Sep 4, 2026 – 4.00pmLisa Havilah was “in a class of her own”, then-NSW arts minister Don Harwin said in November 2019, when he appointed her the first chief executive of Powerhouse Museum.Last week, Havilah managed another singular achievement. Only this one would have been less welcome for the 55-year-old, who has spent the past seven years overseeing the rise of Powerhouse Parramatta from a riverine floodplain, 24 kilometres west of Sydney’s central business district.Subscribe to gift this articleGift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.Subscribe nowAlready a subscriber? Michael BaileyArts & Culture editorMichael Bailey is The Australian Financial Review’s Arts & Culture editor, based in Sydney. You can send him encrypted tips on Signal at michaelb2203.Fetching latest articles