My name is Kylie Sealy. I’m 38 and live in Sandringham, Auckland
Qualifications:
Bachelor of Spatial Design from AUT
ART Venture acceleration programme
Tells us a bit about your background
I grew up in Auckland on the North Shore. I studied a curious mix of science and arts, which then led me to a Spatial Design degree. Looking back at our family videos, it seems I spent a lot of time organising the other kids, so it’s not too much of a surprise I ended up in the events industry.
Tell us a bit about your career
Previously I was the Managing Director of the New Zealand Comedy Trust, managing the annual NZ International Comedy Festival and leading the Trust’s Development Programme. Over my career in the arts I’ve worked on a number of festivals and events, including Auckland Arts Festival, Tempo Dance Festival and internationally at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
What’s a highlight of your resume/portfolio?
I am incredibly proud of what I achieved during my tenure as Director at the New Zealand Comedy Trust. The Festival developed into a major nationwide event with an attendance of over 100,000 each year. I am proud of the diverse range of voices, perspectives, and styles of comedy that are now presented within the programme, and I loved seeing how audiences responded and grew with us over the years. Alongside presenting the Festival each year, I am also especially proud of the development work we undertook, creating a programme of initiatives aimed at fostering the creative and professional development of comedians, both on and off the stage. Dialogue: Mum’s The Word in particular was a phenomenal show and a very special experience to be involved with this year.
Tell us about your new role
I’ve joined the Ceremonies & Events group at the World Masters Games 2017 as the Programme Delivery Manager. I’m responsible for delivering 10 days (and nights!) of programming within the World Masters Games 2017 Entertainment Hub which will be located at Queens Wharf in Auckland.
Tell us about the organisation/company - mission and vision
The World Masters Games is the largest multi-sport event in the world. Auckland will host the Games for the first time in April 2017, where 25,000+ athletes will compete in 28 sports, across 45 venues, during a 10-day period. Our vision is to deliver the best World Masters Games ever, igniting a passion for participation in masters sports and inspiring the world with stories of human endeavours.
Why did you want this role? What was a perfect fit?
After 14 years with the Comedy Festival, I was looking for a new challenge. I was attracted to the scale of the event – the World Masters Games will be the biggest sporting event in New Zealand since Rugby World Cup 2011, and in terms of athlete numbers it will be bigger than the Olympics. I love that it is an event that celebrates participation – for most sports there are no qualification criteria other than a minimum age (in most cases 30 or 35 years), which means anyone can compete!
What did you need to adapt or learn?
I’d worked on the Comedy Festival since 2002, for the last eight years as the Director. It was an organisation that I knew inside out, and one that I had a huge amount of knowledge of. Learning how to utilise my existing knowledge and skills within a new environment and on a new project has been key.
What combination of people, partners and resources do you work with?
I work within the Ceremonies & Events group. We are currently a team of three, but we are starting to scale up as we get closer to the Games. Within my role I also work with the wider World Masters Games 2017 team, and work closely with our external production, programming and supply partners.
What are some of your recent and upcoming projects?
Delivering an exceptional and memorable experience at the Entertainment Hub is my current focus. It’s a large project with a considerable number of stakeholders, but it is one that I’m excited to be a part of. Following the Games next year, I’ll be looking for a new project to get involved with.
What’s your short and long-term goals?
Short term, the goals for my role are to work with Auckland Festival Trust, who are our programming partner, to create a cohesive and exciting programme of activities for the Entertainment Hub. For the organisation, it’s to deliver the best World Masters Games ever.
What advice would you give to someone pursuing a similar creative career or pathway?
Work on projects that you connect with and have a passion for, ones that both challenge and excite you. Along the way, look at the situations you encounter as learning opportunities and make sure you ask questions. The creative sector is a small industry, so work to develop a broad platform of knowledge and create skills that are able to be transferable across a variety of projects.
What's your number one business tip for surviving and thriving in the creative industries?
For me, being building relationships is the key to success in the creative industries.
What are the challenges and opportunities in your sector?
Within the arts and wider entertainment space there is now a plethora of content available across multiple platforms, both in the live environment and online. I think finding meaningful ways to connect, engage and share stories with audiences is currently both a challenge and an exciting opportunity.
What’s your big idea for 2016?
TBC