https://www.katefollington.com.au/about daily 0.75 2023-09-08 https://www.katefollington.com.au/contact daily 0.75 2023-10-13 https://www.katefollington.com.au/work daily 1.0 2026-04-05 https://www.katefollington.com.au/work/speech-writing monthly 0.5 2023-10-12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64cc74ccf2694530e885850c/95a17ed5-b41a-40b9-b792-cdfc498364ff/Kate+Charlton-Webb_tedxStKilda.jpg Work - Speaker coaching for TEDx https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64cc74ccf2694530e885850c/99539473-df4c-4ed4-a8b7-315745a1702b/Fablice_photo_tedxStkilda.jpg Work - Speaker coaching for TEDx https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64cc74ccf2694530e885850c/ea0eccb4-7193-480e-8c51-330194b91ce3/Sheree_Cairney.jpg Work - Speaker coaching for TEDx https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64cc74ccf2694530e885850c/b1a73ea6-4b11-49ad-88a1-a37f8fc0e34c/Jeanette_Pritchard.png Work - Speaker coaching for TEDx https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64cc74ccf2694530e885850c/beb6ce86-ff53-42fd-add7-e24412ba1a90/Joel_Cohen.png Work - Speaker coaching for TEDx https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64cc74ccf2694530e885850c/3195629e-d0e6-4023-a876-d665a2b25754/Adam+Follington.jpg Work - Speaker coaching for TEDx https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64cc74ccf2694530e885850c/843ffc04-a6b1-4861-887b-67c98475859b/me+and+the+tedx+team.jpg https://www.katefollington.com.au/work/leadership monthly 0.5 2023-09-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64cc74ccf2694530e885850c/31a6bc13-22a6-4f4d-acc6-3c32db4b5cd1/Head+of+audience+engagement.jpg Work - Leadership Since 2014 Kate has been leading the digital innovation, communications and public programming team at the Victorian Archives Centre. Despite the archives being the quiet end of the cultural sector she has enjoyed the intellectual challenge. She contributes and implements strategic planning, supports media campaigns, curates and writes public programs about Victorian places and people, and produces an award winning podcast. In addition she led the digital transformation of the website and continues to work with developers to produce tools which simplify access to complex archives. She is currently experimenting with machine learning. Kate offers a democratic leadership style offering space for creative exploration. She is active on the diversity and inclusion committee and has completed training on leadership, cultural competency and project management. She is familiar with copyright legislation, and the complexities of large data sets. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64cc74ccf2694530e885850c/e75cade2-fda0-477f-81e7-bf31a980a7eb/Kate+and+Sarah+at+MOV+.jpg Work - Leadership From 2009 until 2013 Kate was excited to move from the media industry to the collecting and exhibiting sector. This coincided with the Museum of Vancouver's decision to support a progressive vision integrating contemporary issues into their programming; and rebranded as MOV. She was hired as Director of Development and Marketing and activated the new brand, managing all corporate relations and partnerships, and membership events. She initiated a product development arm and designed the City Shaper Awards to increase visibility of the museum to potential donors. In addition she played an active role on the creative strategies team working closely with curators and exhibition designers to produce interactive and cutting edge exhibitions on subjects touching on identity, design, environment and material culture. She won a 2012 national museums award for the Marketing of a Museum. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64cc74ccf2694530e885850c/c068e0b6-1732-4f2d-a61b-acf6e67f908d/Kate+with+microphone.jpg Work - Leadership As a radio story and program producer with ABC regional public radio Australia and CBC public radio Canada from 2001 until 2010. Kate conducted interviews and produced daily programs, managed presenters and production teams in NSW and the Northern Territory. On moving to Canada in 2007 she was soon employed as a story producer for Vancouver's CBC Radio. She is an experienced audio editor and continues to produce interesting content for the award winning podcast about Melbourne history called Look History in the Eye. See Creative Projects for a link Look History in the Eye. Link in this image is to radio samples for ABC local radio. https://www.katefollington.com.au/work/creative monthly 0.5 2026-04-04 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64cc74ccf2694530e885850c/824e84bf-7851-4234-aa1b-b6a03878e10e/edited+website+podcast+.jpg Work - Writing, curatorial, podcast production and creative projects Podcast Producer, Writer and Editor: Look History in the Eye is an award winning history podcast produced by Kate and her team. In 2020 Kate and her team produced the first podcast for the Victorian Archives Centre in order to extend the reach of their public programs during the pandemic and to draw attention to lesser known urban history. The series interviews people who 'dig into archival boxes and bother to wonder why'. Kate wrote and produced a number of mini documentaries for the series including 'The Silent Prison: the Panopticon' about the design of Pentridge Gaol, 'From Deadtown to Musictown' on Melbourne bar culture, and 'They called her Madame B' about the infamous 19th Century brothel owner Caroline Hodgson. The series aims to reflect diverse histories of Melbourne people and places through archival records research. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64cc74ccf2694530e885850c/f8c87b89-6bee-4478-bba8-6cdf40c421d3/Image+12-11-20+at+2.00+am.JPG Work - Writing, curatorial, podcast production and creative projects The Road In 2021 Kate was one of the narrative curators of The Road, a 15 minute video art projection piece which aims to immerse the visitor in wide open landscapes. The piece forces a mental unraveling by moving the viewer from the harsh stimulating urban landscape of a city into and above expansive Australian deserts. Exhibited in Darwin for Untitled Gallery and then showcased at the 2022 Desert Arts Festival. The project was produced during the first year of the COVID-19 Pandemic lockdown. This is a collaborative work using footage shot by Shez Cairney, edited by Trevor Almeida, curated by Shez Cairney and Kate Follington, with original music by Jody Galvin, Mung Balding and Rob McPherson (Garagee) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64cc74ccf2694530e885850c/01572d5c-5d14-4b43-8c5b-07666cc3c1cf/Edited+website+curatorial.jpg Work - Writing, curatorial, podcast production and creative projects Exhibition Curation: From 2016 Kate's team managed co-curated exhibitions for the VAC Gallery at the Victorian Archives Centre. She managed an operational team who wrote content for annual exhibitions and supported travelling exhibitions. She has co-written a number of exhibitions to promote archival photographic collections including From Mos to Mullets about the politics of hair; Beyond Bluestone featured archival photographs of major capital projects in Melbourne, which pushed architectural boundaries and transformed an international city. Of Kin and Kind, a celebration of Melbourne subcultures; and Tech School, the history of hands-on education and lost trades. All exhibitions are published online within the Google Cultural Institute. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64cc74ccf2694530e885850c/15a2154c-ab4f-4fe9-8442-a7f5632c4984/Edited+website+kate+Long+format+articles+.jpg Work - Writing, curatorial, podcast production and creative projects Long Format Articles: Kate has written a number of long format journalistic articles as a freelance writer. From travel articles to personal lifestyle pieces Kate has been published by a range of publications. She has written for: Vietnam Airlines Magazine; Slate Magazine, for Me and My Mutation; The respected Canadian publication The Tyee on repatriation of indigenous artifacts; for Traces Magazine, on modernist design in reducing 20th Century pandemics; and for communications journal Story.com she wrote a How To article on persuasive communication strategies. See Links to articles below. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64cc74ccf2694530e885850c/aae4b8de-dca9-490b-a170-af742648b163/Tanderrum+dancers+James+Henry.jpg Work - Writing, curatorial, podcast production and creative projects Exhibition content: This short profile video of the photographer James Henry was produced for the exhibition Of Kin and Kind. explaining the role of modern day recordkeepers in capturing contemporary cultural practices of our Aboriginal communities. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64cc74ccf2694530e885850c/90dff9f8-2cc1-4508-b5de-d1f13a878a71/Wayfinding+digital+heritage+trails+Hawkesbury.jfif Work - Writing, curatorial, podcast production and creative projects Heritage Walking Trails and Signage: In 2022 Kate was hired by The Blue Print landscape architectural firm as a freelance writer to produce two walking trails for a revitalization project managed by the Hawkesbury River Council, for the town centres of Richmond and Windsor. Kate grew up on Dyarrubin | Hawkesbury River and is familiar with the region. In collaboration with local historical societies and Dharug and Darkinjung families and knowledge holders, and referencing the work of historian Grace Karskens, the fifty signs included histories of pre colonial river clan cultural practices, colonial invasion, European farming, sly grog production, Aboriginal song-lines as well as histories of local women, Italian fruit growers and Chinese market gardeners. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64cc74ccf2694530e885850c/13a26e89-01ef-4a64-a407-f521b02f9a48/Columbia_KateFollington.jpg Work - Writing, curatorial, podcast production and creative projects Photography: Kate has experience photographing landscapes and internal organisations. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64cc74ccf2694530e885850c/2729ca38-f0ae-429b-8c79-b6deacca14e8/Beyond+Bluestone.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64cc74ccf2694530e885850c/24e1c609-342d-43ed-a2ef-075a32d9a5d9/Screenshot+2026-04-04+123640.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64cc74ccf2694530e885850c/fe62ab66-7a64-4023-a8f6-b67b875bd278/Tech+School+Exhibition.jpg https://www.katefollington.com.au/work/digitalinnnovation monthly 0.5 2023-08-24 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64cc74ccf2694530e885850c/17c035aa-e7e4-48c7-b512-96371d58d9bb/Edited+Website+Kate+2.jpg Work - Digital Leadership and Innovation Website Product Owner: Kate has been the product owner of Public Record Office Victoria's (state archives Victoria) website since 2016. She was charged with leading the website re-design process in 2016 from Wordpress to Drupal which took two years due to the complexity of archival search and display, from inception to build, solving problems for multiple internal and external stakeholders. The new website needed to offer a more intuitive search experience, simple guidance pages focused on critical search information alongside relevant search fields, and flexible back end templates to service a variety of content and government advisory needs. There is also a standalone photographic search page utilizing the public API, a bespoke search module to enable nuanced subject search, digital step by step functionality, an annually published academic journal, and a searchable document database. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64cc74ccf2694530e885850c/7e38235a-5758-4ef6-b832-92bae4b204c1/Edited+website+mapwarper+2.jpg Work - Digital Leadership and Innovation Mapwarper Project Management: The Mapwarper project enables better access to Victoria's archival map and plan collection (12,000+ digitised maps) by using an open sourced mapping application. The project initially linked existing metadata (historic location names) with contemporary lat-longs and postal code data to offer a contemporary place name (friendly) search. The project then engaged the public to correctly position the historic maps over the application's digital map, the base layer, offering users an immediate time comparison between the past and the present, ideal for researchers and property owners. This project has seen 12,000 historic maps rectified by the public and is widely used by historians, family historians, property and government administrators. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64cc74ccf2694530e885850c/e7422f55-cd7e-413d-aaad-f48188936b44/Edited+website+photo+search.jpg Work - Digital Leadership and Innovation Photo Search Project Management: The unique photo search page responded to an ongoing user need to more efficiently view tens of thousands of digitised historic photographs of Melbourne and Victoria from the 1850s onward with limited descriptive data by offering a visual scanning search experience. Working with a developer and design team the project drew on the public API to display a waterfall of photos based on keyword or series number, increasing the efficiency of searching images one by one. Each image links to the item catalogue page offering options at high resolution. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64cc74ccf2694530e885850c/bd5e0aaf-3b11-4bbd-97ee-9aebe251bd1e/Screenshot+of+Labellerr+AI+human+description+tool+copy.jpg Work - Digital Leadership and Innovation AI - Human workflow for photo discovery. Kate is working on a pilot project to utilise a multi-modal AI tool (Google Gemini) to help transcribe, describe and add keywords to large photographic collections. The project required careful consideration of Government policy on AI use, design of the best prompt to illicit accurate results, import and export workflows with human review, as well as collaboration with Tensormatic's developer team to modify their Labellerr interface to suit the collections industry. This project was discussed at the Fantastic Futures Conference and presented to the Vic Gov Community Of Practice AI network. In addition her team are piloting the use of a range of open source AI transcription tools to transcribe 19th Century cursive writing, and to work on a web interface upgrade for display. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64cc74ccf2694530e885850c/739ce115-83c0-4096-8cdd-0f0916806b06/reimagining+the+lobby.jpg Work - Digital Leadership and Innovation Re-envisioning: In 2023 Kate collaborated with ArtBox to re-envision the entrance of the Victorian Archives Centre to become an interactive multi media projection and digital engagement space showcasing the important work of the public archive in people's day to day lives. Themes included history of place, development of Country, people's identity and accountable government. The project resulted in a series of redesigns, a slide pack of comparable examples and a budget estimate for the build. The project is still under exploration. https://www.katefollington.com.au/work/publicprogramming monthly 0.5 2023-09-07 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64cc74ccf2694530e885850c/93b0c407-b842-49c7-8660-f6b1144f792b/edited+website+programs+1.jpg Work - Public Programming and Engagement Public Programming Events: Kate has been responsible for developing a sustainable public programming model for the Victorian Archives Centre since 2016 which engages the public in stories of their archival history while also promoting collections use. The team work with a co-collaboration model, as well as stand alone events. The Centre is an official partner of city wide festivals such as Open House, Melbourne Writer's Festival, International Women's Day, Design Week and Rare Book Week etc. Each program is curated by her or her staff and promotes collection items which complement the event's theme. The model draws attention to the relevance and value of the collection to contemporary discourse, while attracting a more diverse audience. In addition she encourages engagement with the collection through creative writing workshops and music performances inspired by the collection. She is co-designing an artist-in- residency program to begin in 2023. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64cc74ccf2694530e885850c/90da2f2b-379d-440e-ab2d-d03995464ab7/edited+website+public+programming.jpg Work - Public Programming and Engagement Co-Curation VAC Gallery Street Photography Gallery: Once a year the VAC Gallery collaborates with the Melbourne street photographic network to produce an exhibition which responds to different narrative themes. The exhibition themes range from a celebration of Melbourne sub cultures, to street fashion or the pandemic. One wall exhibits a display of selected archival photographs offering historic examples, carefully curated to exemplify their context, and the opposite wall exhibits a series of street photographs of contemporary Melbourne people and places. The curation model allows for the past and present to be exhibited at the same time triggering conversations on social change and demographic shifts. All exhibitions are then placed online. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64cc74ccf2694530e885850c/c5089c65-e405-42ab-ae99-b3e2de01c581/edited+website+uni+outreach+2.jpg Work - Public Programming and Engagement University Outreach Program: In efforts to increase use of Victoria's archival collection Kate completed a market research study of the university market and designed an outreach strategy in 2018 to engage university students in primary records research. The result has led to a number of disciplines (history, design, archaeology and architecture) developing partnerships with the centre. The students receive on-site training specific to their studies, a tour of the collection and ongoing support. In addition internal strategies factor in the needs of the tertiary sector, while teachers utilize training videos and incorporate archival research into assignment work. The program continues to attract new student and academic partnerships. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64cc74ccf2694530e885850c/0b8a4d95-d6a3-4ec2-80f2-563818ff72c1/IMG_8517.jpeg Work - Public Programming and Engagement The Road: is a 15 minute video art work which offers the visitor an immersive (projected) experience. The piece explores visually and musically the mental unraveling one experiences moving from urban landscapes into the expansiveness of ancient Australian deserts. It was exhibited in Darwin at the Untitled Gallery and showcased at the 2022 Desert Arts Festival. The project was produced during the first year of the COVID-19 Pandemic lockdown. This is a collaborative work using footage shot by Shez Cairney, edited by Trevor Almeida, curated by Shez Cairney & Kate Follington, Original Music by Jody Galvin, Mung Balding and Rob McPherson (Garagee) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64cc74ccf2694530e885850c/9d2edf51-f319-49ee-b34e-498c9db49ebb/tahlia+palmer_field+recording_lake+hume+web.jpg Work - Public Programming and Engagement Creative In Residency Program. Kate designed the first Creative in Residency Program for Public Record Office Victoria in 2023 and 2024. The program collaborates with artists who look critically at public collections and produce works inspired by collection items. The inaugural exhibition in the VAC Gallery supported Tahlia Palmer, a multi media artist, to produce sound and projected imagery to hold a mirror to the impact of colonisation on Victorian waterways and Country. The program design considered copyright, record digitisation, payment, installation and artist research support. (Image of artist Tahlia Palmer sound recording Lake Hume) https://www.katefollington.com.au/work/communications monthly 0.5 2026-04-05 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64cc74ccf2694530e885850c/a5d1ba7b-0610-4b3c-a450-0a84d079f23e/Biosis+A+Fromant+%26+C+Tingate+tagging+RNStint.jpg Work - Communications Management and Strategy Science Communications. As Senior Manager of Communications and Marketing for leading Australian ecology and heritage firm Biosis I was tasked with producing content which profiled their environmental assessment work, mostly bird and bat ‘collision risk’ for the renewable energy industry and activated a web communications strategy to position them as technical advisors in ecology and Aboriginal archaeological heritage. I wrote 25 new landing pages about their key services and ensured I implemented SEO best practice so they ranked on the first page of google results. This video profile (linked on image) showcased their important work in monitoring shorebird habitat-use by fitting small monitoring devices to their backs and tracing their daily movements by digital GPS tracking, known as bio-logging. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64cc74ccf2694530e885850c/b7cee215-17ca-4f78-87b5-593fe7f50092/Edited+website+communications+FINAL.jpg Work - Communications Management and Strategy Communications Management: Kate wrote the annual communications and marketing strategies for the Museum of Vancouver MOV (2009-2013) and was responsible for applying a new brand and vision for both MOV and the state records of Victoria based at the Victorian Archives Centre (2014-2023). She takes an evidence based approach to strategic planning applying the most effective communication solutions based on data. This includes story planning to promote the value of collection items, promotion of public programs (grants, awards, exhibitions and events) or producing training materials which effectively reach target markets. Media relations work has included overseeing her teams media campaigns for the annual Victorian Premier's History Awards, all VAC Gallery exhibition promotions and previously all Museum of Vancouver exhibitions. Kate won a Canadian Sector Marketing Award for her work with the Museum of Vancouver in building their new brand. Kate has also been responsible for designing effective social media strategies including designing content streams which engage audiences in conversation about shared history; leadership in the sector; contemporary relevance and; public facing services or products. (Click on image for link) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64cc74ccf2694530e885850c/23a130ae-2cfa-4152-886b-303b405e7110/Edited+website+media+management.jpg Work - Communications Management and Strategy Media Management: Kate was a radio journalist and program producer for a decade with Local ABC Radio, Australia and CBC Radio, Canada. She has since managed teams responsible for media relations across two cultural institutions. As head of development and audience engagement for the Museum of Vancouver and for Public Record Office Victoria she is familiar with the needs of media agencies. This has included requests for research support for the TV shows Who Do You Think You Are or for more pressing requests from daily news producers. Kate is familiar with pressurized deadlines, fact checking and required formats for republication of content across digital and broadcast media. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64cc74ccf2694530e885850c/43e2a95d-8bea-4169-ae4c-5b081d566498/facebook+only+.jpg Work - Communications Management and Strategy Social Media: Building an engaged following of 31 thousand followers across 5 social media platforms took a consistent strategic vision under 5 pillars. Leadership, nostalgia, relevance, behind the scenes and diversity. Content was sought and produced under those 5 strategic targets to engage the public with the historic collection, and has helped to earn brand recognition across Melbourne's cultural landscape. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64cc74ccf2694530e885850c/15a2154c-ab4f-4fe9-8442-a7f5632c4984/Edited+website+kate+Long+format+articles+.jpg Work - Communications Management and Strategy Long Format Articles: Kate has written a number of long format journalistic articles as a freelance writer. From travel articles to personal lifestyle pieces Kate has been published by a range of publications. She has written for: Vietnam Airlines Magazine; Slate Magazine, for Me and My Mutation; The respected Canadian publication The Tyee on repatriation of indigenous artifacts; for Traces Magazine, on modernist design in reducing 20th Century pandemics; and for communications journal Story.com she wrote a 'How To' sector article on persuasive communication techniques. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64cc74ccf2694530e885850c/637cd70c-b2ef-4529-bd0c-dba749cff31c/Conservation+Image+prison+register.jpg Work - Communications Management and Strategy Behind The Scenes Video: To satisfy the curiosity of the public interested in the work of paper conservators, and archival collection management staff, Kate produced a profile video of the conservation teams working on historic prison registers at the Victorian Archives Centre. The video explained the value of the prison registers and the process conservators follow to remove mould from the large volumes. (Click on image for link) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64cc74ccf2694530e885850c/261728aa-d214-47a6-a833-65fca5c09224/Edited+website+aboriginal+phrasing.jpg Work - Communications Management and Strategy First People's Respectful Language Guide: Kate completed a project in 2023 to write a respectful language guide for staff to assist them in writing respectfully about Victorian Aboriginal First Peoples' history. It was the first comprehensive guidance document written specifically to service the needs of the staff and clients of the agency. The guide draws from a range of recommendations made by indigenous led organisations such as the Indigenous Archives Collective, Yoorrook Justice Commission media protocols, University of NSW guide to indigenous terminology and Vic Gov's First People's State Relations (among others). She sought cultural advisory guidance during the production of the guide from Liz Allen. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64cc74ccf2694530e885850c/5bc0affc-0ca7-47f7-87bd-faecfda9b84e/edited+website+publications+1.jpg Work - Communications Management and Strategy Publications: Kate and her team designed and co-wrote the key promotional publication for the Victorian Archives Centre. The publication showcases a range of historic archives available to researchers and university students, presented as mini stories per page. This includes records related to Aboriginal Victorians, Royal Commission witness testimonies into the 2019 bushfires, historic photographic collections of Port Melbourne and case files of those in mental health institutions. The publication is now used as a researcher training tool and is given to all masters students of history at Melbourne University as part of their introductory training into the collection. In addition Kate has written a number of other training publications including How to research your historic home. (Click on image for link) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64cc74ccf2694530e885850c/6b1b3e55-61ca-4cdb-a9e6-e71eab52b655/Edited+website+training+materials+video.jpg Work - Communications Management and Strategy Video Training Materials: The complexity of researching archived collections triggered the need for a range of researcher training videos. This included writing an animation script and working with animators to visually explain and simplify how 19th century letters to government were organised. The animation is used by history lecturers, internal support staff and online researchers to aid in their research.(Click on image for link)