We are delighted to announce the appointment of Robert Heather as the new director of New England Regional Art Museum. Robert will be moving from Melbourne to Armidale with his family to commence at NERAM in late August.
Robert Heather has been working in Australian public galleries and museums for over twenty years and has extensive experience in working with leading curators and artists to develop innovative and engaging exhibitions, programs and collections.
For the past nine years he has been the Manager, Collection Interpretation at the State Library of Victoria where he has been responsible for one of the largest exhibition programs in any library in the world including the major international exhibitions The Medieval Imagination in 2008, Love and Devotion: From Persia and beyond in 2012 and Inspiration by Design: Word and Image from the Victoria and Albert Museum in 2015.
He has also worked as Inaugural Director of Artspace Mackay, Executive Director of the Regional Galleries Association of Queensland and has had positions at the Queensland Art Gallery and Cairns Regional Gallery.
When asked: “Why NERAM?” Robert had this to say: “For many years I have been a passionate advocate for the important role which regional galleries play in the Australian arts sector in making the visual arts more accessible across the whole country.”
“I am looking forward to meeting the local community and artists of the Armidale area and learning more about the collections, staff, volunteers and supporters of the New England Regional Art Museum,” he said.
“The story behind the Hinton Collection at NERAM is one of the greatest acts of artistic philanthropy and benefaction in Australian history, I aim to see that it inspires further support into the future.”
The Board believes that Robert has the skills, the personal approach and the background to guide NERAM to become a premier regional art gallery on the Australian scene.
We are excited to welcome Robert and his vast experience to NERAM, and we look forward to this exciting new chapter for our Art Museum.
