Patron investment in art spaces, private museums and exhibition platforms contribute to the vibrancy, diversity, and accessibility of cultural experiences in major global cities. Charlotte Day, Director, Art Museums, The University of Melbourne, leads a panel that discusses the vital role of balanced private patronage to ensure a thriving and inclusive cultural ecosystem in key global markets across the Asia Pacific.
This talk will take place in the CONVERSATIONS space at Melbourne Art Fair.
Moderator: Charlotte Day, Director, Art Museums, University of Melbourne
Speakers: Carol Yinghua Lu, Art Historian, Curator and Director of Inside-Out Art Museum, Beijing; Matthias Arndt, Founder, Arndt Art Agency and The ARNDT Collection; Dr Terry Wu, Plastic Surgeon and Arts Advocate
Charlotte Day is Director Art Museums at the University of Melbourne including oversight of Buxton Contemporary and The Potter Museum of Art (to reopen in 2025). Charlotte has more than 25 years of curatorial and arts management experience and was previously Director at Monash University Museum of Art and Associate Curator at Australian Centre for Contemporary Art. She is a leading commissioner of public art, known for her work developing collections of contemporary art as well as curatorial and publishing projects including, recently, Renee So: Provenance, Connecting the World Through Sculpture and with Dr Brian Martin Tree Story, all at MUMA across 2021-2022. She is passionate about art-led education and bringing the art of established as well as more emerging artists to public attention and conversation.
Carol Yinghua Lu is an art historian, curator, and currently Director of Beijing Inside-Out Art Museum. She holds a Doctorate in art history from University of Melbourne. She was artistic director and senior curator of OCAT, Shenzhen (2012-2015), guest curator at Museion, Bolzano (2013) and China researcher for Asia Art Archive (2005-2007). She was recipient of ARIAH (Association of Research Institute in Art History) East Asia Fellowship (2017) and visiting fellow in Asia-Pacific Fellowship Program at Tate Research Centre (2013). She was co-artistic director of Gwangju Biennale (2012), and Shenzhen Sculpture Biennale (2012). Together with Liu Ding, she is co-artistic director of the 8th Yokohama Triennale (2024).
Matthias Arndt, Founder, Arndt Art Agency and The ARNDT Collection
Matthias Arndt is a distinguished figure in the world of contemporary art, renowned as an art expert, artist agent and advisor to private, corporate and institutional art collections. With his wife Tiffany, he founded Arndt Art Agency after running his successful art business with galleries in Berlin, Zurich, New York, Beijing, and Singapore for over two decades.
Throughout his career, Arndt has closely collaborated with prominent figures within the art realm, including artists, art collectors, dealers, foundations, and public institutions. He serves as a member of the Asia Pacific Acquisition Committee of TATE and as a Trustee of Board of the Foundation of the Art Gallery of New South Wales. He was awarded the Knight of the French Order “Des Arts et Des Lettres” in 2002.
Together with his wife, Arndt runs a family Art Foundation supporting emerging artists and art institutions with acquisitions of contemporary art around the globe. Whilst maintaining homes in Berlin and Athens, the Arndt Family resides in Cape Schanck where they built their private art space, The Artbarn, dedicated to showcasing the Arndt Collection and special projects.
Dr Terry Wu, Plastic Surgeon and Arts Advocate
Dr Terry Wu is a specialist plastic surgeon who is passionate about facial reconstructions after complex cancer resections and served as the Supervisor of Training at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre for more than 14 years.
As the son of an artist, Terry has inherited his father’s passion for arts and culture. Aside from building a contemporary art collection, Terry is the Chair of ACCA Board and is a Board Member of ACMI and Science Gallery International. Terry’s former roles include Venice Council Member of the Australia Council for the Arts, International Council of Tate, Board Director of Heide MOMA and NAVA.
Terry advocates for artists and Impact Investments. He co-established John Street Studios in Brunswick for 12 artists and WXYZ Studios in North Melbourne as the home of Lucy Guerin Inc., a celebrated contemporary dance company. In 2019, Terry was awarded Emerging Philanthropy Leadership Award by Creative Partnerships Australia.
To attend this talk, purchase a ticket to Melbourne Art Fair here.