For over 15 years, Dale has worked with some of the most ambitious arts companies in Australia. A diverse career has seen Dale work in senior management positions for organisations across the arts and not-for-profit spectrum.

Sharing his unique understanding of the financial and organisational requirements of arts and not-for-profit organisations he works with companies that have a positive social agenda. This includes The GroundSwell Project that is creating social change around the openness of discussing death and death literacy in Australia, Milk Crate Theatre that uses performing arts to change the story of homelessness as well as the renowned multidisciplinary arts centre Carriageworks. Prior to this work he was General Manager for Object: Australian Centre for Craft and Design, the Australian Centre for Photography and Performance Space.

Dale’s training reflects his parallel interests in business operations and social progress. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Western Australia, a Bachelor of Psychology from Edith Cowan University and has studied Social Impact at the University of New South Wales.

Why I created Never Really

Never Really is a project I’ve been working on for a while. The idea comes from multiple experiences, but I guess it started with the death of an old school friend. It wasn’t my first time dealing with loss, but this was different, I found it hard to place my feelings around his loss. His family had moved away so I lost any physical connection to my memories of him.

This is where the idea for Never Really started to take shape. If there was a space where I could experience these feelings - a space where I could connect with the memory of my friend in my own way. The space could be temporary, shared in private or with other people. A safe place for those items that help me connect and remember.

I have been fortunate enough to have worked in the performing and visual arts for the last 15 years and have a lot of business and operational experience in creating a space that allows for contemplation, experience and understanding.

I wanted to use this knowledge to create a place for people to be able to experience loss and grief differently - through the items left behind, items that create connections, conjure memories and complete a picture. It’s this understanding that made me want to start the Never Really project. To remove the logistics and difficulties of moving and storing objects and just have them in the right type of space for when they were needed.