Though I have racked my brain for a better anecdote, I can't get past Georgia telling me my work bag looked like a private school boys satchel, and that I should replace it immediately! That deadpan mischief - the sisterly love it was delivered with - the enforcing of standards, borne of having an opinion, taste, the courage to speak, and the wisdom to smile with her eyes as she did. Small things are all things. Bag or event or partnership agreement. I will miss her consistent brilliance, in all things, always. She was a vibrant, funny, earthy colleague who told it straight and acted right in everything. When she came to work with Minderoo I was stoked. Now it's too damn quiet. I am immensely appreciative that I had any time with her at all, will always remember the fire in her eyes when she announced the new Artist Fund cohort - something she loved so deeply. So too her joy and pride in Mick's book, Toby's podcast, Jo's everything. Thank you Georgia, for the example, the passion, the staunchness. I will miss you always.

Great memories of talking all things film with Georgia in our uni days and all things Dockers at our half time chats in the club rooms at Subi.

My condolences to JC, Mick, Jo, Toby and all of Georgia’s friends and family. It was a great memorial and attested to the great person George was and the impact she had on all of us that had the pleasure of knowing her.

Dearest Georgia, I am honoured to have known you. Thank you for your friendship, spirit, intelligence, humour and kindness. I’ll miss you. Love to all your family and JC - who I know you loved fiercely xx

I unfortunately couldn't watch the livestream in real time — I was on the West Coast of Tasmania, and for those who know, reception is patchy at the best of times. So thank you for the recording — it's very appreciated. But I did stop and have a cheeky Rosé for her!

G and I first met at Ten Days on the Island in 2020. She gave me a job as Marketing Coordinator, and honestly, I've been so thankful ever since. In my life, I followed the dream of art school, lost all that arty passion, worked in the media industry for too long pre-COVID, then lost everything due to COVID and was living with my mother in my 20s as the world shut down — ick. But this isn't about me. Back to the hero of the story: G taught me so much... and the first thing that comes to mind is how to lead with trust and respect.

I really didn’t know what I was doing for that first festival — and the world was weird — but she trusted that if I didn’t know what I was doing, I’d work hard to figure it out for myself. And she was right. But if I needed her, she was there, and I knew that too.

One night, pre–2021 festival, she had the marketing team over to her Burnie home for a Palestinian dish from Falastin — it was so yummy! I didn’t own the cookbook, but I do have a photocopy of the recipe (thanks, G), so I thought I’d share:

Eggplant, chickpea and tomato bake (Musaqa'a)
Ingredients (14)
5 (1.25kg total weight) medium eggplants
120ml olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
6 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tsp chilli flakes
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp tomato purée
2 (200g total weight) green capsicum, deseeded, cut into 3cm pieces
400g can of chickpeas, drained, rinsed
400g can chopped tomatoes
1 1/2 tsp caster sugar
2 tbs coriander, roughly chopped, plus extra to serve
4 roma tomatoes, sliced 1 1/2 cm-thick

Method
1. Preheat oven to 220°C fan-forced.
2. Use a vegetable peeler to peel away strips of aubergine skin from top to bottom, leaving the eggplant with alternating strips of black skin and white flesh, like a zebra. Cut widthways into round slices, 2cm thick, and place in a large bowl. Mix well with 75ml of oil, 1 tsp salt and plenty of black pepper and spread out on two large parchment-lined baking trays. Roast for about 30 minutes or until completely softened and lightly browned. Remove from the oven and set aside.
3. Reduce oven to 180°C fan-forced.
4. While the eggplant are roasting, make the sauce. Put 2 tbs of oil into a large saucepan over a medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook for about 7 minutes or until softened and lightly browned. Add the garlic, chilli, cumin, cinnamon and tomato purée and cook for another minute, or until fragrant. Add the capsicum, chickpeas, tinned tomatoes, sugar, 200ml water, 1 1/4 tsp salt and a good grind of black pepper. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for 18 minutes or until the capsicum have cooked through. Stir in the coriander and remove from the heat.
5. Spread half the roma tomatoes and half the roasted eggplant on the base of a large baking dish, about 20cm x 30cm. Top with the chickpea mixture, then layer with the remaining tomatoes and eggplant. Drizzle with the remaining tbs of oil, then cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 20 minutes or until the sauce is bubbling and the tomatoes have completely softened. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for about 20 minutes. Top with remaining coriander and serve either warm or at room temperature.

You are so loved G. I hope to be half the leader you were. Your legacy lives on.

The first time I met Georgia was at the BlueRoom mucking in with the rest of us. She was full of dreams of what she wanted to do and where she wanted to be but not pushy just diligent, hard working and super easy to get along with. A few years later when she setup her inaugural company, Not the Mama she offered me a fantastic opportunity and asked me to direct a brilliant play, Blood Relations in the PICA theatre. Working along side her as Producer was an absolute delight. She assembled an amazing team and her patience, professionalism and hutzpah allowed that production and the team to shine - and all on the smell of an oily rag!! A few years later she once again calmly, clearly and deftly worked to elevate the Performing Arts WA Awards to the shiny celebration everyone in the professional performing arts sector gets to enjoy annually.
Working with her was always easy - Nothing seemed to faze her! No budget was too curly! No request too impossible! Her calm, easy managerial style and sense of humour was such an antidote to the stresses of working in the arts. She will be so very greatly missed.
Vale Georgia
Much love to Jo, Mick, Toby, JC and family

Georgia and I worked together at Ten Days on the Island 2021, cloistered together in Burnie in the middle of the pandemic. It was a perfect environment for fast and deep friendship - we spent time at each other's houses, on the road, at trivia and at late festival nights/early festival mornings. Georgia was a transformative boss for me; she was trusting, open, generous, and really knew her shit. I learned so much from her about arts audiences, marketing, and the national festival environment. Those nine months will always have a special place in my memory. Georgia, we miss you here in Tasmania. Very much love, Laura.

Our paths crossed with Georgia in so many ways and in so many places over the years. From shows at the Blue Room and the Rechabite Hall, to park picnics and Sydney drinks, and walking laps of PICA's balconies. She was deeply smart, deeply caring and deeply committed to the power of art and the people who made it. There are no words for this loss. Our thoughts and hearts are with all who loved her. Kate and Brien x