The pair were appointed to the dual role before Christmas, after the resignation of former director Gareth McMillan, who had led the DFAT for five years.
Both Ms Harvey and Ms Schrader have previously held part-time senior roles in the organisation, and are enjoying the transition to jointly steering the DFAT stable of projects.
The largest event under the DFAT umbrella is the Dunedin Fringe Festival, set to run from March 16-26, with the organisation also responsible for the New Zealand Young Writers Festival, Amped Music Project and the White Box gallery at Fringe HQ.
The team is also now managing the Te Whare o Rukutia performance space and the Dunedin Community Gallery.
When Te Whare o Rukutia was created last year, the Fringe HQ moved to the former Scottish Shop site at 19 George St, which it shares with the Dunedin Dream Brokerage and NZ International Science Festival teams.
"The camaraderie with these other organisations is great — it’s good to have a vibrant, humming office, and to be able to cross-pollinate ideas," Ms Harvey said.
With the Dunedin Fringe Festival just around the corner, things were ramping up at Fringe HQ, and the team was looking forward to working with artists from across New Zealand, Australia and around the world.
"It’s an open access, so anything goes, which is part of the fun of it all," Ms Schrader said.
The Dunedin Fringe Festival is part of a sequence of antipodean fringe festivals, which include Adelaide, Melbourne, Wellington, Nelson and Dunedin, which allows overseas artists the opportunity to build a tour.
"It will be exciting to welcome back some performers who haven’t been able to get here for a few years, due to the Covid-19 pandemic," she said.
The Dunedin Fringe Festival will be based at Te Whare o Rukutia, with the Hub for artists in the Dunedin Community Gallery space next door, in Princes St, and will be held in partnership with Dunedin Pride. Other venues will also host events.
"The fringe festival is on during Pride Month, so it will be great to have a drop-in space and for Pride-related events and activities," Ms Schrader said.
"We have collaborated with Dunedin Pride in the past, and this is a strengthening of that relationship."
