Introducing our new General Manager

Amy Saunders is returning to New Zealand in the new year to take up the position of General Manager at the Depot Artspace and is honoured and delighted to take up this role.

Having lived between New Zealand and the UK for many years her family are returning to Devonport where they settled in 2013 before heading back to Scotland for a few years where her husband and family are from.

Amy has worked in the arts and creative sector for the last 20 years working with and supporting artists and arts organisations in New Zealand, the UK and internationally.

“I am thrilled and excited to be coming home to work with the Depot and all that it offers the community and artists across all genres. I can’t wait to spend more time with the team and members of the community to learn about how we can build on what has already been so lovingly created. This feels like a challenging but ripe time to acknowledge the role the arts have to play in society and the importance of looking after people from within our communities and from every corner of our communities, while still inspiring and supporting ambitious aspirations and projects.

“My thinking and outlook in life and work has always been very international but rooted locally and I’ve been lucky enough to follow a path that has allowed me to explore and connect with ideas and colleagues from around the world for most of my professional life.

I’m a strong believer in the power of collaboration and in continued exploration and learning in all that we do.

Amy comes to the Depot from her most recent post as Head of Participant Services and Arts Industry and Marketplace Manager at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe which is the largest arts festival and marketplace in the world. She was also previously the General Manager and International Project Lead at Festivals Edinburgh, the strategic body that works with the 12 leading Edinburgh Festivals and was Senior International Adviser at Creative New Zealand for five years before returning to Edinburgh to take up the Fringe role.

Amy returns to Devonport with her husband Kenneth and their two daughters Isla (5) and Annie (3).