Meet the Australia at Venice Biennale 2026 Ambassadors 

Chair, Alex Dimos 

Alexandra (Alex) is the Executive Director and co-founder of the Nunn Dimos Foundation, a structured philanthropic organisation dedicated to investing in and supporting the arts and creativity sector in Australia. 

Alex’s qualifications include a Bachelor of Engineering (Geological, Environmental Engineering, Honours) and she is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and Governor’s Leadership Foundation. She works across both the commercial and philanthropic sector. 

She has also held a role as the Executive Director of the Advertiser Foundation, a foundation delivering targeted campaigns with the view of engaging staff and the South Australian community to give to causes that they care most about.   

As a Non-Executive Director, she has held roles in the education, not-for-profit and arts sectors, including the State Theatre Company of South Australia, the State Theatre Company of SA Foundation and the Foundation Adelaide Festival. 

She currently serves as a Member of the Australia Council Board of Creative Australia, a Director of Philanthropy Australia and vice-chair of the Scotch College Foundation. 

International, Simon Mordant AO 

Simon Mordant AO is an Australian-based investment banker, art collector and philanthropist. He started his career as an investment banker, before specializing in mergers and acquisitions. He co-founded Caliburn Partnership before it was acquired by Greenhill & Co in 2010. He remained at Greenhill Australia for four years, leaving in 2014. In 2015, he co-founded Luminis Partners.  

Simon has been heavily involved in the Arts in Australia. Since its foundation in the 1990s, Mordant has regularly made sizable donations to the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, including a $15 million AUD donation in 2012. He served on its board for a decade and was chair between 2010 and 2020. Mordant also served on the board for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation between 2012 and 2017. 

Simon holds the title of Officer of the Order of Australia and was Knighted in Italy for his contributions to the arts and business. 

VIC (jointly), Samantha Cross 

Samantha is a Director of the Paul and Samantha Cross Foundation, a charitable fund established to support Education and the Arts in Australia. Sam has been a long-term supporter of La Biennale di Venezia, being a foundation donor to the Australia Pavilion and co-creator of the Cross Family Fellowship, supporting emerging Australian curators in Venice.  

Sam has a Bachelor of Science and Diploma of Education from the University of Melbourne, a Diploma in Direct Marketing, Certificate in Six Thinking Hats and Lateral Thinking Course from the Edward de Bono Institute for Creative Thinking and Innovation. After teaching in London, Sam returned to Melbourne as a Senior Media Strategist in a large advertising agency where she was a national finalist in the George Patterson Bates Scholarship. Sam managed all the pro-bono media requests for charities and organisations at George Patterson Bates, including the Australian Red Cross, the Alfred Hospital and the Victorian Women’s Football League.  

Since then, Sam has been deeply committed to a lifetime of community service and has volunteered for many organisations and charities, including the Royal Children’s Hospital, United Nations Association, Oxfam Australia, Copelan Family Services, Care Australia and the National Trust (Vic). Sam dedicated ten years to the Australian Breastfeeding Association (ABA) as a breastfeeding counsellor, group leader, conference speaker and to the national helpline. 

Sam is a writer and foodie and has been working on The Istrian Cookbook for far too long. 

VIC (jointly), Theresia Spencer 

Dr Theresia Sudjalim is the Principal Orthodontist at South Yarra Orthodontics. She aims to provide the highest quality orthodontic treatment to her patients, in a professional, warm and caring environment. 

Theresia is meticulous with treatment planning to ensure every patient she sees receives the best possible treatment to achieve a perfect outcome. She believes that our teeth should complement our face, in which the whole facial aesthetic is taken into account.  

Theresia completed her Bachelor of Dental Science degree from the University of Melbourne in 1998, after which she obtained her Fellowship with the Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgeons. She graduated with six commendations for the primary examinations and was awarded the Kenneth J.G. Sutherland prize for the final examinations. Theresia completed a Doctor of Clinical Dentistry degree specialising in Orthodontics from the University of Melbourne in 2007.  

Theresia is the President of the Australian Dental Association Dandenong Group and is the immediate post chair of the Australian Society of Orthodontists Communications and Information Committee. Theresia is an industry leader and provider in the field of Invisalign clear aligners and lingual braces. 

WA, Paul Chamberlain 

Paul is a philanthropist and investor with a strong interest in the arts and a passionate collector, primarily of work by street artists. He is currently the Chair of the AGWA Foundation and has served on the boards of several not-for-profit organisations. 

Chairing FORM from 2014-2021, Paul oversaw projects such as Public (the large-scale mural programme, which saw works created in the City and regions, including the creation of The Silo Trail), Field of Lights: Avenue of Honour by Bruce Munro in Albany, the Creative Learning Programme, and the Claremont Goods Shed initiative. 

Paul was instrumental in the development of the collective giving initiative, Impact100 WA, established in 2011 as the first group of its kind in Australia. Since its inception, Impact100 WA has raised and granted over $3 million, and several other Impact 100 groups have been formed around the country. 

He is one of the Founders and the Chair of Arts Impact WA, established in 2021. In just two years, Arts Impact WA has granted nearly $750k to small- and medium-sized arts organisations in WA through $100k transformative grants. 

Originally from Bristol, UK, Paul is an entrepreneur who, in his 28 years in Australia, has worked in the property, investment and automotive industries. He is also on the board of The Spinifex Trust, the family foundation. 

QLD, Nicole Redden 

Nicole Redden is a director of LCR Solutions and Company Secretary for Morgans Financial, Australia’s largest privately owned financial advisory firm and a supporter of multiple arts programs. Combining a Bachelor of Laws with 20 years of business expertise, Nicole has become a transformation leader with experience driving risk, governance and program delivery.  

Nicole’s passion for fine arts has led to her working with a number of institutions to support and grow the recognition of numerous talented artists, through sustainable corporate engagement with the arts.  

Nicole began her career in fine arts as the Manager of Christie’s in Queensland and went on to play a pivotal role in fostering the careers of some of Australia’s most successful contemporary artists through managing a successful commercial gallery. 

As a collector, art consultant and the curator of the Morgans Financial art collection, Nicole has been involved in building a number of inspiring contemporary art collections and is dedicated to enhancing corporate and client engagement with the arts. 

Nicole initiated the National Emerging Art Prize four years ago, which provides a highly visible national platform to identify, promote and support the most promising emerging visual and ceramic artists in Australia. 

Hong Kong, Eleanor Hartmann 

‘I like to spend all the time I can outside work filling up my cultural cup. On any given day I’ll be trotting myself off to a show or a talk, immersing myself in everything that a city has to offer.'   

Post lockdowns in London, Eleanor Hartmann wanted to get more involved locally as a supporter rather than a visitor of local museums and theatres. The Victoria & Albert Museum Young Patrons’ Circle provided the opportunity to not just enjoy the amazing smorgasbord of events but also make a contribution to such a wonderful museum. 

Eleanor is Senior Vice President at Guy Carpenter (Hong Kong) and is proud to have spent the last 18 months defining and operationalising the global ESG and sustainability strategy, setting up a management committee, establishing organisational targets, defining an action plan and creating a framework for assurance and reporting. 

She is an advocate for the fair and equitable treatment of customers with a history of mental health issues. To this end, across multiple organisations she has been the chair of Mental Health working groups, developed award-winning internal and external training and been recognised for her efforts with an industry award. 

Before leading the strategic implementation of sustainability strategy, she was leading the assurance of digital transformation, implementing a data-driven, agile artificial intelligence approach to everything the organisation did. Her role was to ensure that artificial intelligence practices were implemented in an ethical manner for customers.