Lisa Havilah

Lisa Havilah is the former CEO of the Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences (MAAS) in Sydney, Australia. She has previously directed various arts centres in Sydney, including Carriageworks and Campbelltown Arts Centre. She resigned on 27 August 2026 amid a state government investigation into "governance and procurement practices" at the museum. NSW Government Architect Abbie Galvin will take Havilah's place in an acting capacity.

Early life and education Havilah grew up on a dairy farm in Berry. She attended Bomaderry High, But was "disengaged and uninterested". Due to her father's influence she also studied law, which she has said gave her "a different level of discipline".

Career At the age of 21, she and her then boyfriend, now husband, ceramicist Glenn Barkley, managed to find a space and get funding from a youth arts grant, Wollongong Council and BHP to create a new gallery, which they ran for four years.

In 2011, Havilah was announced as the new CEO of Carriageworks. Havilah was responsible for the evolution of Carriageworks into a multi-arts venue, playing host to up to 100 projects a year which included contemporary theatre, dance, visual arts, music, film and fashion and hosting corporate events. and Sydney Contemporary, as well as expanding the program to include major food events, and visitor numbers grew from 110,000 in 2010, to 1.32 million in 2017.

In November 2018, she announced her resignation from Carriageworks to take up the role of CEO of the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences (MAAS), starting in January 2019. with reduced floor space).

On 27 August 2026, Havilah resigned from her position as CEO of the Powerhouse, being replaced in the interim by NSW Government Architect Abbie Galvin. Her resignation comes amid a government investigation into "governance and procurement practices" at the museum.

Other roles In 2016, Havilah participated in the selection of Australia’s representation at the 2017 Venice Biennale and with the Commissioner led a delegation of Australian arts patrons to engage with the exhibition and Biennale programs.

In 2013, she was appointed to the ministerial reference group for the New South Wales Government's Arts and Cultural Policy Framework.

In May 2016, Havilah addressed the Currency House Creativity and Business Breakfast Series with a lecture titled "The Next Generation of Cultural Institution."

In 2017, she was part of an Australian Financial Review panel who selected "the top 10 people who wield the most cultural power in Australia".

Havilah has been a member of the City of Sydney's Public Art Advisory Panel, and of the Barangaroo Delivery Authority's Arts and Public Program Panel, which oversees the Barangaroo Public Art and Cultural Plan.

Awards and honours In 2013, FBi Radio awarded Havilah "SMAC (Sydney Music, Arts & Culture) of the Year," stating that she was "one of our city's most dynamic and hard-working cultural figures".

In 2016, while under Havilah's direction, Carriageworks was awarded the New South Wales Government's NSW Creative Laureate award, with NSW Industry, Resources and Energy Minister Anthony Roberts saying that under Havilah's leadership Carriageworks had “skilfully balanced commercial, entrepreneurial and artistic imperatives”.