The search for a permanent director at Murray Art Museum Albury, to replace Jacqui Hemsley, is over and the long wait appears worth it with the appointment of US-based Australian Bree Pickering.
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Ms Pickering will join MAMA in November from the US where she is a director of a contemporary art space and collective in Philadelphia.
She will move to the Border with her Albury-raised artist husband Marley Dawson. They will be a great asset to the region’s vibrant arts and creative scene.
In the US Ms Pickering managed a multidisciplinary program that included more than 140 exhibitions and 200 live projects by more than 500 artists, and secured support from major philanthropic foundations.
Before her Philadelphia role, she held management-level positions in cultural affairs for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade at the Australian embassy in Washington and at Anna Schwartz Gallery in Sydney.
Ms Pickering brings strong management, fundraising and curatorial experience and an extensive network in the national and international cultural sector.
Among her successes is a background of curatorial work with exhibitions of work by leading Australian artists including Daniel Boyd, Shaun Gladwell, Angelica Mesiti, Kate Mitchell and Mike Parr, and professional engagements with the Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia, Tyler School of Art, The Delaware Contemporary and Washington Project for the Arts, among others.
We can expect that outstanding experience and networking to be put to good use by MAMA as the contemporary gallery seeks to build on its first year successes.
Almost 90,000 have visited MAMA and Albury Council says the venue has raked in more than $10.8 million for the Border economy since opening, well worth the $10.5 million investment.
MAMA’s first international art show, a tribute to Marilyn Monroe, drew between 8000 to 10,000 people a month during the exhibition’s run from February 12 to May 8.
In its first year MAMA has kicks plenty of goals in bringing people to Albury and the original exhibition now featuring – SPEED: The Fast and The Curious – has opened the world of art to a new audience with its life-size displays of cars and motorbikes.
Let’s hope Ms Pickering can take MAMA up another gear and use her connections to bring more of the world to the Border.