It was by day three in South Australia that an internal click occurred where I knew I had found my home

From the US to Poland to South Australia, Festivals Adelaide CEO Justyna Jochym is loving life in her adopted home state.

I was born in Warsaw and grew up in New York. I moved to Krakow in my early 20s, and after a few years landed the role of head of international co-operation and development at the Krakow Festival Office. Part of my role was to head up the UNESCO Creative Cities Network. Adelaide joined UNESCO as a city of music in 2015 – that was my first point of contact with Adelaide as a creative city.

Soon after Krakow, Adelaide, Edinburgh, Montreal and Singapore formed the Festival City Network – that was the moment my life intersected with Adelaide the most. We were invited to come here as part of an international delegation in 2017 for four days, during which I got to experience first-hand the Adelaide Festival, Womadelaide and the Adelaide Fringe.

It was by day three that an internal click occurred where I knew I had found my home. I thought, “Not only do I want to be a part of this, I really want to tell the world about it” because at that time I thought Adelaide was a bit of a secret to the rest of the world. The level of professionalism and the generosity of people and just the talent that is here was so exhilarating to me that I wanted to be a part of the story.

I moved to South Australia in 2018 and life here has exceeded all expectations. There’s an openness to the people here and generosity that I first encountered and has continued to surprise me in delightful ways. I think there’s an embedded sense of community and ceremony which is exactly why this is a festival state, where so many people congregate and enjoy the festivals as much as they do.

The entire experience that surrounds the city as well through the proximity and accessibility to nature in particular and the beaches, hills and wineries: it’s such a unique experience to be able to engage in such diversity in such accessible ways. When you visit, particularly for a short amount of time, you can only get a taste of that diversity. I certainly did but subsequently it’s been three years and, particularly throughout the Covid pandemic, it’s been one of the most fortunate places to live. There’s deep gratitude from me that I am in this place. There’s something magical in Adelaide around how it approaches community and how it rallies around itself that I think has made me feel comforted despite being separated from my family in the US and Poland.

Festivals Adelaide CEO Justyna Jochym. Picture: Russell Millard

In February 2020 I was appointed CEO of Festivals Adelaide, the strategic umbrella organisation for South Australia’s 11 major non-profit arts and cultural festivals – the Adelaide Fringe, Adelaide Festival, Womadelaide, SA History Festival, DreamBIG Children’s Festival, Adelaide Cabaret Festival, Adelaide Guitar Festival, OzAsia Festival, Adelaide Film Festival, SALA Festival and Feast Festival. It’s a fantastic role because there is so much going on across the calendar year in South Australia, and so much diversity of festivals that are platforms not only for the community to enjoy the presentation of the arts but also for the professional development of artists and the export of talent.

The non-profit arts and culture festival model is not just a business model – it’s an expression of the fact that the arts are for the public and for public benefit. As an organisation we get to research and advocate for the education, sustainability, wellbeing, tourism and economic impacts that festivals deliver. It’s a very exciting landscape in South Australia in terms of the arts and cultural festivals scene. I am also excited for the future of the sector with festivals like Illuminate Adelaide and the Festival of Orchestra, which debuted in 2021 to immense success.

When it comes to the arts, South Australia punches way above our weight. That’s what excited me about Adelaide the first time I came here – I felt like the talent and diversity of outputs and the professionalism of the arts and creative industry sector is supreme. I got the sense that this is next level and it should be our primary export.

Of course I’m biased but our creative industries are our calling card and our way to engage with the world in a profound way and to engage in a global conversation.

I wanted to be a part of the story that brings Adelaide further into the spotlight on a global stage because it is that good.”