SYDNEY.- The Museum of Contemporary Art Australia announced today the appointment of Rebecca Ray as Curator, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Collections and Exhibitions. Ray will commence her new role on 31 October 2023.

Rebecca Ray is a Meriam Mer woman from the Torres Strait Islands and is an experienced First Nations curator, writer and cultural heritage researcher with a passion for anti colonial/decolonised methodologies and practice.

Ray brings to the role a wide range of curatorial experience working from grassroots communities and remote art centres, museums, and galleries at regional and national levels.

Ray comes to MCA Australia from the National Portrait Gallery (NPG) in Canberra, where she was First Nations Curator, responsible for the development of new exhibition and collection policy frameworks to broaden the inclusion of living First Nations sitters and artists, particularly from regional and remote places. She was co-curator of Portrait 23: Identity - the largest contemporary art exhibition the National Portrait Gallery has ever undertaken.

Ray was the inaugural Indigenous Assistant Curator of Indigenous Art at HOTA - Home of the Arts on the Gold Coast, Queensland where she delivered four major projects for the gallery’s official opening in May 2021. She is also an alumni of the Wesfarmers Indigenous Leadership Program partnered with the National Gallery of Australia.

Ray holds a Bachelor of Arts (History and Sociology) from Griffith University, Queensland and has a research background in decolonisation, identity politics and intersectionality through her prior employment within the Indigenous Higher Research Unit at Griffith University. Ray is passionate about Indigenisation and the reclamation of autonomous and sovereign spaces with an interest in global First Nations relationality and solidarity that inform curatorial and research methodologies.

Rebeca Ray said of her new appointment at Museum of Contemporary Art Australia,
“I’m a strong believer that Indigenous curators are significant in restorative justice and reconciliation and am dedicated to platforming Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ stories and histories through their own dynamic cultural and creative expressions. The MCA will offer me exciting opportunities to expand my practice with significant contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists and I am beyond thrilled to be joining the MCAs extensive First Nations team and leadership within the contemporary arts sector.

The appointment continues the MCA Australia’s ongoing commitment to celebrate and exhibit the art and cultures of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Australia and beyond.

Keith Munro, First Nations Art and Cultures at MCA Australia said, "As one of twelve proud Aboriginal arts professionals here at MCA Australia, I look forward to welcoming Rebecca into the role of Curator, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Collections and Exhibitions. She will be well supported in her new role by the MCA’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Policy and the museum’s passionate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Advisory Group. MCA Australia remains committed to exhibiting, collecting and interpreting the work of living artists. We aim to continue being a leader in this space. Her appointment to the role supports our aspiration."

Director of the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, Suzanne Cotter said:
“Rebecca joins the MCA at a pivotal moment in its history as it looks to build on the Museum’s 30+ year legacy of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander curatorial leadership.Her appointment represents an inspiring addition to our dynamic and forward-looking curatorial team and its engagement with the art of our time”.

The Museum of Contemporary Art Australia’s strong commitment to exhibiting and collecting the work of Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander peoples, is reflected in its exhibitions, public and social impact programs, partnerships, workplace policies and the MCA Collection.

Currently on display at MCA Australia, MCA Collection: Artists in Focus and Primavera 2023: Young Australian Artists which includes 49 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists; two wall commissions by indigenous artists Vincent Namatjira - P.P.F. (Past-Present-Future), 2022 and Daniel Boyd - Untitled, 2014, as well as artist and Kamilaroi man, Reko Rennie’s new commission, Remember Us (2023) on the Loti Smorgon Sculpture Terrace. Tarek Atoui: Waters’ Witness, until 4 February 2024, an immersive sonic landscape of hidden sounds of port cities by the celebrated Lebanese artist and composer. Al río / To the River, the first major exhibition of the internationally renowned artist Zoe Leonard in the Southern Hemisphere, until 5 November 2023.