MELBOURNE.- ACCA Chair John Denton announced today that leading Australian contemporary art curator Max Delany has been appointed Artistic Director of The Australian Centre for Contemporary Art (ACCA).

Max Delany is currently Senior Curator of Contemporary Art at the National Gallery of Victoria, where his most recent curatorial projects include Andy Warhol|Ai Weiwei, David Shrigley: Life and Life Drawing and a leadership role in the renowned Melbourne Now exhibition. He is a former director of the Monash Museum of Art (MUMA), where he oversaw the development of new award-winning architecturally designed premises. He has also been director of Gertrude Contemporary, and curator at Heide Museum of Modern Art.

“We are thrilled to make this appointment,” said John Denton. “Max is without doubt one of the most senior and respected arts practitioners in Australia, and will bring a wealth of expertise and vision to the position.”

“Max is renowned as a director and a contemporary art curator. After an extensive national and international search, we are also delighted that this appointment comes from within Australia’s own talent pool,” John said.

Max, who will take up the position in February 2016, replaces outgoing Artistic Director Juliana Engberg, who is now Program Director of the European Capital of Culture 2017 in Aarhus, Denmark.

“I am honoured to take up the artistic leadership of one of Australia’s pre-eminent contemporary art institutions,” Max said. “ACCA has a great history of developing ground-breaking exhibitions and championing the most innovative and challenging contemporary art and curatorial practices.

“I am excited to have the opportunity to develop new partnerships at ACCA, and to introduce new artistic and curatorial voices into its programming.

“I look forward to working directly with artists and the Board and staff to ensure ACCA is continually charged with art and ideas that excite Melbourne and international audiences.”

Minister for Creative Industries Martin Foley said: "Max is an outstanding, highly experienced curator and gallery director, who has helped shape some of Victoria's leading visual arts organisations. I have no doubt that he will arrive at ACCA brimming with ideas about how to further connect and engage audiences with contemporary art, and add another dimension to Melbourne's extraordinary contemporary art offering."