News | McClelland Sculpture Park and Gallery seeks new Director

Another Victorian gallery director position is vacated - this time Robert Lindsay of McClelland Sculpture Park + Gallery has announced his intention to finish up in the middle of this year.

From McClelland

Lyn Williams, the Chair of McClelland Board of Trustees, today announced that Robert Lindsay the present Director of McClelland Sculpture Park+Gallery will not be seeking re-appointment at the end of his contract, which expires 1 July 2015.

Robert Lindsay has been Director of McClelland since 2006. He joined McClelland in 2002 as Deputy Director and Senior Curator and in the following year initiated the McClelland Sculpture Survey and Award exhibition, which has emerged as the most important and prestigious sculpture Biennale in Australia.

Working with supporters and donors such as the Balnaves Foundation and the Elisabeth Murdoch Sculpture Fund, the McClelland Sculpture Survey has made a significant contribution to sculpture practice in Australia.

Under Robert Lindsay’s directorship McClelland has become the most important public Sculpture Park in Australia. The number of major sculptures in the grounds has increased from 24 to 120 permanent works.   With a vibrant program of changing exhibitions both in the Gallery and Park, the annual visitation has trebled to 130,000, making it one of the most visited public art museum in Victoria outside the immediate metropolitan area.

In collaboration with Southern Way, Robert initiated a public program of biennial sculpture commissions for the Peninsula Link freeway, an innovative program that won the Creative Partnerships Australia Award for the most innovative public/private partnership for 2013. Extending over 25 years, this program will see 14 major sculptures commissioned and displayed on the freeway before becoming part of the McClelland collection.

‘Robert’s leadership, vision and integrity has made an invaluable contribution to McClelland says Lyn Williams, ‘and we would like to thank him and wish him the best for the next stage of his distinguished career’.

Prior to McClelland, Robert had curatorial positions at the Art Gallery of New South Wales and the National Gallery of Victoria. He founded the Robert Lindsay Gallery and has also been a consultant to a number of corporate art collections.

A national search for a new Director will be undertaken immediately.