Meet our Team

Location: Perth/Boorloo (Whadjuk Boodja)

Carla has been at Regional Arts WA for 11 years in various roles including managing Shows on the Go touring, Indian Ocean Territories touring, Sand Tracks remote Aboriginal music tour and RAF funding rounds including Quick Response and Project Fund. In her current role as Project Officer Arts Development, Carla is responsible for supporting, coordinating, and implementing arts-related programs and initiatives to foster the growth and vitality of the regional arts sector.

Previously she has worked in administrative roles for Art on the Move and Spare Parts Puppet Theatre and has a Diploma in Photography and a Bachelor Degree in Community Development and Sociology. In her spare time she works for a local, boutique record label and is also a DJ.

Nat aims to bring her passions for travel, the arts and marketing together at Regional Arts WA and contributes to the visual and written marketing efforts at Regional Arts WA as Communications Officer.

Nat is a visual artist and arts worker based in Boorloo (Perth). In 2014 she completed a Bachelor of Arts (Art and Design Studies) at Curtin University and has studied art at Kingston University, London. Nat has also completed a Master of Commerce (Marketing) at Curtin University and has since worked in various roles in organisations such as Paper Mountain and the Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery.

In 2019, Nat decided to pursue a professional arts practice which has led to being a finalist in the 2023 Lester Prize at the Art Gallery of Western Australia, a solo exhibition at Paper Mountain Gallery, winning the City of Canning 2022 Resident Art Award and exhibited in group shows at Nysiztor Studio, the Moores Building of Contemporary Art and the BIPOC department at the University of Canberra. Nat is a studio artist at ROOK, Artist-Run-Initiative and has recently been awarded an Arts Grant from the Town of Victoria Park to co-create a public art project which investigates stories of migration around the iconic Vic Park cafe strip.

Jaala ensures the workplace run smoothly by planning and coordinating activities at Regional Arts WA, as our Operations Officer.

Jaala is a dedicated and accomplished Executive Assistant with over 15 years of experience in project coordination across public and private sectors in the UK and Australia. She excels in providing high-level support to executives, ensuring their efficiency in tackling strategic priorities. Beyond her professional achievements, Jaala’s love and passion for regional and remote Australia have driven her to extensive travel throughout Western Australia, the Northern Territory, and Queensland, fostering a deep connection with these unique regions. Her commitment to supporting executives and her exploration of Australia’s diverse landscapes exemplify her multifaceted expertise and genuine dedication.

 Lemon ensures the grant applications run smoothly whilst also assists connecting our networks at Regional Arts WA as a Project Officer in Networking and Investment. Lemon is passionate about nurturing connections through arts and culture, ensuring their accessibility and prominence in regional communities.

With a thriving background as an artist and arts worker, Lemon has spent 12 years living regionally in Ravensthorpe where her career began with a Cert III business traineeship at the Ravensthorpe Community Resource Centre. Her pursuit of knowledge led her to the Esperance-Ravensthorpe Future Leaders program, where she pursued Cert IV in Leadership and Management. Concurrently, she joined the Ravensthorpe Regional Arts Council, initially in an administrative capacity, later incorporating the pivotal role of lighting and sound operations into her skillset after being successful in applying to the 2021 Next Level YCulture funding. 

Fun fact: Rabbits have 28 teeth that grow continuously throughout their lives! This means that a diet of 80% hay is so important to wear down their teeth. They can be litter trained and they don’t love to be picked up! 

Location: Perth/Boorloo (Whadjuk Noongar Boodja)

Gemma is currently the Network Coordinator at Regional Arts WA and oversees parts of the Regional Arts Network initiative, including Hub development and the Creative Leadership Program. Gemma has worked at Regional Arts WA since 2010, where she has held various positions in operations, marketing, funding, and project management.  

Gemma graduated from Murdoch University in 2008 with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Public Relations and has since worked within the WA arts and culture sector for 15 years. These include the Perth Theatre Company and Georgia Malone Consulting, where she worked on the Perth International Jazz Festival, Fairbridge Festival, and the Performing Arts WA Awards.  

Gemma is a former panellist for the Propel Youth Arts WA’s Drug Aware YCulture Metro grant and the Department of Culture and the Arts grants for four years, she also sat on the 2014 National Youth Week KickstART Festival panel and was the volunteer Marketing Coordinator at TEDxPerth in 2015. 

She has also spent two years living and working in the small regional Japanese town of Sasayama in Hyogo prefecture and was recently the Secretary of the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Alumni Association. 

Location: Mandurah/Mandjoogoordap (Bindjareb Noongar Boodja)

As General Manager, Catherine oversees the operations, marketing, finance and arts investment functions at Regional Arts WA.

Catherine has worked in the Western Australian cultural sector for more than two decades. She comes from a farming family and her early years were spent on a cattle station in the Northern Territory and then a sheep farm in South Australia. She trained as a dancer and actor, then worked in arts administration roles (including at Country Arts WA in the 1990s) before being appointed the inaugural Young People and the Arts Officer at the Department of Culture and the Arts.

She moved on to senior roles in arts policy at the Department and managed teams with responsibility for arts funding and arts programs. Catherine was central to the development of the statewide Cultural Signposts regional arts and culture policy in the 2000s, gaining extensive knowledge of the networks, structures and people that make up the regional arts sector in WA.

She transitioned to international relations work for State Government and most recently, was Business Manager for The University of Western Australia’s Confucius Institute (a language and cultural centre). Catherine is thrilled to be returning to the arts and looks forward to reconnecting with old friends and making many new ones as we work together to forge a connected and thriving regional arts sector.

Location: Geraldton/Jambinu 

As Network Coordinator at Regional Arts WA, Alysha coordinates advocacy, leadership and strategy for the Regional Arts Network. 

Alysha began her career at the Department of Culture and the Arts, delivering policy, research and cultural infrastructure planning. After travelling and living overseas, she discovered a new movement called placemaking and has worked for a decade as a senior place planner in town planning companies advising governments and property developers across Australia. She has also worked as a place planner in local government. 

Alysha influenced exemplary projects such as the Museum of Perth, Hibernian Place, Perth Girls’ School and Curtin University’s place activation. She designed WA’s first regional cultural infrastructure grant program and, in 2020, co-authored an industry discussion paper about percent for art policy in local government.   

Alysha holds a Bachelor of Arts (Fine Art) with first-class Honours and has completed university studies in regional planning, creative placemaking, strategic cultural tourism planning and Noongar language and culture. She is a local producer and freelance creative placemaking consultant in her spare time.     

Location: Boyup Brook and the Kennedy Ranges

Our Investment Coordinator, Hannah coordinates the Regional Arts WA Investment Program, including the Regional Arts Fund and other grant programs that occur from time to time. The position is also responsible for overseeing and administering grants that support artists, arts organisations, and cultural projects.

Hannah has studied business management and worked for Country Music Club of Boyup Brook for five years in administration prior to joining the team at Regional Arts WA in July 2015.  Hannah has also completed an internship at West Australia Music (WAM) during 2015 and was a peer assessor for the Department of Culture and the Arts and Drug Aware YCulture Regional program.  Hannah is inspired by regional art organisations delivering events and seeing projects come alive in regional Western Australia that create positive impact in regional communities.

Location: Perth/Boorloo (Whadjuk Noongar Boodja)

Dr Pilar Kasat is the CEO of Regional Arts WA and is responsible for the overall management, decision-making and direction of the organisation.

Pilar is well-regarded for her work across the arts sector in Western Australia. She was the Managing Director of Community Arts Network (2004 – 2015) before researching the role of the arts in driving social change, leading to her being a regular voice in national and international forums. Most recently, she was Interim Executive Producer at the Last Great Hunt.

She brings a wealth of knowledge earned from non-executive roles such as chairwoman of Art on the Move, and previously the inaugural chairwoman of Women of Colour Australia, deputy chair of Diversity Arts Australia, Peer Assessor of the Australia Council and served on the board of the Chamber of Arts and Culture WA for six years

Martin uses his extensive experience and expertise in accounting, fulfilling the role as Finance Officer at Regional Arts WA.

Martin was raised in a family of musicians in Perth. After school he studied Commerce at UWA and gained his Chartered Accountancy status at PWC. His career took him to Europe to work in banking then to the Great Ocean Road in Victoria where he had his own restaurant and accommodation business near the ocean where we were “Victoria’s Greenest Table”. A stint in Melbourne at Writers Victoria led him into working in the arts space and he hasn’t looked back and now has Finance Consulting roles in WA, Victoria, Tasmania and NT.