newy.com.au – The University of Newcastle has appointed New England Regional Art Museum director Rachael Parsons as its new senior art curator and manager, starting in January 2027.
Parsons will join a galleries team responsible for three exhibition spaces: Watt Space Gallery at the NUspace precinct, and the University Gallery and Senta Taft Hendry Museum at the Callaghan campus. The spaces host exhibitions, education programs and public engagement activities.
The university says its art collection comprises more than 3,600 works of art and culturally significant materials, with works by First Nations artists accounting for more than half.
Vice-Chancellor Professor Alex Zelinsky said the appointment would support efforts to improve access to the collection and deepen partnerships with Newcastle Art Gallery and other cultural institutions across the Hunter and regional NSW.
Parsons brings more than 15 years of experience across curatorial practice, arts education and administration. At the New England Regional Art Museum, known as NERAM, her work has spanned exhibitions, collections, community engagement and organisational sustainability.
Before NERAM, she held curatorial positions at Side Gallery Brisbane and Queensland University of Technology. She also co-founded an artist-run initiative that included an international residency program.
Parsons is chair of Arts North West and a member of the Regional Arts NSW Council and the Create NSW Visual Arts Board.
She said the decision to leave NERAM and Armidale had been difficult, but she was looking forward to joining the university.
“I feel incredibly fortunate to have been part of the NERAM and Armidale community. At the same time, I’m excited to be joining the galleries team at the University of Newcastle, taking up new opportunities and challenges and contributing to Newcastle’s vibrant arts ecology. I look forward to the possibilities ahead and to the creative work we can achieve together,” Parsons said.
