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 was Vice Chancellor and President of Griffith University from 2005 to 2018. He is Chair of the Federal Government’s Higher Education Standards Panel, and of South Bank Corporation, Brisbane. In 2017 he was awarded the Companion of the Order of Australia for his contributions to the community.
Rick Wilkinson | Deputy Chair
Richard (Rick) Wilkinson is the Head of Consulting at EnergyQuest and a government-appointed gas commissioner with the Queensland GasFields Commission. He is an Adjunct Professor of the University of Queensland, and was previously an Advisory Board Member of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Engineered Quantum Systems and a Trustee Member of the Queensland State Advisory Council (Committee for Economic Development of Australia).
Dr Bianca Beetson
Dr Bianca Beetson is a Gubbi Gubbi/Kabi Kabi (Sunshine Coast) Waradjuri (NSW) artist, and is Program Director of Contemporary Australian Indigenous Art at Queensland College of Art, 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, Sydney, and a board member of Digi Youth Arts.
Gina Fairfax
Gina Fairfax is a trustee of the Tim Fairfax Family Foundation and an advocate for access to arts and education in rural, regional and remote communities. In 2018 Gina and her husband Tim Fairfax AC were awarded the 2018 Creative Partnerships Australia award for Philanthropy Leadership, an acknowledgment of their significant and enduring legacy to the arts in Australia.
The Hon. John Mickel
The Honourable John Mickel is an adjunct Associate Professor at the Queensland University of Technology, a former Member of the Queensland Parliament, and former Speaker of the Legislative Assembly (2009–12). John is also currently a Strategic Advisor for Access Community Services Ltd and Rowland Communication, Digital and Creative Agency.
Liz Pidgeon
Elizabeth (Liz) Pidgeon is co-founder and Director of Cornerstone Properties and a Director of the Pidgeon Group of Companies. Liz is a former president of the Property Council of Australia (Queensland Division) and is a past Director of Brisbane Marketing. She is also a former Board Member of the Wesley Research Institute, Property Industry Foundation, and former Chairman of the Surf Life Saving Foundation.
Paul Taylor
Paul Taylor is the head of Australian equities and portfolio manager of the Fidelity Australian Equities Fund. 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.
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.
Michael Aird
Michael Aird is a photographer working within Aboriginal arts and cultural heritage, curator, and established Keeaira Press in 1996 which focuses on art and photography.
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 from the Kabi Kabi / Gubbi Gubbi nation of the Sunshine Coast and Program Director of Contemporary Indigenous Australian Art at Queensland College of Art, Griffith University.
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.