Board of Trustees
Both the Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art are administered under one act (The Queensland Art Gallery Act 1987) and have one overarching governance and management structure. The Queensland Art Gallery Board of Trustees is the Gallery's governing body.
Professor Emeritus Ian O'Connor AC | Chair
Professor Emeritus Ian O’Connor AC holds a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Queensland and was Vice Chancellor and President of Griffith University from 2005 to 2018. Professor O’Connor has served as Chair of the Queensland Art Gallery Board of Trustees since March 2017. He is a former Deputy Chair of Trade and Investment Queensland. In 2017, he was awarded the Companion of the Order of Australia for his contributions to Higher Education and the community.
Liz Pidgeon | Deputy Chair
Elizabeth (Liz) Pidgeon is co-founder and Director of Cornerstone Properties and a Director of the Pidgeon Group of Companies. Liz has held previous board roles with organisations including Brisbane Marketing, Wesley Research Institute, Property Industry Foundation and Surf Life Saving Foundation. She has been a Gallery Trustee since 2014 and Deputy Chair since 2020.
Dr Bianca Beetson
Dr Bianca Beetson is a Gubbi Gubbi/Kabi Kabi (Sunshine Coast) Waradjuri (NSW) artist, and is Director of the Indigenous Research Unit, at Griffith University. She is also an accomplished curator and was a former member of the seminal Aboriginal artists collectives Campfire group and proppaNOW. Bianca is a member of the Artist Advisory Board at the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, Sydney, and a board member of Digi Youth Arts.
The Honourable Martin Daubney AM QC
The Honourable Martin Daubney AM QC is Chancellor of the Australian Catholic University. He served as a judge of the Supreme Court of Queensland from 2007 to 2021 and as President of the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal from 2017 to 2021. In 2018 he was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for significant service to the law, the judiciary, education and the community.
Gina Fairfax AC
Gina Fairfax AC is a Trustee of the Tim Fairfax Family Foundation and an advocate for access to arts and education in rural, regional and remote communities. Gina and her husband Tim Fairfax AC have been recognised for their significant and enduring legacy to the arts in Australia through awards including a Creative Partnerships Australia award for Philanthropy Leadership (2018) and Life Memberships of Philanthropy Australia (2021). Gina is President of the Breast and Prostate Cancer Association of Queensland.
Catherine Sinclair
Catherine Sinclair is a Director of The Consultancy Bureau and has experience as a member of tribunals and boards in transport, the arts, and local government sectors. Catherine is Chair of the Gallery’s Audit and Risk Management Committee and has held previous leadership roles with organisations including the Residential Tenancies Authority, Brisbane Airport Corporation, Royal National Agricultural and Industrial Association of Queensland, Port of Brisbane and Brisbane Festival.
Paul Taylor
Paul Taylor is the Head of Investments for Fidelity International in Australia. He is the Chair of the Dean’s Society for Business, Economics, and Law at the University of Queensland and, together with his wife Sue, played a key role in establishing the University of Queensland’s Centre for the Business and Economics of Health. Paul is an advocate for and supporter of the visual, literary and performing arts in Queensland.
Executive Management Team
CHRIS SAINES CNZM
Director
SIMON ELLIOTT
Deputy Director, Collection and Exhibitions
TARRAGH CUNNINGHAM
Assistant Director, Development and Commercial Services
DUANE LUCAS
Assistant Director, Operations and Governance
SIMON WRIGHT
Assistant Director, Learning and Public EngagementIndigenous Advisory Panel
The Indigenous Advisory Panel provides specialist practical advice and guidance to the Director relating to QAGOMA’s programs and commitment to Indigenous Australian culture through collection development, exhibition display and programming, increased employment opportunities, professional development and community liaison.
Avril Quaill
Avril Quaill is a Nunukul woman, artist, arts administrator and curator of the Quandamooka Festival on North Stradbroke Island, and former Artistic Director of the Cairns Indigenous Art Fair.
Nancy Bamaga
Nancy Bamaga is a Torres Strait Islander woman descending from Saibai Island, Senior Managing Director of Black Drum Productions and serves on numerous boards in the arts and community sectors.
Dr Bianca Beetson
Dr Bianca Beetson is a Gubbi Gubbi/Kabi Kabi (Sunshine Coast) Waradjuri (NSW) artist, and is Director of the Indigenous Research Unit, at Griffith University. She is also an accomplished curator and was a former member of the seminal Aboriginal artists collectives Campfire group and proppaNOW. Bianca is a member of the Artist Advisory Board at the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, Sydney, and a board member of Digi Youth Arts.
Helena Gulash
Helena Gulash is a Kabi Kabi traditional owner, advocate for Indigenous arts and culture and highly regarded for her knowledge of country and Buderim’s Indigenous living history and heritage.
Louisa Warren
Louisa Warren is a Torres Strait Islander woman and Community Engagement Manager of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Programs for Office of the Commonwealth Games.
David Williams
David Williams is a Wakka Wakka man, co-founder and Director of Gilimbaa Indigenous Creative Agency, member of the board of the Queensland Museum, and an advisor to Opera Australia.
ORGANISATIONAL INFORMATION
More information about QAGOMA's organisational structure and management can be found in the Gallery's annual reports.