director of Dark MOFO’s Winter Feast for MONA (Hobart).
Gill also directs major outdoor activations at the Docklands for the City of Melbourne, achieving record attendances for Firelight Festival in 2017 – 2019. She directed the opening ceremony of the 2017 Rugby League World Cup at AAMI Stadium in Melbourne. In 2017 she was the Creative Director of ArtMoves, a public art project for Transport for NSW and was an Artistic Associate of the Barangaroo Delivery Authority.
Gill was the first Festival Director of Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras directing the festival and many large-scale parties and parade entries as well as the Creative Director of the successful Sydney 2002 Gay Games bid.
Formerly Creative Director/ Producer for City of Sydney Events, Gill directed the City’s major event program, including Lunar New Year Festival – the largest celebration of the lunar new year outside of China; Art & About Sydney – an international public art festival; and Sydney’s Christmas Celebrations, attracting a combined annual audience of more than two million people.
Gill has extensive media experience having been a TV presenter for Foxtel and Network 10 as a regular panellist on Beauty and the Beast and hosting the live telecast of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade for several years. She has also been an announcer on ABC Radio, 2UE, FBI and OUT FM. She is also regularly engaged as a speaker, facilitator and host for a variety of functions.
Gill has a Master of Creative Arts from the University of Wollongong.