Meet the Curators
2021
Matt Cox
Matt Cox is curator of Asian art at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, where he is engaged with both historical and contemporary art. He has realised curatorial projects at the 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art, Sydney Opera House, UTS Gallery and Sydney College of Fine Arts. Most recently, he has curated Passion and Procession. Art of the Philippines (2017), Playback: Dobell Australian Drawing Biennale 2018, Walking with Gods (2019) and A Promise: Khaled Sabsabi (2020). Matt has a PhD on Indonesian modern art from the University of Sydney, where he has taught subjects on contemporary art. He has published widely in Australia and internationally on Asian art, architecture and photography, including publications for the National Gallery of Australia, Mosman Art Gallery and Southeast of Now: Directions in Contemporary and Modern Art in Asia, and has been special issue editor of The Asian Arts Society of Australia journal. Matt is a member of the Blacktown City Arts Advisory Committee.
Rachel Kent
Rachel Kent is the Chief Curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia. She leads the MCA curatorial team, and delivers key initiatives including the annual Sydney International Art Series. She has presented exhibitions in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, the United States and Canada, working with artists such as Yoko Ono, Grayson Perry, Yinka Shonibare MBE, Tatsuo Miyajima, David Goldblatt, Cornelia Parker and, forthcoming, Doug Aitken. Rachel’s exhibitions have been presented at the Brooklyn Museum, New York; National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC; Musee d’art contemporain de Montreal; and the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo. Rachel has extensive public speaking experience, with a focus on creativity and the visual arts, environmental themes and human rights, including TEDx. She sits on editorial, academic and government advisory panels; and is the editor and author of multiple award-winning artist monographs. Rachel completed her postgraduate studies at The University of Melbourne; and is a graduate of the Women and Leadership Australia (WLA) advanced leadership program.
Abigail Moncrieff
Abigail Moncrieff is an independent curator with experience delivering context-specific works and commissioned projects with Australian and international contemporary artists. Notable previous roles include the inaugural curator of C3West at the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, realising projects with Angelica Mesiti, Sylvie Blocher and Jeanne van Heeswijk. In 2013, she was curator of Experimenta Speak to Me, International Biennial of Media Arts. Abigail has an ongoing interest in curating social and digital projects, often investigating forms of curatorial practice beyond conventional exhibition models at institutions. She was awarded an MFA from UNSW Art & Design for curatorial research involving community and regional engagement, which culminated in the exhibition Sentient at Murray Art Museum Albury with artist James Nguyen. This followed on from DEADPAN at Goulburn Regional Art Gallery and projects at Sydney artist-run initiatives including Ankles and MOP Projects. Abigail has contributed as writer and editor to numerous Australian art journals and publications.
Erin Vink
Erin Vink, a Ngiyampaa woman, is assistant curator of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art at the Art Gallery of New South Wales. Previously, she was the inaugural Indigenous assistant curator of art at the Australian War Memorial. Her recent curatorial projects, including Wirura Kanyini (2020), From My Mother Unto Me (2019), For Our Country (2019, co-curated with Toni Bailey) and Naygayiw Purka: Alick Tipoti, the Eyes of the North (2019), address Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s experience with Country, our relationship to it, and our inherent desire to defend it. She has written and featured in a number of catalogues and art magazines, including most recently ‘Extraction: art on the edge of the abyss,’ Art Monthly Australasia’s #KNOWMYNAME edition, and Country Art SA’s ‘Viétnam: one in, all in’. Erin is an alumni member of the prestigious National Gallery of Australia’s Indigenous Arts Leadership program supported by Wesfarmers Arts.