Simon Hinton has been Artistic Director and CEO of Merrigong Theatre Company in Wollongong since 2005. Under his leadership, Merrigong has grown from a presenting venue into Australia’s largest regional producing theatre company. With a deep commitment to community, First Nations engagement, and supporting independent artists, Simon has become one of the country’s most respected regional arts leaders.

In this episode, Simon reflects on two decades of cultural leadership and what it takes to sustain a regional company that balances commercial realities with artistic ambition. The conversation explores his philosophy of governance, his advocacy for ethical and values-based leadership, and the ways in which Merrigong’s programs—especially MERRIGONGX—nurture and empower independent artists.

We also discuss how regional contexts can keep organisations grounded, why long-term community embeddedness matters, and how arts organisations must respond to challenges such as post-COVID recovery, sustainability, and the disruptive potential of AI. Simon shares candid insights into the importance of holding space for ambiguity and resisting the polarisation of public discourse, positioning culture as a rare arena where diverse perspectives can meet.

Key Discussion Points

• Simon’s 20-year journey leading Merrigong Theatre Company
  
  
  
• Building a producing company in a regional context
  
  
  
• Rethinking governance and the need for moral leadership in the arts
  
  
  
• Embedding First Nations voices and self-determined programming
  
  
  
• The development and impact of the MERRIGONGX artist program
  
  
  
• Balancing community use, commercial viability, and artistic innovation
  
  
  
• Post-COVID reflections on how the sector values artists
  
  
  
• The challenges of sustainability, cultural ecology, and sector competition
  
  
  
• AI, polarisation, and the responsibility of the arts to hold space for ambiguity
  
  
  

Memorable Quotes

• “It’s not really measured in years. It’s measured in decades… this is a deep tilling of the earth and a planting of seeds to change the cultural landscape.”
  
  
  
• “We need to work at the speed of trust.”
  
  
  
• “Maybe we’ll be the last people that hold some space for silence and contemplation, where differing views can coexist.”
  
  
  

Links

• Merrigong Theatre Company
  
  
  
• MERRIGONGX
  
  
  
• BlakDance
  
  
  
• NORPA
  
  
  
• Create NSW
  
  
  

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Presenter and research: Sam Cairnduff

Creative Director: Niloofar Pashmforoosh

Presented in association with Limelight

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