I can help you take care of business.
I can help you take care of business.
I'm Mikhaela Rodwell. I’ve worked in the arts for nearly twenty years. And after all this time and collaboration, I know how often we feel like working in the arts could be better. We'd like it to feel easier.
As an arts worker, you're not only responsible for your art and your projects, but also for your admin, your promotion, your professional development, your income, your conceptual direction, and your business strategy. You want to do all this well, with authenticity and care. And I've seen how it helps to workshop any of these things with someone else who gets it. Because often you already have or know what you need, but sometimes it's difficult to see it yourself.
Helping artists and peers 'take care of business' is my specialty. For me, this means finding ways to do and make work that feel right, make sense, and have value both personally and professionally. I work directly with a range of Australian artists on jobs of all sizes —international projects with complex logistics, personal goal setting, and grassroots initiatives that build community. I've delivered major institutional research and creative arts programs, and worked in museums, university art and design schools, art fairs, a biennale, public art projects, and an architecture practice. My bachelor degree is in history and film, and my postgraduate degree is in psychology.
I'm intrigued by how people think and make meaning, which has led me to sit down with and listen to many different people. My favourite work is helping people reflect on their current situation, resolve problems, navigate dilemmas, create ways of working that suit them, and identify their next steps. Wherever you're at, we can talk.
I work with people in the creative arts community on:
navigating recurring dilemmas
goal articulation
concept development
managing an arts business, practice, or project
problem solving
strategy
public positioning + narrative
and navigating the challenges our cultural sector can present.
contact me at mikhaelarodwell@gmail.com. we'll chat about you + your situation and if, when + how I can help
one-off consultation (90 minutes of sense checking - issues synthesis – project advisory): $195
per session rate for regular career or business advisory sessions (55 minutes, min. 3 session commitment): $120
hourly rate for ongoing administration, project management, writing and copyediting: $85
if you're First Nations, unwaged, or experiencing financial hardship, rates can differ.
"Mikhaela has an exceptional ability to understand the arts ecology and the personal motivations that shape a person's path. She gets to the heart of what truly fuels someone and translates that into clarity, direction, and practical next steps. Her talent for synthesising ideas, passions, skills, and opportunities is unique. Working with her leaves you feeling deeply seen and equipped with a concrete, achievable way forward. - Sam Watson-Wood, Friends with Strangers"
"There is no way I would be able to achieve as much as I do without Mikhaela. The busier I got the more some things were pushed aside - I was bumbling along in a frenzy only doing the most urgent things while so many important things went unattended. Mikhaela initially started working on my archive in incredible detail, and from there has taken on and improved so many aspects of my business… I can relax knowing that anything Mikhaela says she will do will be done efficiently and with great care. You need Mikhaela on your side! - Jonny Niesche."
I acknowledge the traditional custodians of the Country on which I live and work, the Gadigal people, who have met together here since time immemorial. I recognise their continuing connection to the land and waters, thank and pay my respects to Elders past and present, and extend that respect to all First Nations people.
Thank you to Natalie O'Loughlin and Jonathan McBurnie for licensing images of their work.
