The Australian Centre for Contemporary Art (ACCA) has announced Myles Russell-Cook as its new Artistic Director and CEO, following the news that Max Delany, who held the role for nine years, will depart the organisation in November this year.
Russell-Cook is currently Senior Curator of Australian and First Nations Art at the Gallery of Victoria (NGV), and played crucial roles in projects including QUEER: Stories from the NGV Collection, the Wurrdha Marra exhibit on the ground level of The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia and the First Peoples exhibition, The Stars We Do Not See: Australian Indigenous Art, that is set to tour to the US in 2025.
A descendant of the Wotjobaluk people on his maternal side, Russell-Cook has been strongly engaged in Indigenous studies and championing First Peoples’ agency throughout his career.
ACCA Chair Dr Terry Wu says of Russell-Cook’s appointment, “We are very excited to welcome Myles to the role. As a curator, he has a proven ability to transcend the boundaries of what contemporary art can do and be, and has created numerous successful exhibitions that are progressive and scholarly, while also accessible and inclusive. He is a leading light within the next generation of Australian arts practitioners, with boundless ambition and energy, and an expansive vision that will steer ACCA into the next period of success and growth.”
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Russell-Cook’s engagement also extends beyond Australia to international curatorial projects. The most recent of which is the group exhibition La terre est bleue, in collaboration with the Australian Embassy in Paris.
Russell-Cook says he is excited to take on the role at ACCA. “Since its inception, ACCA has been transformative for Australian art, particularly by creating opportunities for artists to make daring and ambitious new work, much of which goes on to be acquired by important state and national collections.
“What’s more, ACCA has always provided audiences with experiences that are utterly of the time, rapidly responding to new artistic developments both locally and internationally. That’s perhaps what I love most about ACCA, the way it has always been ahead of the conversation. I am excited to continue to deliver and expand on this remit and lead such a vitally important institution into the future. The next decade or so in Naarm/Melbourne is filled with opportunity, and I see ACCA as a leader in the newly developed Melbourne Arts Precinct, and beyond.”
Delany’s final exhibition contribution to ACCA, Tenant Creek Brio: Juparnta Ngattu Minjinypa Iconocrisis is now on view until 17 November.
