Vale Michael Keighery: artist, advocate, educator

A great agitator, advocate, artist and educator – the visual arts sector mourns Michael Keighery.
Vale: Sydney artist Michael Keighery died earlier this month. The photo shows an Anglo-Australian man wearing a black and white shirt and glasses standing in a ceramics exhibition.

Sydney artist Michael Keighery (born 1949) died earlier this month, following a bout of COVID. His death has hit hard for the sector, which knew Keighery to be a great academic, thinker, advocate and artist.

“Michael Keighery was one of the greatest thought provocateurs of his generation,” wrote a Mansfield Ceramics spokeperson upon hearing the news, in a tribute shared by the World Craft Council of Australia (WCCoA).

Unlock Padlock Icon

Unlock this content?

Access this content and more

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