Just 10 weeks prior to the opening of Sydney’s latest cultural institution, Powerhouse Parramatta, its chief executive Lisa Havilah has stepped down amid ongoing “investigations into governance and procurement,” according to a statement released on Thursday from the office of Australia’s Minister for Arts John Graham.
Since her 2018 appointment, Havilah has been overseeing the $915 million build of Powerhouse Parramatta—the city’s most significant cultural infrastructure project since the Sydney Opera House, which opened in 1973 for an estimated cost of AU$102 million.
Havilah previously served as the director of Carriageworks in Redfern, a suburb of Sydney, for more than seven years. She joined Powerhouse, which is also known as the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences (MAAS), as its CEO in 2019.
In Havilah’s absence, an interim team will oversee the organization in the months ahead of its inauguration, with Abbie Galvin, the government architect for New South Wales, stepping in as CEO and former Sydney Opera House CEO Louise Herron named strategic adviser; both are expected to start on September 1. The opening date of Powerhouse Parramatta, set for November 7, is not expected to be impacted.
“I think obviously, it’s challenging … these things are always somewhat surprising,” Powerhouse Trust president David Borger told radio station 702 ABC Sydney of Havilah’s departure. “Obviously it’s not an ideal situation this close to the opening.”
Earlier this year, Australian politician Chris Rath raised budget concerns that Havilah vehemently denied; however, it is unclear if this issue is directly connected to the current investigation.
A spokesperson for the Department of Creative Industries characterized the situation as “complex and involv[ing] multiple lines of inquiry” to Australian broadcaster ABC News, but offered no further details.
“The Department has a responsibility to address these matters with due diligence and procedural fairness,” the spokesperson added. “As the investigation is continuing and no formal findings or conclusions have been made, it would not be appropriate to provide further comment at this stage.”
Powerhouse Parramatta did not immediately respond to ARTnews’s request for further comment.
