News

First Nations curator Nici Cumpston to lead US collection

She will be Kluge-Ruhe's first First Nations Director in its 26-year history.

24 Jan 2025 8:32

Gina Fairley

Woman with curly hair wearing black dress with white circles and surrounded by Aboriginal art. Nici Cumpston

Visual Arts

Nici Cumpston OAM in ‘Tarnanthi 2020: Open Hands’, with works by Lena Yarinkura and Yolanda Rostron, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, copyright the artists/Maningrida Arts and Culture/Copyright Agency. Photo: Saul Steed.

Barkandji artist, curator, writer and educator, Nici Cumpston OAM, will take up the position as Director of Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville (US), in May 2025.

She will succeed Kluge-Ruhe’s founding director, Margo Smith, who has held the post since the Collection opened to the public in 1999.

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Gina Fairley

Gina Fairley is ArtsHub's Senior Contributor, after 12 years in the role as National Visual Arts Editor. She has worked for extended periods in America and Southeast Asia, as gallerist, arts administrator and regional contributing editor for a number of magazines, including Hong Kong based Asian Art News and World Sculpture News. She is an Art Tour leader for the AGNSW Members, and lectures regularly on the state of the arts. She is based in Mittagong, regional NSW. Instagram: fairleygina