He is one of Queensland’s most experienced arts leaders and now Kris Stewart is taking on a new challenge. Logan City Council has appointed him as venue manager of Kingston Butter Factory Cultural Precinct.

The newly created position was established to lead one of South-East Queensland’s most exciting live entertainment destinations into a significant new chapter.

Kingston Butter Factory Cultural Precinct is one of the largest and most versatile live event sites in South-East Queensland and is fast becoming one of the region’s most exciting contemporary live entertainment destinations. It is perfectly positioned between Brisbane and the Gold Coast, with excellent public transport links including direct train access, and combines a 220-capacity indoor venue with a 5000-plus outdoor space.

Since opening, KBF has hosted national touring artists including SIX60, South Summit, Troy Cassar-Daley, Guy Sebastian, Ben Lee, Pete Murray, Taxi Ride, Josh Pyke and The Whitlams.

Stewart brings more than 25 years of experience to the role leading major cultural organisations across Australia and the US, including eight years as artistic director of Brisbane Powerhouse and five years as CEO of QMusic. The precinct management role was created to provide dedicated, senior leadership for Kingston Butter Factory as it enters its next phase of growth.

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Stewart will be responsible for programming and event delivery, as well as commercial partnerships, financial performance, marketing and team development. His mandate is to grow KBF’s profile, audience and revenue over the coming years.

“I have been watching Kingston Butter Factory grow since its opening and I have been telling people about it ever since,” Stewart says. “This is a venue with genuine energy, genuine character, and a community around it that is ready for more. The indoor space is world-class for its scale. The outdoor space is one of the most exciting untapped live event sites in South-East Queensland.

“And the city it sits in – diverse, growing, ambitious – is exactly the kind of place where a venue like this can become something genuinely significant. Logan is Queensland’s most diverse city, and that is one of the greatest creative opportunities I have ever encountered in my career.

“The stories, the cultures, the communities that exist here are extraordinary programming material. I cannot wait to get started. The 2032 Olympics will shine a light on this region like never before. I want Kingston Butter Factory to be ready for that moment, and to have helped create it.”

At Brisbane Powerhouse, Stewart grew annual earned revenue from $3.65 million to $6.6 million over eight years, delivered three consecutive record-breaking years at the box office and grew annual ticketed attendance by 41 per cent to more than 171,000. The Brisbane Comedy Festival grew to a record 62,500 tickets under Stewart.

As CEO of QMusic, Stewart led Australia’s largest music event, BIGSOUND, across 20 simultaneous venues, grew organisational income 2.5 times to $4.42 million and secured more than $20 million in Queensland Government investment for the music industry.

Stewart also founded the New York Musical Theatre Festival, which grew into the world’s largest annual musical theatre event, as well as the Sydney Fringe Festival, MELT Queensland and Wonderland, a festival of circus, sideshow and spectacle.

With commercial relationships spanning the Australian entertainment industry, including major touring companies, national promoters, booking agents and festival producers, Stewart will have direct oversight over growing Kingston Butter Factory’s programming and commercial partnerships. He starts in the role in July.

loganarts.com.au