Over the last 12 months, ArtsHub has been witness to a number of significant appointments of First Nations arts professionals and artists. These have been within our own organisations here in Australia, as Ambassadors on the global stage, and as key voices sitting on boards.
For this NAIDOC week, ArtsHub would like to recognise these First Nations leaders within our sector who are shaping our future through their roles in arts organisations.
Making an impact on the global stage
1. Archie Moore
Kamilaroi/Bigambul man, Archie Moore recently made history as the first Australian to receive the Golden Lion Award for exhibition kith and kin at the Australian Pavilion for the 2024 Venice Biennale.
2. Tony Albert
Kuku Yalanji man Tony Albert has held many professional roles additional to his internationally renowned artistic practice and current role as Trustee of the Art Gallery of NSW (2020-2025). However, it was his appointment as the inaugural Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain First Nations Curatorial Fellow that set a new conversation in play. Albert worked with the Biennale of Sydney to commission, present and promote First Nations arts and culture as part of the recent exhibition. He will also forge a significant connection between the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain collection in Paris and First Nations artists and curators abroad in this role.
Read: Thinking bigger: talking First Nations partnerships with Fondation Cartier
3. Kimberly Moulton
Kimberley Moulton is celebrating several appointments. Late last year she was appointed Adjunct Curator Indigenous Art Tate Modern, London and, more recently, was announced as the 2025 curator at TarraWarra Biennale. She was also Senior Curator at RISING. Moulton is a Yorta Yorta woman known for her ability to unite community, research, collections and art through an Indigenous-led curatorial approach.
She has also held the role of Senior Curator, First Peoples, at Museums Victoria(2009-2023), co-curation of the transnational Indigenous Triennial, Naadohbii: To Draw Water, and is Deputy Chair of the Board Shepparton Art Museum. She is a PhD candidate in curatorial practice at the Wominjeka Djeembana Indigenous Research Lab, Monash University.
4. Léuli Eshrāghi
Last year, non-binary curator Léuli Eshrāghi was named Indigenous Arts Curator at Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. Their new curatorial position will span research into Indigenous arts as well as guidance on how the museum can institutionally support and affirm Indigenous artists and staff.
Eshrāghi is a member of the Sāmoan clans Seumanutafa and Tautua, as well as a person of Persian, Cantonese and European descent. They speak French, Sāmoan, Spanish and the creole languages of Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea. Before taking up this role, Eshrāghi curated the eighth edition of the TarraWarra Biennial, as well as publishing Indigenous Aesthetics and Knowledges for Great Ocean Renaissances with Common Room Editions.
Eshrāghi has a PhD in Curatorial Practice from Monash University and a Graduate Certificate in Indigenous Arts Management from the University of Melbourne. They have worked as an adviser to the Palais de Tokyo in Paris, and have shown at the Tate Modern in London, the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia in Sydney and the Sharjah Biennial in the United Arab Emirates.
Heading up organisations
5. Isaac Drandic
In March, Queensland Theatre appointed Noongar man Isaac Drandic into a new position, the Associate Artistic Directors in First Nations, Programming, and Education and Youth. In this role, Drandic will connect a broad range of First Nations community stakeholders, elevate cultural storytelling across the state, and work closely with Queensland Theatre’s Indigenous Reference Group on the artistic direction and programming, along with the creation of important pathways and opportunities for First Nations artists and creatives.
6. Dennis Stokes
Following an extensive national search, Cairns Indigenous Art Fair (CIAF) recently announced Dennis Stokes’ appointment as Chief Executive Officer. Stokes hails from Darwin and belongs to the Wardaman, Luritja and Warramunga peoples of the Northern Territory and the Wagadagam people of the Torres Strait. His extensive career includes pivotal roles, such as CEO of Mimi Aboriginal Art & Craft, Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute and First Nations Media Australia. Appointed May 2024.
7. Joshua Pether
Internationally renowned artist Joshua Pether has been appointed as the new CEO of Arts Access Victoria (AAV). Pether is an experimental performance artist, dancer and choreographer of Kalkadoon heritage, and was recently based in Noongar Country in Western Australia. His performance practice is influenced by his two cultural histories: Indigeneity and disability. He was appointed in May.
8. Sebastian Goldspink
Late last year, Sebastian Goldspink, of the Burramattagal people, was appointed Hazelhurst Arts Centre’s new Director. Most recently he was curator of the 2022 Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art, Senior
Manager Art and Placemaking at Western Sydney Airport, inaugural director of Woollahra Gallery at Redleaf and founder of the artist-run space ALASKA Projects.
9. Keith Munro
Earlier last year, Keith Munro, a descendant of the Kamilaroi (Gomeroi / Gamilaroi/ Gamilarray) people, was appointed the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia’s first Director, First Nations Art and Cultures. Munro joined the MCA in 2004 and has been a pivotal leader and adviser on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander initiatives. In 2015 Munro was instrumental in implementing the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Policy at MCA Australia, the first policy in Australia to set out quantifiable targets for a major cultural institution. This elevation of his role is well-deserved.
10. Clothilde Bullen
Late last year, Wardandi and Badimaya woman, Clothilde Bullen appointed to new role at Edith Cowan University as the inaugural Lead, Cultural Strategy and Development for the ECU City campus in Perth. In the new role she will lead the strategic development of projects and initiatives that showcase and celebrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture, people, art, languages and histories at ECU City, as well as the wider university. She was previously Art Gallery of Western Australia’s Senior Curator and Head of Indigenous Programs. She is currently co‐Chair of Indigenous Voices, as well as a Board member of the UNESCO International Association of Art Critics (Australian chapter) and Chair of the Board of the National Association for the Visual Arts (NAVA).
11. Shay Vigona-Goudge
Artback NT moved into a new era with the appointment of First Nations CEO Shay Vigona-Goudge. This is a significant senior appointment of a local, First Nations woman to a nationally recognised arts organisation. Vigona-Goudge comes from a multicultural background with family in the Tiwi Islands.
Other professional appointments
12. Brook Andrew
In January, the Festival of Dangerous Ideas (FODI) appointed artist, curator and writer Brook Andrew to the role of First Nations Curatorial Adviser in 2024. A Wiradjuri and Celtic man, from Australia, Andrew said of his appointment: ‘I like to create and collaborate on new spaces for [alternative] interrogations, and FODI is one of those rare places where this can happen. There’s much to navigate within our complex world and complex histories, I’ve got so many dangerous ideas to share!’
13. Ian R T Colless
In January, artsACT announced the appointment of Ian R T Colless as its new Assistant Director, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Engagement, Culture and Arts. Colless is a proud member of the Dharabuladh (Therabluat) clan of the Gundungurra people, with a mixture of Irish heritage, who grew up in regional Australia. Most recently, Colless has been with the National Gallery of Australia, managing the Indigenous Arts Leadership Program, supported by Wesfarmers Arts. He has also been a member of the Minister’s Creative Council and artsACT’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Network.
14. Michael Hutchings
The Sydney Opera House appointed Michael Hutchings, of Arrernte heritage from Central Australia, to the role of Head of First Nations Programming. He is the third person to hold this role in the organisation’s executive. Hutchings joins the Opera House from the Australia Council for the Arts where he was the First Nations Project Manager.
15. Ngaere Jenkins, and
16. Ryan Pearson
In February, Sydney Dance Company welcomed five new dancers to the Company including two First Nations performers – Te Arawa and Ngāti Kahungunu descent (Aotearoa New Zealand), Ngaere Jenkins and Ryan Pearson who is of Biripi and Worimi descent. Pearson began his dance training at NAISDA Dance College at age 16, and joined Bangarra Dance Theatre in 2017. He was nominated in the 2020 Australian Dance Awards for Most Outstanding Performance in Jiří Kylián’s Stamping Ground.
17. Jack Gillmer, and
18. Jody Rallah
In March, Powerhouse and the Cité Internationale des arts announced recipients of the 2024 galang residency program – Sydney-based Worimi and Biripi guri architect Jack Gillmer and multidisciplinary Yuggera and Biri artist from Brisbane, Jody Rallah.
19. Rebecca Ray
Late last year, the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (MCA Australia) appointed Meriam Mer woman from the Torres Strait Islands, Rebecca Ray as Curator, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Collections and Exhibitions. Ray comes to MCA Australia from the National Portrait Gallery (NPG) in Canberra, and prior to that was the inaugural Indigenous Assistant Curator of Indigenous Art at HOTA, Home of the Arts on the Gold Coast, Queensland.
Ray said of her appointment, ‘I’m a strong believer that Indigenous curators are significant in restorative justice and reconciliation, and am dedicated to platforming Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s stories and histories through their own dynamic cultural and creative expressions.’
20. Dr Christian Thompson AO
Dr Christian Thompson AO was appointed Adjunct Industry Associate Professor RMIT University, within its renowned School of Art and School of Fashion and Textiles.
21. Nadine Lee
Nadine Lee, from the Gulumerridjin (Larrakia), Wardaman and Karajarri peoples, was appointed an Artistic Associate with Darwin’s Brown’s Mart Theatre. ‘Brown’s Mart has long been home to important Gulumerridjin Larrakia stories, artists and creatives,’ Lee said. ‘It is an honour to join the team as an Artistic Associate and bring our deep cultural knowledges and ways of working to this place and program.’
22. Aspen Beattie
23. Emily Jean Robertson
24. Georgia Hayward
25. Jasmine Craciun
26. Moorina Bonini
27. Matariki Williams
28. Peggy Kasabad Lane
Almost half of the 15 early career visual arts professionals, selected from across Australia and Aotearoa (New Zealand) to join Creative Australia’s (re)situate Biennale Delegates program are First Nations people. They are:
- Aspen Beattie is a Luritja, Warumungu and Yawuru woman from Mparntwe, Central Australia, working with the dynamic Desart team.
- Emily Jean Robertson is a Palawa woman from the Trawlwoolway people in the north-eastern part of Lutruwita, Tasmania.
- Georgia Hayward is an artist, writer and arts worker of Mardigan/Maranganji and Anglo-Celtic descent.
- Jasmine Craciun is a Barkindji and Malyangapa multimedia artist and graphic designer residing on Gadigal land.
- Moorina Bonini is a descendant of the Yorta Yorta Dhulunyagen family clan of Ulupna and the Yorta Yorta, Wurundjeri and Wiradjuri Briggs/McCrae family. She is an artist whose works are informed by her experiences as an Aboriginal and Italian woman.
- Matariki Williams (Ngāi Tūhoe, Ngāti Hauiti, Taranaki, Ngāti Whakaue, Te Atihaunui-a-Pāpārangi) is a doctoral candidate, curator, writer and editor in the arts and cultural sector.
- Peggy Kasabad Lane is a Saibai Koedal Awgadhalayg woman from the Guda Maluylgal Nation in Zenadth Kes (Torres Strait). She is the First Nations Curator at Cairns Regional Council.
- Israel Randell who is of Rarotonga, Tainui, Ngāti Kahungunu descent is also a part of the Creative Australia delegates program.
- Also appointed in the program were Linda Iriza, Alice Castello, Annika Aitkin, Bahar Sayed, Dr Bilquis Ghani, Samia Sayed and Eloise Breskvar, but they are not of First Nations heritage.
Reshaping our boards
29. Zoe Rimmer, and
30. Dr Stephen Gilchrist
Pakana woman Zoe Rimmer and Yamatji man Dr Stephen Gilchrist were appointed members of the National Cultural Heritage Committee, in November, each for a three-year term. The Committee is responsible for advising the government on important matters regarding Australia’s cultural heritage. Rimmer is an Indigenous Fellow at the School of Humanities in the College of the Arts, Law and Education at the University of Tasmania. She is an author and documentary filmmaker, Rimmer is currently a member of the Indigenous Reference Group of the National Gallery of Australia and Deputy Chair of the Aboriginal Heritage Council, Tasmania. Gilchrist is a curator and author specialising in Australian Indigenous art, a Senior Lecturer in the School of Indigenous Studies at the University of Western Australia, and has worked with Indigenous Australian art collections in galleries both at home and abroad.
31. Jake Thompson
Wiradjuri Gibir man, Jack Thompson joined the Carriageworks Board in January. Thompson has built a career in community engagement, marketing, philanthropy and corporate partnership. His grandfather worked at Carriageworks in the 1970s and, 35 years later, Thompson himself performed in the building at the Platform 1 Hip-Hop Festival in 2009.
32. Amara Barnes, and
33. Thomas Mayo
In February, the Indigenous Literacy Foundation (ILF) appointment of new Board members, Wiradyuri yinaa (woman) Amara Barnes and Kaurareg Aboriginal, and Kulkalgal, Erubamle Torres Strait Islander man, Thomas Mayo. Barnes For the past decade, Barnes has worked across multiple sectors and industries, including in media, tertiary, community, non-profit and private organisations, towards meaningful and positive outcomes for First Nations peoples. Mayo is a best-selling author and Assistant National Secretary of the Maritime Union of Australia. He is a signatory of the Uluru Statement from the Heart.
34. Jenna Lee
In April, the Bus Projects’ Board welcomed Gulumerridjin (Larrakia), Wardaman and KarraJarri Saltwater artist and graphic designer Jenna Lee. She is co-Chair with Jacina Leong.
35. Rachel Perkins
Arrernte and Kalkadoon woman Rachel Perkins was appointed Chair of the Australian Film, Television and Radio School (AFTRS) Council this year, for a period of three years. Perkins is an award-winning writer, director and producer of television drama, documentaries and feature films. In 1992, she founded Blackfella Films, which has gone on to become one of Australia’s leading production companies.
36. Jahkarli Felicitas Romanis
Melbourne Art Library (MAL) made the recent appointment of Pitta Pitta woman, Jahkarli Felicitas Romanis as a Board member. Romanis was MAL’s inaugural Artist in Residence back in 2022 and this appointment formalises her presence within the organisation as it continues to probe at what a library can be. She was appointed in May.
37. Benson Saulo
Benson Saulo, a descendant of the Wemba Wemba and Gunditjmara nations and New Ireland Province in Papua New Guinea, was appointed Chair of Indigenous arts organisation The Torch, in May. He is the first Indigenous Australian to be appointed an Australian Consul-General and Senior Trade and Investment Commissioner, delivering the Australian Government’s diplomacy, economic and trade agenda in the US. In 2011, he was appointed the Australian Youth Representative to the United Nations, and was named the National NAIDOC Youth of the Year. Saulo is currently Managing Partner at First Australians Capital, a national Indigenous-led investment fund and business advisory organisation.
38. Dean Gibson
In June, Guugu Yimithirr man Dean Gibson was appointed the Chair of the Queensland Theatre Board, as the first Aboriginal person to hold this leadership position. Gibson is a renowned filmmaker, storyteller and producer, with his Logie Award-winning work featured on ABC, SBS and NITV.
39. Dr Ali Gumillya Baker
Mirning woman and academic Dr Ali Gumillya Baker was appointed to the Art Gallery of South Australia Board. Baker is an Associate Professor in the College of Humanities Arts and Social Sciences in Indigenous and Australian Studies at Flinders University and a multidisciplinary artist.
40. Uncle Gerry Moore OAM
Uncle Gerry Moore OAM was recently made Director of the Bundanon Trust Board for a three-year term. Moore is a Yuin man from Wreck Bay on the south coast of New South Wales. He was previously Chief Executive Officer of the Aboriginal Legal Service New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory. In 2020, Moors was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia.
41. Robert Taylor
Robert Taylor, of Nhanda Yamaji heritage, has joined The Arts and Culture Trust (ACT) Board. Since 2015 Taylor has been CEO of the Western Australian Indigenous Tourism Operators Council (WAITOC).
ArtsHub recognises that many First Nations arts professionals in the sector are doing wonderful things. If we missed anyone recently appointed (2024) that you feel should be on this list, drop us an email at editor@artshub.com.au.
