Interviewed by Bill Rathmell
BR Nick, you have had an exciting and successful career in galleries, museums and universities around Australia. Now that you are responsible for the principal collection of visual art in Australia, what is your approach based on your twenty years of experience?
NM My approach is to have a stronger focus on using the collection and putting it to work. That was my experience from the Art Gallery of South Australia where I really prioritised the collection and gave it a higher profile. We all have to invest more into our own collections and put them to work because the next couple of years are going to be quite unpredictable. We have such a rich collection to draw from at the National Gallery of Australia. When we opened, we had about 20,000 works – now the building isn’t much bigger in terms of display space and we have 155,000 works. There is enormous pressure to exhibit works of art and I believe the answer is sharing the collection more with long-term loans, touring exhibitions and partnerships with other galleries.
We have already started increasing the proportion of Australian art and the art of our neighbours on display as part of our strategic plan. This was a key part of the Lindsay Report in 1966 which was the blueprint for the establishment of the National Gallery. It was very clear in its articulation that the National Gallery‘s mandate was to; first elevate the work of Australia and its neighbours, and second to advance the relationship between Australia and the rest of the world. This blueprint is very important for the future. In two years, we’ll celebrate the 40th anniversary of the opening of the building and I think that blueprint is just as relevant today. The National Gallery has always collected the work of its neighbours; I think that should continue to be a priority. I would like to see greater integration across the displays; I’m not interested in “othering” works of art or displaying them separately, but rather the “cultural narrative” by teasing out relationships between works.
BR Recently The Guardian published a story that the National Gallery was deaccessioning over 200 pieces from the Pacific collection. What’s the story behind this?
NM The core function of the National Gallery is to develop and maintain a national collection of works of art. In pursuing this, from time to time, we must refine the collection through careful deaccessioning of materials that are unfit or no longer required.
Although the deaccessioning mentioned in The Guardian was undertaken prior to my arrival in 2017, I fully support the process, as the objects were identified as cultural items and were not of high artistic merit. It is also important that objects are displayed, if we can’t do that ourselves, we want to find cultural institutions who can. The National Gallery has had a long standing, positive relationship with the Papua New Guinea National Museum & Art Gallery and I understand they are very excited to have these objects returned.
BR What has been the National Gallery’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic?
NM The COVID-19 pandemic was a catalyst for change for the National Gallery. It brought with it a chance to pivot our thinking and create a new path for digital content creation and staff collaboration.
By the end of the first week of closure we had redesigned our website homepage to showcase the diversity of digital content; reprioritised and repurposed video content for virtual exhibition walkthroughs and transformed the online presence of Public Programs, Learning and Education to profile new virtual excursions for schools, art making activities, art talks and learning resources. We also leveraged the #MuseumFromHome movement and profiled curator picks of the collection via homemade mobile videos, on social media.
The pandemic has shown us that we can do much more online, be more responsive and share more information about our collection in many ways. It has also allowed us to have a lot of fun. A highlight of the social media activity was the #BetweenArtandQuarantine movement in which art lovers recreated their favourite masterpieces from household items, including a globally viral LEGO version of Jackson Pollock’s Blue Poles. It was inspiring to see our audience engaging with the national collection in new and exciting ways.
BR Does this suggest that there is an opportunity for virtual museums?
NM There is definitely a place for virtual museum projects; however, they need ongoing funding to stay relevant and respond to the audience’s interests. One of the great success stories is the National Library’s Trove, a comprehensive online database of digitised research material, but it costs millions of dollars each year to keep running. Content has to have an educational perspective. Audiences want more than just digitising the collection. They want background notes, interviews with the artists and/or curators, they want to know more about the creation of works of art. That has been one of the great learnings for us from this period.
BR Is there a future for travelling exhibitions?
NM The National Gallery typically has about 1400 works of art on loan each year across Australia and approximately 200 elsewhere in the world. We also have about eight touring exhibitions a year around Australia. Much of that is in a state of suspension at present. It is particularly important to support regional galleries so when we lend works of art, we send a curator or conservator at the beginning and conclusion of an exhibition to assist with unpacking, condition reporting and the display of the works of art. At the moment with travel bans on interstate and international travel we have completed Skype or Face-time mediated repacking dialogues with international institutions and this could be part of a future where staff may not have to travel with every work of art.
For extremely expensive and fragile works we will always need to have couriers – we just need to adapt to new ways of working with our regional colleagues with our touring exhibitions program. Fortunately, we have not had to cancel any of our travelling exhibitions, there have just been delays, and we are trying to fulfil as many of the loan requests as possible.
BR You have restated the National Gallery’s commitment to building and refining the Oceania collection as being a key part of the Gallery’s collecting strategy, so will the collecting and display of the indigenous art of Australia and its neighbours continue to be a high priority?
NM With the Pacific collection I am particularly interested in the relationship to Australian art, particularly the work of the “Top End” and Indonesia and the trade that happened over many years and the motifs that are shared between them and Papua New Guinea. I’m interested in the way that the Pacific and the modernist collection from both Australia and internationally has a strong connection and link. Last year, we included some of the Pacific collection in dialogue with our modernist works. This is important in helping audiences develop an understanding of those connections. Art is rarely made in isolation; even though the places are geographically isolated, there’s history and trade – all of these things present different entry points when connecting ideas and culture. So, you might find some of the Pacific collection in an Australian art display, you might see some of it having a dialogue with the modernist international collection, you may see a focused display. I think there is a number of ways that we can put the collection to work – these are the sorts of things you’ll see over the next couple of years.
BR What role do you think your collection can play to support Australia’s soft diplomacy in the Pacific?
NM I have always believed that art plays an important role in advancing Australia’s cultural engagement with the world. Art, particularly through education, can nurture great appreciation and understanding between cultures and foster respect. I hope the National Gallery continues to have a positive relationship with our colleagues in the Pacific and continues to support DFAT and the Australian Government. For me, the answer is in collaboration and thinking differently about how to share and elevate the national collection to help advance cultural understanding both in Australia and in the Pacific and South East Asia.
BR What will the National Gallery at 40 years look like?
NM 2022 is the National Gallery’s 40th anniversary year, we want to make some ground-breaking acquisitions and implement a new approach to the display of our collection.
Bold and brave collecting defined the institution’s beginnings and is essential to its future direction. Inaugural director James Mollison was one of the first to respond to the Lindsay Report recognising that the relationship with our neighbours was important. He made some extraordinary acquisitions because of this, both of individual works of art and collections. Mollison’s vision, his connoisseurship and his extraordinary wide eye saw some of the National Gallery’s most iconic works of art come into the collection, works of cultural and artistic significance, that still stand the test of time.
As we move into our 40th Anniversary year in 2022, we want to build on this extraordinary legacy and collection and present dynamic insights in Australian culture and history to our audiences by telling stories in new and different ways.
BR Thank you for talking to us at the Oceanic Art Society today and I look forward to future collaborations with the National Gallery of Australia, especially around your 40th anniversary year.