CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA.- The Minister for the Arts and Sport, Senator Rod Kemp, today announced the appointment of Mr Charles Curran AO and Mr Rupert Myer to the National Gallery of Australia (NGA) Council.

’Mr Curran’s extensive experience will bring valuable financial and business acumen to the Council,’ Senator Kemp said.

Mr Curran has 40 years experience in the financial sector and wider business community. He is Chairman of the Capital Investment Group Pty Limited and Perpetual Trustees Australia Limited, a Director of QBE Insurance Group Ltd and he and has served on numerous public company boards. Mr Curran is an International Advisor to Goldman Sachs JBWere and a Member of the Financial Sector Advisory Council.

Mr Curran also has had considerable involvement in services to the community as Chairman of St Vincent’s Hospital, Sydney and the Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Vice President of the Royal Institute for the Deaf and Blind Children and a Director of the Young Endeavour Youth Scheme.

’Mr Myer will bring a diverse perspective to the Council through his business experience and knowledge of social and political sciences, and his enthusiasm for contemporary Australian art,’ Senator Kemp said.

Mr Myer completed a commerce degree (honours) at Melbourne University and continued his education with an MA in social and political sciences at Cambridge University. He is the Deputy Chairman of the Myer Family Company Pty Ltd and is a Vice President of The Myer Foundation. He also serves on the boards of several investment companies, including the publicly listed AMCIL Limited and DUI Limited. Previously, Mr Myer was a Trustee of the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV), Chairman of the NGV Foundation and on the Board of the Museum of Contemporary Art.

Mr Myer has been a collector of contemporary art for more than 25 years and served as Chairman of the Australian Government’s Contemporary Visual Arts and Craft Inquiry.

’I am pleased that both Mr Curran and Mr Myer have both agreed to join the NGA Council,’ Senator Kemp said.