S5:E9 We are a gigantic arts project... Katrina Sedgwick, Director & CEO, Melbourne Arts Precinct Corporation
Guest
Katrina Sedgwick
In conversation with
Adrian Ellis
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.
Date of Recording
31 July 2025
Date of Publication
28 August 2025
[00:00:00]
Katrina Sedgwick: We are effectively a gigantic arts project. And the arts is all about partnership, about collaboration, about resourcefulness, about accountability, about creative solutions, about passion and working together to get an incredible outcome.
[00:00:18]
THEME MUSIC
[00:00:23]
Adrian Ellis: Hello, and welcome to The Three Bells. This podcast is part of the fifth season produced by AEA for the Global Cultural Districts Network. The focus is, as always, the relationship between cultural and urban life, and the ways in which cultural life contributes to urban vitality, and vice versa. The series and supporting materials can be found at www.thethreebells.net. And if you like our content, please subscribe and give us a positive review on your favourite podcast listening platform.
I'm Adrian Ellis, the chair of GCDN and the director of AEA Consulting. And I'm delighted to have as our guest on The Three Bells, Katrina Sedgwick. Katrina is the director, the first director, I believe, and CEO of the Melbourne Arts Precinct Corporation – which I suspect we will be calling MAP during the course of this conversation.
And I think you have been there since mid or early 2022. And before we talk about MAP and the extraordinary capital project that represents for Melbourne, and indeed for Victoria and Australia, I think our listeners would love to know a little bit more about you and the path by which you arrived at MAP. So a little bit about your background before we talk about MAP would be fantastic.
And thank you again for coming this podcast.
[00:01:42]
Katrina Sedgwick: Well, thank you so much for inviting me.
…
External Links
Melbourne Arts Precinct Transformation (MAP Co) – The official site detailing the AU$1.7B redevelopment, including Federation Square, the new NGV Contemporary, and Laak Boorndap garden.
NGV Contemporary – The Fox: NGV Contemporary – Australia’s largest gallery dedicated to contemporary art and design, currently under development.
Arts Centre Melbourne Redevelopment – Major upgrades underway to the State Theatre and Theatres Building, including new underground facilities.
Laak Boorndap – A new 18,000m² public garden designed with Traditional Owners, led by landscape architecture firm Hassell.
Laak Boorndap Test Garden – a living window into the future of Laak Boorndap.
Koorie Heritage Trust – A First Nations cultural organisation and anchor tenant at Federation Square.
Lendlease – Construction partner leading both the Northern and Southern project packages.
About our Guest
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. +
