The role of SCAF is to provide funding opportunities to support the growth of the arts on the Sunshine Coast in line with its Creative Arts Plan. This includes support for:
Our services include:
SCAF Annual Reports
Download a copy of the Sunshine Coast Arts Foundation Annual Report. Click the link below.
Board of Directors
The Board of Directors of SCAF are a highly skilled group who bring experience in philanthropy, marketing, communication, corporate governance, law, accounting and finance, leadership and creative thinking:
Professor Jennifer Radbourne is a retired academic, working at QUT in Brisbane for over 25 years in the Faculty of Business, and from 2006 to 2011 at Deakin University in Melbourne, retiring as Pro Vice Chancellor of the Faculty of Arts and Education. Her research in arts management and marketing, audience development, philanthropy in the arts and governance in non-profit organisations is published nationally and internationally.
Professor Radbourne has held positions on a variety of government, arts and tertiary education councils and boards. She has consulted to Queensland and Victorian State governments, arts organisations across Queensland and Hong Kong and to the Vietnam Ministry of Culture. Her skills and experience include management and administration, leadership and governance, cultural and aesthetic understandings, communication and visioning and entrepreneurship.
Image: Barry Alsop
Ferre De Deyne is owner operator and managing director of iconic tourist attraction Big Kart Track for over 30 years. He is a former director of Caloundra Tourism, Sunshine Coast Tourism Board and SunnyKids Board. Ferre is a member of several community organisations, especially in the arts and is a generous philanthropist.
Image: Barry Alsop
Tony Sowden is a commercial lawyer with specific expertise in business structures and relationships, organisations law, governance, corporate advisory and not-for-profit entities. Holding a Bachelor of Laws from The University of Queensland, Tony was admitted as a solicitor of the Supreme Court of Queensland in 1986. Having owned and managed commercial law firms on the Sunshine Coast since 1992, Tony has held numerous roles including director, company secretary and/or general counsel for many Sunshine Coast public and private corporations and institutions.
Image: Barry Alsop
Robert Forbes is a chartered accountant and has been involved in the accounting profession for some 45 years. He trained in Sydney with the then firm of Coopers & Lybrand and after qualifying spent two years with the firm in their London UK office. After returning to Australia Robert relocated to Brisbane and joined Bentleys chartered accountants as a manager and was admitted as a partner in 1988. During his time in Brisbane Robert had an extensive client list from the three levels of government, the private sector and not-for-profit organisations. He retired from the firm in 2011 to make the Sunshine Coast his home. Robert is currently treasurer of Queensland Air Museum Inc and a director of Sunshine Coast Events Centre Pty Ltd.
Image: Barry Alsop
Alana Sargent’s extensive background in the arts equips her with a unique blend of creative and strategic expertise. Alana has toured globally, performing with Sydney Dance Company & Australasian Dance Collective (formerly Expressions Dance Company). Through her work as a performer, she has cultivated a profound understanding of the performing arts sector, collaborating with world-renowned artists from across the globe. She has also worked as a costume designer for Queensland Ballet, West Australian Ballet, Zürich Ballet, and the Slovakian National Theatre.
After her dance career, she transitioned seamlessly into a career in arts marketing. These opportunities significantly deepened her appreciation for the arts and emphasised to her the importance of fostering creativity at every level. Alana is now immersing herself in the local arts community and contributing to its vibrant cultural landscape. She is inspired by SCAF’s mission and vision and is fully committed to supporting its strategic objectives and contributing to the cultural enrichment of the Sunshine Coast’s vision of becoming a “healthy, smart, and creative” region.
A graduate of the New York School of Interior Design, Karen has worked in design and development throughout Australia for the past 30 years. She has represented the community on school, medical and women’s business boards. Arts, culture and society have played a significant role in Karen’s professional and personal life since moving to the Sunshine Coast from Melbourne in the early 1990s.
She is committed to elevating the quality and patronage of the arts on the Sunshine Coast and to creating opportunities for community engagement through arts and culture.
Tobias Merz is a passionate arts professional with a stellar career as an opera singer, singing teacher, composer and musician. He has performed with Opera Australia, English National Opera, Opera North (UK), Scottish Opera, Grange Park Opera (UK), Opera Della Luna (UK tour), Carl Rosa Company (UK tour) and The Buxton Gilbert & Sullivan Opera Company. His extensive experience in philanthropy includes cultivating major donor relationships as Director of Development for The Australian Youth Orchestra and the Australian Haydn Ensemble. Having served as SCAF’s Development Officer, Tobias possesses invaluable insight into the regional arts landscape on the Sunshine Coast. He is committed to leveraging his expertise to drive innovative fundraising strategies and significantly strengthen philanthropic support for the Sunshine Coast arts community. He joins the SCAF Board as Major Gifts Advisor.
Joe Natoli moved with his family to the Sunshine Coast in 1970 and he is a well-known and respected member of the Sunshine Coast community, having run several successful retail businesses, held a numerous leadership and civic roles over more than 30 years.
He was first elected as a councillor to the Maroochy Shire Council in 1997, serving three terms and was the last serving Mayor of Maroochy Shire Council up until its amalgamation into the Sunshine Coast Regional Council in 2008. Joe unsuccessfully contested the first election of the newly formed Sunshine Coast Regional Council.
In March 2020 Joe was successfully elected as Division 4 Councillor for the Sunshine Coast Council, was re-elected in 2024 and continues to serve in that role.
Joe has been a keen art collector all his adult life and started and owned an art gallery in Mooloolaba in 1996.
Joe purchased a Tom Roberts painting in 2014 and in 2017 it was featured on Fake or Fortune, the most watched art history program in the world. To date it is the only Australian artwork featured on this program.
Joe has been a strong advocate and supporter of the arts on the Sunshine Coast and during his term as Mayor of Maroochy Shire sponsored two International Sculpture Symposiums as well as commissioned many other public art projects, including the Steve Irwin sculpture at Mooloolaba and “Sisters of Choice” at Nelson Park Alexandra Headland, which was a collaborative sculpture project between the two sister cities, Maroochy Shire and Xiamen city in China.
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INDIGENOUS ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The Sunshine Coast Arts Foundation acknowledges the traditional Country of the Kabi Kabi and the Jinibara Peoples of this region. We recognise that this place has inspired and celebrated practicing artists for a very long time. We pay respect to the Elders- past, present and emerging, and the important role Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people continue to play within the Sunshine Coast community.
