At first glance, Katy Mutton might seem an unusual choice to be appointed chief executive officer of MARION (formerly the ACT Writers Centre).
Canberra-born Mutton's background is in the visual arts: among her qualifications is a visual arts degree in print media and drawing from the ANU School of Art and Design and she has had many exhibitions of print work and public art.
But she's "always been a big reader" and that's not all.
"I have always written short form pieces, and write for my arts practice," Mutton said.
"I did work for Art Monthly magazine for a time while I was studying.
"My visual art practice is heavily research based and so involves a lot of writing and reading."
Mutton has also had considerable experience in arts administration.
In 2019, Mutton took leave without pay from her job as communications manager at Megalo Print Studio for what she expected would be a temporary, similar job at what was then the ACT Writers Centre.
After her six-month contract expired, Mutton became the centre's marketing manager, then worked there as strategic design manager. In June this year she became interim chief executive when Meg Wilson left and on July 12 was named chief executive officer.
Mutton's husband and children live in Mildura and she said she moved between the two locations: "I'm in Canberra more than Victoria."
ACT Writers Centre was founded in 1995 and rebranded as MARION in 2022, a sign that its reach had extended well beyond Canberra and a nod to architect and artist Marion Mahoney Griffin and writer Marion Halligan, two notable women in Canberra's cultural history.
Read more: ACT Writers Centre rebrands as Marion
As well as the new name, there have been other changes, such as moving completely online - saving the cost of maintaining a physical location - and expanding MARION's reach and activities beyond the immediate ACT region.
Mutton said, "We've broadened the scope - 'region' is quite fluid."
For the purposes of MARION it encompassed such locations as Braidwood, Yass, the south coast and Wagga Wagga.
Mutton wanted to show there was more to Canberra life and culture beneath the politics and public servant stereotypes and to serve MARION's constituency of writers.
"My main aim as CEO is to ensure we continue to produce and deliver content that is accessible to people from all backgrounds and that we highlight all the richness of creativity that exists in and around our region to a national audience," Mutton said
MARION had nearly 500 members - writers of fiction and non-fiction, poets, academics, editors and journalists, Mutton said.
"I am passionate about creating experiences for our writers, across genres, and am a big advocate for mentorship in all its forms."
She wanted writing to be recognised and celebrated as part of the diverse and busy cultural "ecosystem" of the region.
Now on through MARION is the 12-month Hidden Nerve program exploring various facets of the art of writing prose.
"We've lined up programming with some incredible writers nationally including Alice Pung, Tony Birch and Claire G. Coleman."
Any organisation in the arts and culture sector faces challenges, including finance.
Arts ACT provides some funding for MARION and other revenue comes from membership fees but Mutton and her team have kept looking for partnerships with national institutions and other ways to keep the organisation thriving in a difficult economic period.
"It's tough - we're noticing it's been a challenging time for lots of people."
MARION was committed to paying Australian Society of Authors rates to writers who were engaged for its programs, Mutton said.
The not-for-profit MARION had a board of directors and there were four part-time paid staff, Mutton said - besides Mutton herself as chief executive officer, there were Ash Gray (communications officer). Zhi Chan (creative producer) and Miriam Wicks-Wilson (operations manager).
"There is a lot of work to be done but we're a dedicated team with a lot of heart."
Mutton said she had "no firm plans for my own publication ... I'm very focused on advocating for writers rather than becoming a professional writer myself."
For more information on MARION see marion.ink.
