Jason Smith will be the new director of the Art Gallery of South Australia (AGSA).
Smith joins the Adelaide institution from Geelong Gallery, where he was also director. Other previous positions include curatorial manager of Australian art at Queensland Art Gallery/Gallery of Modern Art, director and CEO of Heide Museum of Modern Art (2008-14), director of Monash Gallery of Art (2007-8), and curator of contemporary art at the National Gallery of Victoria (1997 to 2007).
‘The principle that has guided my leadership is to ensure an accessible and inclusive experience of art that enriches peoples’ lives,’ Smith said in a statement. ‘I am excited to work alongside the Board and with my new AGSA colleagues to realise the Gallery’s vision to be a destination that transforms visitor experience, and that continually asserts the cultural riches of the collection and the State.
‘I look forward to continuing to develop the audiences, partnerships, and commercial enterprises that will underpin AGSA’s necessary ongoing growth and contemporary relevance, together with AGSA’s strategic imperatives, especially those amplifying the vision of artists and the passions of our committed and much-valued stakeholders.’
Smith will begin in February 2025.
