Exit interview: Gallerist Brenda May

After nearly 40-years in the gallery biz, across five different iterations and spaces, Sydney gallerist Brenda May calls it a day.

In many ways, Sydney gallerist Brenda May is the epitome of the saying, ‘One door closes and another one opens.’ Having represented contemporary Australian artists for nearly 40-years, that journey has been more like a series of reinvented chapters, than a seamless build.

It is a story of resilience needed in any gallery business, and a nimbleness to respond to shifting trends – and we are not just talking trends in aesthetics or art. The commercial gallery landscape has changed dramatically over that forty year period.

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Gina Fairley is ArtsHub's National Visual Arts Editor. For a decade she worked as a freelance writer and curator across Southeast Asia and was previously the Regional Contributing Editor for Hong Kong based magazines Asian Art News and World Sculpture News. Prior to writing she worked as an arts manager in America and Australia for 14 years, including the regional gallery, biennale and commercial sectors. She is based in Mittagong, regional NSW. Twitter: @ginafairley Instagram: fairleygina