Tony Gould (arts director)

Tony Gould is the founding director of the Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC) and the Brisbane Festival.

Tony Gould was born in Sydney and worked as a professional actor in the UK and later in Australia. He joined the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust and became an Arts Administrator in 1961. Over the next ten years he was a theatre producer and co-ordinated performing activities from overseas and Australia. He was appointed in 1972 by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation to the position of State Concert Manager for Queensland. He later moved to Sydney ABC, spending seven years presenting world class concert artists and symphony orchestras and presented around 750 concerts annually.

In 1979, after a worldwide search, Gould was named Director of Queensland's $130 million Performing Arts Centre (QPAC). Following the opening of the Centre in 1985, it received acclaim for its achievements in all disciplines of the performing arts. Under Gould's direction the Centre became known internationally for its contribution to the development of social-justice performing arts programs. During his time at QPAC, Tony Gould was chairman of the board of the Queensland Symphony Orchestra.

He has served on the Council of the Queensland University of Technology, the Queensland Arts Council, the Queensland Cultural Centre Trust and the Music Council of Australia. He was a member of the Board of the Queensland Performing Arts Trust and served on the Australia International Cultural Council (AICC) – a body established to promote Australia's Arts image overseas.

In 1994 Gould was made a Member of the Order of Australia for service to the arts.

In 1998, Tony Gould was awarded, by the Queensland University of Technology (QUT), the degree of Doctor of the University. The following year was the twentieth anniversary of his appointment as Director of the Queensland Performing Arts Trust and Gould received a special award from Brisbane Tourism for an Outstanding Contribution by an Individual for his leadership with arts-tourism initiatives.

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