On Saturday the Sydney Morning Herald ran a story called Arts Stars that purported to expose the high placed taste makers in Sydney’s arts scene. We’re not sure if the SMH had really done their homework because their list comprised of pretty obvious people – Elizabeth Ann Macgregor and Edmund Capon representing the Museum of Contemporary Art and Art Gallery of NSW power nexus, Neil Armfield of Company B and Robin Nevin of the Sydney Theatre Company representing A-list theatre while Stuart Mander of Opera Australia stood up for blue blood arts. But the list also included Brett Sheehy of the Sydney Festival and Caro Llewellyn of the Sydney Writer’s Festival who seem to do little more than cast a wide net hoping to catch passing artists on world PR tours. Surely there must be more influential people than this motley crew?
So we got to thinking – who are the most influential visual arts people in Sydney? Sure, there are the top echelon people who hold the purse strings and make the ultimate decisions – but can they take all the credit for a job well done when people further down the ladder are the ones doing the hard work? We had a few drinks, threw around a few names and came up with a definitive list of the ten most influential art people in Sydney. We list them here in no particular order.
Unlike the SMH, we’re offering you the opportunity to vote and, if you don’t like our list, feel free to either email us at theartlife@hotmail.com to nominate another influential arts person or add their name to our Comments link at the end of the story. Vote on the vote board on the right hand side of this page. A new window will open up with the result. When you’re finished, close the window and return!
The Ten
* Gallery Wren – In the here-today-gone-tomorrow world of artist run spaces, Gallery Wren has not only survived but it’s actually prospered with its expansion into larger premises next month. The directors, Vicky Papageorgopoulos & Melody Ellis, have also undertaken big projects like the recent Francis Baker-Smith project where Christopher Hanrahan and Todd McMillan joined the gallery for an eight month long curatorial experiment. Most importantly, Gallery Wren’s longevity has also meant that there is a genuine sense of occasion at openings, a loyal following of regular visitors and an undeniable influence on young artists hoping for a break.
* Dr. Dick Quan – A tireless proselytizer of new talent and new forms, Dr. Dick Quan is a new breed of collector/patron. His early support for ‘art photography’ more than a decade ago set the scene for the rise of people like Tracey Moffatt and Patricia Piccinini while his membership on numerous arts boards around the city including Gallery 4A and the AGNSW Contemporary Benefactors means that he can summon up institutional support for his passions giving artists access to collectors and exhibition space. Dr. Quan’s vigorous support for new media art promises to break open a whole new area of serious art collecting.
* Wayne Tunnicliffe – Although the AGNSW has an embarrassment of riches on its curatorial staff, few could argue that Tunnicliffe is probably the most influential of them all. Since joining the gallery his exhibitions have brought a new generation of artists into shows and his curatorial efforts have been inclusive, generous and thoughtful. Last year’s Still Life brought together key works by Ricky Swallow, Ronnie van Hout, Emily Floyd, Mikala Dwyer and James Angus and his position as the curator of the inaugural acquisitive Ann Landa Award means that Tunnicliffe’s decisions are not only astute but are backed up by the AGNSW’s financial muscle.
* Gary Carsley –Elizabeth Ann Macgregor took credit in the Sydney Morning Herald for the Leigh Bowery show at the MCA earlier this year, but that highly successful exhibition would not have happened if not for the efforts of curator Gary Carsley. Spending much of his time in the Netherlands has meant that Carsley, also an artist and a writer, is uniquely placed to curate shows such as the Bowery extravaganza as well as collating some uniquely eccentric concoctions of his own. The Cerebellum show Carsley curated for The Performance Space in 2002 brought together Charles Atlas and The King Pins (among others) and the show set the groundwork for the King Pins eventual signing with Kaliman Gallery as well cast their parodic performance art in an international context. How many Sydney artist/curators can claim that distinction?
* Nick Tsoutas – Regarded by some as a hero for his directorship of Artspace and its ongoing survival, Tsoutas is also a controversial figure for his continuing tenure. As his original two year engagement now edges close to a decade in the job, a curatorial log jam has occurred in an institution that should be as vital as Melbourne’s Gertrude Street but is little more than an fancy artist run space. One can only imagine what Artspace might have been like under some other power block but as it meanders along with exhibitions of wildly varying quality, some claim Tosutas is rather like the art world equivalent of John Howard –he just won’t go.
* Felicity Fenner – Is there a better connected writer/curator in Sydney than Fenner? As a curator for the NSW University College of Fine Arts Ivan Dougherty Gallery, she has been responsible for some of the most important and critically well-received shows including the survey exhibitions In A Certain Light: Clarice Beckett and Olive Cotton. Then there’s her roving arts writing with everything from the SMH, ArtLink and Australian Art Collector to any number of catalogue essays. And that’s even before her involvement with the SCEGGS Redlands Westpac Art Prize is taken into account – Fenner runs this town.
* Susan Borham – As the editor in chief of Australian Art Collector, Borham has an undeniable influence on the careers of Sydney artists. As much as some naysayers would like to deny it, AAC has done more for emerging artists than just about any other glossy magazine in the country. With collectors using the publication as a buying guide, the magazine’s annual Undiscovered Artists feature has helped to find galleries, dealers and collectors for emerging talent while the infamous annual 50 Most Collectable issue sells out. Artists and galleries have increasingly spent their limited advertising money on AAC over traditional venues like Art & Australia causing all sorts of internal changes within the magazine publishing world. Meanwhile, AAC under Borham’s editorship has continued to grow into a behemoth publication thick with ads.
* Vasili Kaliman – As a one time gallery assistant to Martin Browne, Kaliman knew the business smarts of his former boss but applied them to an entirely different end of the art market, launching his Paddington gallery with a mixture of young and older artists, secondary market items and an astute eye for talent. Representing a varied roster of artists from Sally Smart and John Cattapan to the King Pins and David Rosetzky, he is not averse to taking on new artists. But Kaliman is also different to most gallerists in his willingness to go on the record with his frank assessments of the art scene and the market. His talk on collecting at the MCA earlier this year was not to be missed. In a perfect world, there would be 20 galleries like Kaliman.
* Phatspace – An artist run gallery set up in the former home of Gitte Weise, Phatspace directors Danielle Coonan, Jennifer Duncan & Peta Sirec have put the shoe-string operation on the map with their judiciously chosen group and solo shows and Chewing The Phat, their salon style get-togethers where artists show videos and slides and enthuse about what excites them. Recognising that survival is all about establishing networks, Phatspace has collaborated with Gallery Wren creating an art scene all of their own. Phatspace’s official recognition as a parallel Biennale event venue earlier this year only confirmed the fact that the gallery is one of the most exciting, important and influential alternative spaces in the city.
* Russell Storer – After serving his time on the front desk at Roslyn Oxley Gallery Storer made the break to the MCA after compiling an impressive list of independent curatorial projects. Although the MCA doesn’t have the financial support enjoyed by the AGNSW and does not exhibit its permanent collection, Storer has distinguished himself as someone willing to take risks with his own ideas rather than relying on a cut-and-paste methodology of greatest hits. Storer is in touch with the grass roots of the Sydney art scene, providing him with access to artists who would not otherwise get a look in.
* Other – Always a popular choice among the smarter-than-you set, here’s your chance to set the record straight. Send your nominations to theartlife@hotmail.com or add them to the Comments below.
