Louise Bezzina

Creative license

Bachelor of Arts in Contemporary and Applied Theatre

Griffith creative arts alumnus Louise Bezzina is renowned for her significant enhancements to the Queensland Arts industry.

After graduating from Griffith, Ms Bezzina quickly made a name for herself as a visionary artistic director, pulling together the Mackay Festival at the young age of 23 and producing work for the Judith Wright Centre of Contemporary Arts before founding Bleach* Festival on the Gold Coast in 2012.

Under Louise’s leadership, Bleach* is committed to telling local stories in a fresh, contemporary way and collaborating and partnering with major artistic companies from around Australia such as Opera Australia, Queensland Theatre Company and CIRCA. In line with her vision to contribute to industry, Louise provided significant advice and support to Griffith University around the launch of the Griffith Centre for Creative Industries (GCCI). In addition to her ongoing industry advice and support for the centre, Louise officially launched the centre in late December 2018 with then-Vice Chancellor and President Professor Ian O’Connor AC.

Some of her recent accolades including being named the 2018 Gold Coast Woman of the Year in recognition for her role in transforming the city’s cultural scene as founder and Artistic Director of Bleach*.

Louise was also identified as one of 11 inspiring women of the Commonwealth Games and most recently has been appointed as the incoming Artistic Director of the Brisbane Festival from 2020.