Key People

Both the Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art are administered under one act (The Queensland Art Gallery Act 1987) and have one overarching governance and management structure. The Queensland Art Gallery Board of Trustees is the Gallery's governing body.

Board Of Trustees

  • Professor Emeritus Ian O'Connor AC

    Chair

    Professor Emeritus Ian O’Connor AC holds a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Queensland and was Vice Chancellor and President of Griffith University from 2005 to 2018. Professor O’Connor has served as Chair of the Queensland Art Gallery Board of Trustees since March 2017. He is a former Deputy Chair of Trade and Investment Queensland. In 2017, he was awarded the Companion of the Order of Australia for his contributions to Higher Education and the community.

  • Liz Pidgeon

    Deputy Chair

    Elizabeth (Liz) Pidgeon is co-founder and Director of Cornerstone Properties and a Director of the Pidgeon Group of Companies. Liz has held previous board roles with organisations including Brisbane Marketing, Wesley Research Institute, Property Industry Foundation and Surf Life Saving Foundation. She has been a Gallery Trustee since 2014 and Deputy Chair since 2020.

  • Dr Bianca Beetson

    Dr Bianca Beetson is a Gubbi Gubbi/Kabi Kabi (Sunshine Coast) Wiradjuri (NSW) artist. She is Director, First Nations at the Queensland Museum; a member of Queensland's Independent Interim Body for Path to Treaty, and serves on the Cairns Indigenous Art Fair board. In 2018 Bianca was awarded a Doctor of Visual Art from Queensland College of Art, Griffith University.

  • The Honourable Martin Daubney AM KC

    The Honourable Martin Daubney AM KC is Chancellor of the Australian Catholic University. He served as a judge of the Supreme Court of Queensland from 2007 to 2021 and as President of the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal from 2017 to 2021. In 2018 he was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for significant service to the law, the judiciary, education and the community.

  • Gina Fairfax AC

    Gina Fairfax AC is a Trustee of the Tim Fairfax Family Foundation and an advocate for access to arts and education in rural, regional and remote communities. Gina and her husband Tim Fairfax AC have been recognised for their significant and enduring legacy to the arts in Australia through awards including a Creative Partnerships Australia award for Philanthropy Leadership (2018) and Life Memberships of Philanthropy Australia (2021). Gina is President of the Breast and Prostate Cancer Association of Queensland.

  • Catherine Sinclair

    Catherine Sinclair is a Director of The Consultancy Bureau and has experience as a member of tribunals and boards in transport, the arts, and local government sectors. Catherine is Chair of the Gallery’s Audit and Risk Management Committee and has held previous leadership roles with organisations including the Residential Tenancies Authority, Brisbane Airport Corporation, Royal National Agricultural and Industrial Association of Queensland, Port of Brisbane and Brisbane Festival.

  • Paul Taylor

    Paul Taylor is the Head of Investments for Fidelity International in Australia. He is the Chair of the Dean’s Society for Business, Economics, and Law at the University of Queensland and, together with his wife Sue, played a key role in establishing the University of Queensland’s Centre for the Business and Economics of Health. Paul is an advocate for and supporter of the visual, literary and performing arts in Queensland.

  • David Williams

    David Williams is a Wakka Wakka man, co-founder and Executive Director of Gilimbaa creative agency, former chairperson of the Queensland Museum Network’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Consultative Committee and an advisor to Opera Australia.

Executive Management Team

Chris Saines CNZM

Director, QAGOMA

Chris Saines has been a director, collection manager, educator and curator at leading Australian and New Zealand galleries for more than 40 years. Director of QAGOMA since 2013, he has overseen exhibitions by Robert MacPherson, Gerhard Richter, Sally Gabori, Gordon Bennett and Judy Watson, and led 2021’s ‘European Masterpieces from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York’. In this time, he has guided the Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art through four editions, and led the acquisition of major works by James Turrell and Olafur Eliasson. He was appointed a Doctor of the University by QUT in 2024. He is currently a member of the Brisbane Economic Development Agency’s Better Brisbane Alliance.

  • Simon Elliott

    Deputy Director, Collection and Exhibitions

  • Tarragh Cunningham

    Assistant Director, Development and Commercial Services

  • Duane Lucas

    Assistant Director, Operations and Governance

  • Simon Wright

    Assistant Director, Learning and Public Engagement

Indigenous Advisory Panel

The Indigenous Advisory Panel provides specialist practical advice and guidance to the Director relating to QAGOMA’s programs and commitment to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture through collection development, exhibition display and programming, increased employment opportunities, professional development and community liaison.

  • David Williams

    Chair

    David Williams is a Wakka Wakka man, co-founder and Executive Director of Gilimbaa creative agency, former chairperson of the Queensland Museum Network’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Consultative Committee and an advisor to Opera Australia.

  • Nancy Bamaga

    Nancy Bamaga is a Torres Strait Islander woman descending from Saibai Island. She is the Founder and Director of Bamaga Productions an Indigenous-owned and operated consultancy celebrating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures through the presentation of traditional and contemporary art forms. She serves on numerous boards in the arts and community sectors, including Elder in Residence for Camerata Chamber Orchestra, a Board member of Tourism and Events Queensland, a volunteer Board member for Southeast Queensland Indigenous Chamber of Commerce (SEQICC), and a member of Queensland Museum Consultative Committee (QMATSICC).

  • Dr Bianca Beetson

    Dr Bianca Beetson is a Gubbi Gubbi/Kabi Kabi (Sunshine Coast) Wiradjuri (NSW) artist. She is Director, First Nations at the Queensland Museum; a member of Queensland's Independent Interim Body for Path to Treaty, and serves on the Cairns Indigenous Art Fair board. In 2018 Bianca was awarded a Doctor of Visual Art from Queensland College of Art, Griffith University.

  • Helena Gulash

    Helena Gulash is a Kabi Kabi traditional owner, advocate for Indigenous arts and culture and highly regarded for her knowledge of country and Buderim’s Indigenous living history and heritage. Helena is principal consultant, for Helena Gulash Consulting.

  • Jyi Lawton

    Jyi Lawton is a Bidjara man from Central West Queensland and the CEO of Triple A, an Indigenous community-controlled multi-media organisation. He has undertaken tertiary study across a range of areas in Architectural Design, Law, Justice, and Business. Jyi has held previous operational and senior leadership positions across State and Federal Government and has been a former visual artist. Jyi also serves on the Board of Directors for the National Indigenous Radio Service, Karalumba, and is the founding Chairperson of the state Indigenous media peak body, Queensland First Nations Media Coalition.

  • Stephanie Parkin

    Stephanie Parkin belongs to the Quandamooka People of North Stradbroke Island. As co-Founder and Principal Solicitor of Parallax Legal, Stephanie advises a range of clients in relation to intellectual property, Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property, protocols and respectful ways of engagement with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, art, cultural expressions, knowledge and materials. Stephanie is also the Chairperson of the Indigenous Art Code, a national voluntary Code of Conduct aimed at establishing and promoting fair and ethical trade between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists and those who wish to buy or licence their works.

  • Louisa Warren

    Louisa Warren is a proud Badulgal woman from the Torres Strait Islands. She has a background in community engagement, strategy and policy development and is passionate about driving sustainable outcomes in partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. Her experience within Indigenous affairs extends over 18 years where she has managed and delivered a range of social and economic development projects. Louisa is currently the Executive Manager of the Office of Indigenous Engagement at CSIRO and is responsible for the delivery and oversight of CSIRO’s Reconciliation Action Plan.