PAAF Management Committee 2025
Chairperson
Patricia Wozniak
Patricia (Trish)is a visual artist, arts worker, and curator based in Adelaide, on Kaurna land. She holds a Master of Visual Arts from the South Australian School of Art.
Her multidisciplinary practice spans sculpture, photography, drawing, painting, and installation. Patricia often collaborates with other artists and engages with diverse communities on culturally relevant and accessible projects. She has a particular interest in working with found objects and experimenting with alternative materials.
Patricia has curated and exhibited her work both locally and internationally, including at major festivals and cultural events
Deputy Chairperson
Pat Rix
Pat is an Artistic Director, writer and composer whose contribution to Australia’s cultural life through her artistic practice and leadership is recognised by The Premier’s Award for Lifetime Achievement, the Critics Circle Lifetime Achievement Award, Creative Australia’s Ros Bower Award, and the AFF Bettison & James Award.
Pat’s work includes many collaborative festival productions in Australia, South East Asia, Canada, the UK and US, and she is renowned as the Founder of Tutti Arts, a national trailblazer in providing professional opportunities for learning disabled and neuro diverse artists to create visual art, theatre, music, and experimental art.
Pat’s lifelong commitment to the arts continues through her work with Threshold Choir singers, PAAF, and various writing projects.
Community Rep
John Whitney
John Whitney has been a professional artist for thirty-eight years, having begun his career as an Art Teacher, with his last position at West Lakes High School, until he resigned in 1987. He then spent thirty-five years working all over the state as an Artist in Residence, engaging in murals, drawing workshops, sculpture, and printmaking in schools and local councils. John has also been heavily involved in community art projects, including Carclew Youth Arts, WOMADelaide, and has exhibited with PAAF throughout these years. Drawing remains his main passion and preferred medium.
Secretary
Harry Postema
Harry is a recently retired educator having specialised as a secondary teacher in the fields of Creative Arts, Media Studies and Drama. He is also a practising visual artist, better known as Harry Photocopy, creating whimsical interpretations of cultural icons in paint and found object assemblage. In times now past Harry was co-creator of the rebel street art team, Zafari Art, who were (in)famous for their deconstruction of the suburban motor vehicle. Going further back, Harry was founding Director of Mainstreet Community Theatre based in Mt. Gambier, servicing the S.E. Region of S.A.
Harry has been active member of PAAF for the past 5 years as a contributing artist, curator, webmaster and lately as secretary.
Community Rep
Daniel Havey
Daniel lives in Glanville, next to a towering Pepper tree. He is deeply interested in how the experience of place for settlers is enriched by engaging through story, art, research, and mindful reflection on local ecologies and histories. His focus is on creatively extending the sense of community to include the non-human.
Daniel has worked in community mental health and disability settings for over 30 years. He successfully delivered the Animal Stories and Dancing Monsters Placemaking projects in Port Adelaide, drawing local people into community-building approaches that value connections with other-than-human ways of being.
He also facilitates a regular community rhythm group, hosts a podcast, co-facilitates an “Eco-Feelings” group, and writes an online blog about local creeks.
Community Rep
Matt Huppatz
Matt is an artist and thinker who lives on Kaurna land at Rosewater. In addition to his artistic practice, Matt has a PhD in visual arts and has been a lecturer in Contemporary Art at the University of South Australia since 2019. He has been active in community and creative organisations, including being a co-director of FELTspace artist run initiative (2009-2012); a board member at Australian Experimental Art Foundation (2010-12); a co-founder and facilitator of Dancing Room (2011-14); Visual Arts program assistant at Adelaide Festival of Arts 2012; and general manager at the Contemporary Art Centre of South Australia (2012-2014).
Treasurer
Debra Thorsen
Debra Thorsen began her career as the venue manager at NOVO Arts in New York in 1979. She is a Graduate from Sydney College of the Arts with a BA in Visual Communication Design and MA from University of Western Sydney in Art Therapy and BA (Hons) Degree in Screen Studies from Flinders University.
Currently Debra is the Creative Producer of the Semaphore Music Festival (since 2005); The Port Rocks (2010 - 2020); and River Songs (2018- 2022). She worked as an Event Co-ordinator on May Day in the Port in 2021 and is the Treasurer of PAAF. Debra was honoured to receive the Rex Munn Cultural Heritage Award from the Port of Adelaide National Trust in 2022.