Atul Joshi has been appointed as the Australia Council’s director of key organisations

Having started his career in the arts as a French horn player, Mr Joshi completed his Bachelor of Music in Performance at the University of Sydney in 1982.

As a musician he performed with the ABC Sinfonia, Sydney Symphony and the Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra, prior to travelling to Vienna for advanced instrumental studies with the aid of a Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Trust Fund for Young Australians.

Mr Joshi moved into arts administration on his return to Australia and completed a Master of Business Administration degree at the Australian Graduate School of Management in 1990.

Since then he has worked as director of marketing for the State Opera of South Australia, and general manager of Griffin Theatre Company in Sydney.

Mr Joshi has been general manager of the State Theatre Company of South Australia since 1997. During his tenure, he has also served on the Leadership, International and Mid Career Fellowships grant assessment panel for Arts SA, and was a board member and treasurer for Adelaide’s Feast Festival.

Mr Joshi was a recipient of the Churchill Fellowship in 2000 and took part in the Governor’s Leadership Foundation’s Leadership Development program in 2001.

The Council’s new key organisations section will give the organisation a better understanding of the health of key arts organisations and whole sectors. This is vital to support their long-term sustainability and should lead to more effective funding, better-coordinated policies, and well-grounded bids for new support.

The key organisations team will provide advice in relation to financial analysis, strategy, business planning, marketing, corporate governance, and the operational and strategic issues facing arts organisations.