Often misused, the word awesome is the right word to describe the career of Leigh Small and also the view of Gulaga from her place at Diggies. ‘Sometimes you can’t quite put into words what living at the foot of Gulaga means, but it has such a big impact.’

Diggies became the permanent home for Leigh, the new executive director of Four Winds, and her husband William at the height of COVID. ‘There is joy and fun in being part of this diverse community of creatives, cowboys, businesspeople and academics. Through our chat groups we let each other know about cows on the road but also get practical help with our tanks, and I used it to ask for a lift to hospital when I broke my wrist. Local Yuin elder and artist, Cheryl Davison, has taught me about how rich this little patch of coast is with eight estuaries that flow into the ocean. The abundance of what you can find and grow is huge. In her culture, mob have been gathering here for many thousands of years. It’s a very special place to protect, honour and celebrate. Leigh’s career started almost accidentally when she took a break from studying arts/law at Sydney Uni to work in the Ensemble Theatre box office. ‘Anybody who worked in a box office got free tickets to all the other companies as well, so I got to see the Sydney Festival, Sydney Theatre Company and lots of contemporary dance, which really struck me because it’s like watching music. Dance is abstract, the movement is completely original, the physical phrases tell an emotion and it combines so you really focus on the music. It’s a first love of mine, likely from seeing a Chinese acrobatic troupe and Sydney Dance Company shows as a child in Canberra.’

Leigh ended up working on Peter Garrett’s Senate campaign for the Nuclear Disarmament Party, where she met people who offered her work on a youth festival in the Sydney Opera House. ‘From there, I ended up working on projects for different Sydney arts companies as a publicist and, two years after it had begun, at Belvoir Street Theatre. I benefited from the Whitlam era and women’s lib. What I was able to do as a woman was completely different to what would have been possible ten years earlier. I also had really inspirational people who gave me challenging work and encouraged me to have original ideas, and then introduced me to other people. I never went back to university. I just ended up in this world of theatre and arts.’

After a stint overseas working in theatre and at Channel Four in London, Leigh returned to Australia to join Sydney Theatre Company as marketing manager as the company expanded from eight plays to 32 productions per year. She then joined the Sydney Opera House to help it emerge into a modern era. ‘At that time the Opera House thought of itself as the best architecture in Australia. I thought it could be the best performing arts centre in Australia, if not the world. With an inspirational chair and general manager who just said, “go for it”, we knocked down the downstairs foyers and brought in contemporary culture, and the Opera House programming exploded.’

Leigh was having a ball when she was tapped on the shoulder to help get Sydney Dance Company through a financial and structural crisis. ‘Everyone advised me against it, but I was Executive Director there for ten happy years and produced some ground-breaking work, including Graeme Murphy’s Salome that toured to China, America and Europe, and Underland that combined dance with music from Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.

What Leigh really loves is giving artists the liberty to dream. ‘I actually find business very creative and love a spreadsheet. That’s where the magic happens. If you can create stability and parameters around the financial structure of what a creative team is doing, then all of the risk is in the creation. Without government funding and philanthropists, not-for-profit arts companies cannot survive on ticket sales, which are usually only about 30% of what it costs to put on a production. So, you have to build relationships and understand what people want to fund and what they’re passionate about.’

For Leigh, a standing ovation is the ultimate rush. ‘That’s when the artists or the filmmakers who’ve put so much work into their endeavour, feel the love back. You can’t imagine the thrill of a standing ovation in Sydney Opera House unless you’ve been there, unless you know what it’s taken to get people on their feet. A film that told the story of Adam Goodes’s life, that showed the racism in the AFL code, premiered at Sydney Film Festival one year. The 15-minute standing ovation brought tears to many eyes, but that film by Ian Darling also changed the code. That moment stays with everyone in the room.’

Leigh moved to this area which, she notes, is per capita full of more artists than other areas of New South Wales. ‘When Four Winds was looking for an executive director, I didn’t think the job was for me. I went to meet the Board as a way of putting my hand up for other people in the community who felt excluded. The Board was made up of smart, open people who were very honest about what they had achieved, but also about what they were getting wrong. There is a great upside to helping a company when it is at a crossroads and ready for change, so I took the job, also because of the incredible team of staff. Last year, with no budget and focusing on a review, we decided we would trial a new model of putting things on at a time that people can go, at a price they can afford. Next year’s program is based on the successful trial of combining classical with contemporary music and will be launched on 15 December.’