Kris Nelson
CEO & Festival Director
Sydney Festival
Following six-and-a-half years as Artistic Director and CEO at the prestigious London International Festival of Theatre (LIFT) and over a decade spent living and working in the UK and Ireland, Kris Nelson relocated to Sydney and delivered his first program as Festival Director in January 2026. Originally from Saskatoon in Canada, Nelson has spent over a decade working internationally in arts and cultural events and is no stranger to making his mark on a new city through his bold curation. While cutting his teeth working as a freelance curator and producer on festivals across Canada including Vancouver’s PuSh International Performing Arts Festival and the roving Magnetic North Theatre Festival, Nelson also championed the works of experimental Canadian theatre and dance companies via his own Montréal-based touring agency, Antonym Productions. Nelson later relocated to Ireland where he served as Festival Director of the Dublin Fringe Festival from 2013 to 2017, Ireland’s largest multi-disciplinary arts festival and one of the few curated fringe events in the world.