ACE Open head Liz Nowell appointed director of Brisbane Institute of Modern Art

Founded in 1974, the Brisbane-based Institute of Modern Art (IMA) is Australia’s oldest independent contemporary arts space, with a focus on fostering experimentation and dialogue between international artists and movements and Queensland’s own art community.

“The IMA is an institution of international importance and standing so we were looking for a new director who would ensure we maintained its exceptional reputation within the arts community whilst also helping us expand our influence, impact and audience. We believe Liz will do that and more for us over the coming years,” IMA chair Rachel Crowley says of the appointment.

Nowell was Executive Director at the long running Contemporary Art Centre of South Australia before the disruption of Brandis-era funding cuts saw it forced to merge with the Australian Experimental Art Foundation. Following the amalgamation Nowell became CEO of new arts organisation ACE Open, which from its West End home has proved a compelling inheritor to the legacies of both of its predecessor institutions.

“I’m eternally grateful to the wonderful Adelaide arts community, ACE staff and Board who have sustained and inspired me,” Nowell says. “The IMA is an organisation I have long admired, and I am thrilled to be appointed its next director. Its reputation for presenting exemplary art from around the world is second to none, and I look forward to building on this impressive track record.”

“Liz has led ACE Open through a period of transformational change, and brought her energy and curatorial expertise to establish ACE Open as a leader in the sector and the community,” ACE Open chair Kate Irving says of the news. “The Board sees this as a fantastic opportunity for Liz and we are incredibly supportive and excited for her.”

Nowell will assume her new position in June, taking over from co-directors Aileen Burns and Johan Lund who have moved on to lead New Plymouth’s Govett-Brewester Art Gallery and Len Lye Centre – a role once held by current AGSA director Rhana Devenport. And so the art world turns.

Recruitment for ACE Open’s new leadership will begin shortly.

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Header image:
Sia Duff