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Nick Mitzevich
Nick Mitzevich (born 1970) is the director of the National Gallery of Australia (NGA) in Canberra, a position he has occupied since July 2018. From 2010 until his appointment to the NGA in April 2018, he was director of the Art Gallery of South Australia in Adelaide.
Nick Mitzevich was born in 1970. He is the son of Chrisoula, of Greek heritage, and Macedonian father Nick Mitzevich. Nick Jr is the eldest and only son, with three younger sisters, who all grew up on their parents' small farm at Abermain, outside Cessnock, in the Hunter Valley of New South Wales. He says that his parents insisted that their children "do something for a worthy cause", but also "let us follow our passions". He was a shy, introverted child. He has said that his early years as a "farmer's apprentice" to his parents helped to shape his life.
His parents had no connection to art, but two things led the young Nick Mitzevich to his current occupation: his mother bought him a copy of Robert Hughes' book of his television series The Shock of the New when he was 15; and a few years later, a school excursion took him to a large exhibition at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, called Gold of the Pharaohs, that made a big impression on him.
He first studied art practice, exhibiting work at Newcastle Art Gallery in 1993, but switched to studying art history and art education. Watching and listening to Betty Churcher working as a tour guide at the National Gallery of Australia (NGA) when on a university excursion further inspired him.
He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Visual Arts (1992), and graduate diplomas in visual arts (1993) and education (1995) from the University of Newcastle, north of Sydney.
Mitzevich began his career as a fine arts lecturer at the University of Newcastle. In 1999, he was offered a job as curator on a short-term contract at the NGA, but decided to turn it down and returned to the university.
He ran the Newcastle Art Gallery for six years (2001–2007), during which he was credited with transforming the gallery by focusing on community engagement, programming, marketing, and collection development. He was appointed director of the University of Queensland Art Museum in July 2007, a position he held for three years.
Mitzevich was appointed as director of the Art Gallery of South Australia (AGSA) in July 2010, when he was hardly known anywhere in Australia. He succeeded Christopher Menz, who left after five years in the role. Mitzevich remained in the role for eight years. During this time, he oversaw acquisitions including the digital projection of an AES+F video work onto the gallery's façade during the Adelaide Fringe in 2012, and acquiring 16 paintings from a single exhibition by Ben Quilty on the 130th anniversary of AGSA. AGSA also acquired and exhibited We Are All Flesh, an epoxy resin sculpture of two headless horses by Belgian artist Berlinde De Bruyckere, suspended from the ceiling of the gallery. As Director of AGSA, Mitzevich favoured the display of contemporary works in close proximity to colonial-era acquisitions. His achievements included the purchase of Camille Pissarro's Prairie à Eragny, with its A$4.5 million price raised entirely from donations. He also oversaw a major internal refurbishment of the gallery, introduced the Indigenous art festival Tarnanthi. He was the first gallery director in Australia to implement a provenance project, which investigates old objects which were acquired without historical checks.
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Nick Mitzevich
Nick Mitzevich (born 1970) is the director of the National Gallery of Australia (NGA) in Canberra, a position he has occupied since July 2018. From 2010 until his appointment to the NGA in April 2018, he was director of the Art Gallery of South Australia in Adelaide.
Nick Mitzevich was born in 1970. He is the son of Chrisoula, of Greek heritage, and Macedonian father Nick Mitzevich. Nick Jr is the eldest and only son, with three younger sisters, who all grew up on their parents' small farm at Abermain, outside Cessnock, in the Hunter Valley of New South Wales. He says that his parents insisted that their children "do something for a worthy cause", but also "let us follow our passions". He was a shy, introverted child. He has said that his early years as a "farmer's apprentice" to his parents helped to shape his life.
His parents had no connection to art, but two things led the young Nick Mitzevich to his current occupation: his mother bought him a copy of Robert Hughes' book of his television series The Shock of the New when he was 15; and a few years later, a school excursion took him to a large exhibition at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, called Gold of the Pharaohs, that made a big impression on him.
He first studied art practice, exhibiting work at Newcastle Art Gallery in 1993, but switched to studying art history and art education. Watching and listening to Betty Churcher working as a tour guide at the National Gallery of Australia (NGA) when on a university excursion further inspired him.
He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Visual Arts (1992), and graduate diplomas in visual arts (1993) and education (1995) from the University of Newcastle, north of Sydney.
Mitzevich began his career as a fine arts lecturer at the University of Newcastle. In 1999, he was offered a job as curator on a short-term contract at the NGA, but decided to turn it down and returned to the university.
He ran the Newcastle Art Gallery for six years (2001–2007), during which he was credited with transforming the gallery by focusing on community engagement, programming, marketing, and collection development. He was appointed director of the University of Queensland Art Museum in July 2007, a position he held for three years.
Mitzevich was appointed as director of the Art Gallery of South Australia (AGSA) in July 2010, when he was hardly known anywhere in Australia. He succeeded Christopher Menz, who left after five years in the role. Mitzevich remained in the role for eight years. During this time, he oversaw acquisitions including the digital projection of an AES+F video work onto the gallery's façade during the Adelaide Fringe in 2012, and acquiring 16 paintings from a single exhibition by Ben Quilty on the 130th anniversary of AGSA. AGSA also acquired and exhibited We Are All Flesh, an epoxy resin sculpture of two headless horses by Belgian artist Berlinde De Bruyckere, suspended from the ceiling of the gallery. As Director of AGSA, Mitzevich favoured the display of contemporary works in close proximity to colonial-era acquisitions. His achievements included the purchase of Camille Pissarro's Prairie à Eragny, with its A$4.5 million price raised entirely from donations. He also oversaw a major internal refurbishment of the gallery, introduced the Indigenous art festival Tarnanthi. He was the first gallery director in Australia to implement a provenance project, which investigates old objects which were acquired without historical checks.