Jason Smith
Director, Art Gallery of South Australia (AGSA) | South Australia
Jason Smith is Director of the Art Gallery of South Australia. He was appointed in November 2024. Previously, from 2016-2024 he was Director & CEO of Geelong Gallery, one of Australia’s oldest and most important regional galleries. From 2014-16 he was Head of Australian Art at the Queensland Art Gallery / Gallery of Modern Art, where he led the Australian art team’s delivery of projects by 17 Australian indigenous and non-indigenous artists for the 8th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (the most Australian artists ever included in an APT).
Between 2008 and 2014 Jason was Director & CEO of Heide Museum of Modern Art, one of Australia’s most important cultural institutions, where he led the acclaimed reinvigoration of the Museum’s modern and contemporary artistic program. For Heide he was the initiating curator and member of the international curatorial team for the acclaimed touring exhibition Making Modernism: O’Keeffe, Preston & Cossington Smith.
Between 1997 and 2007 Jason was Curator of Contemporary Art at the National Gallery of Victoria, where he worked closely with many leading Australian and international artists. He has individually and collaboratively curated 70 solo, group and thematic exhibitions including major surveys of the works of Howard Arkley, Peter Booth, Louise Bourgeois, Gwyn Hanssen Pigott, Stephen Benwell, Kathy Temin and Fred Williams. He has written on the works of more than 150 artists for a range of publications.
Jason is a graduate of the Australian National University School of Art & Design, and of Deakin University.
Andy Dinan
Director, MARS Gallery | Victoria
Andy Dinan founded and established Melbourne Art Rooms, known as MARS Gallery, in 2004 with a steadfast resolve for promoting Australian artists. Since its inception, MARS has a mid-career contemporary Australian and International Artists. Under Andy’s watch, MARS enjoys a unique position staging regular exhibitions in excess of 300+ exhibitions featuring over 330 artists. Andy specialises in exhibiting, promoting and building careers of emerging artists exhibitions, attending international art fairs, curating special events and consulting on major public art commissions.
Identifying a niche in the market, Andy established a public art consulting service, ADA Art Consulting, in 2010 that integrated art into large and small-scale property developments. ADA has established strong connections with Melbourne councils and takes care to fulfil all stakeholders’ needs with every completed project. In addition to being responsible for many of the head-turning major public artworks that adorn our newest buildings, Andy also coordinates a rental art scheme, affording others the opportunity to live with great art.
Entwined in Andy’s professional and private life is an undertaking to help others in need. In addition to working as an Ambassador for TLC, Andy was also on the marketing board for the Salvation Army, Red Shield Appeal for ten years. Her contribution was recognised in The Australian Financial Review and Westpac 100 Women of Influence Awards 2014 in the Philanthropy category. In 2014 Dinan was chosen as one of 100 Women of Influence in the Australian Financial Review and Westpac 100 Women of Influence Awards. In 2018, Andy accepted an invitation to be a Foundation Board Member of the Victorian Arts Centre until 2024.
In 2020, Dinan accepted the award for City of Port Philip Design and Development Awards for Integrated Art in the Opera Project. This is the second time Dinan has been recognised for her work in the City of Port Philip.
Katie Barron
Artist | Tasmania
Katie Barron is a Canadian-born artist, now living and making work in lutruwita, Tasmania. Her practice explores cultural traditions and shared joy through the lens of food. Through humour, hunger, and a touch of comedy, Barron’s work invites exploration into the ordinary. The hyper-real paintings she produces are the result of processes involving photography, sculpture, and often a significant amount of calories consumed.
Barron was selected for the 2023 RISE exhibition at the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, celebrating ten of Tasmania’s most significant and collectible emerging artists. In 2023, Barron was awarded the Henry Jones Art Prize for painting and was selected as a finalist in numerous art prizes, including the Fisher’s Ghost Art Award 2024 and 2025, and the National Still Life Award in 2025. Her work is held in private and public collections throughout Australia.
Through her recent project, baking and painting cakes from the Australian Women’s Weekly Birthday Cake Book, Barron has been interviewed by ABC and the Australian Women’s Weekly magazine.
Past Judges
2025
Melissa Loughnan
Fair Director at Melbourne Art Fair | Melbourne
Steven W. Joyce
Director & Founder of Despard Gallery | Hobart
Leslie Rice
Artist & Lecturer at The National Art School | Sydney
2024
Mary Mulcahy
Director Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (TMAG) | Hobart
Ralph Hobbs
Director Nanda\Hobbs Gallery | Sydney
Dr Malcom Bywaters
Director Academy Gallery, University of Tasmania | Launceston
Rick Amor
Melbourne based artist
2023
Suzanne Cotter
Director Museum of Contemporary Art | New South Wales
Lucienne Rickard
Tasmanian based artist
Bill Nuttall
Director Niagara Gallery | Victoria
2022
Tony Ellwood AM
Director National Gallery of Victoria
Michael Reid OAM
Chairman & Director Michael Reid Galleries | New South Wales
Amber Koroluk-Stephenson
Tasmanian based artist
2021
Philip Bacon AM
Director, Philip Bacon Gallery | Queensland
Tracey Puklowski
Director Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, Director Creative Arts and Cultural Services, City of Launceston
Julie Gough
Artist and Curator | Tasmania
2020
Chris Saines
Director Queensland Art Gallery | Museum of Modern Art
Fiona Lowry
Sydney based artist
Jarrod Rawlins
Senior Curator Museum of Old and New Art | Hobart
2019
Barry Keldoulis
Sydney CEO and Group Fairs, and Director of Art Fairs Australia Pty Ltd
Joan Ross
Sydney based artist
Janet Carding
Director, Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery | Hobart
2018
Dr Jane Deeth
Director, New Audiences for Art
Natalia Ottolenghi Bradshaw
Art Curator, Advisor and Advocate
Tony Stephens
Director, ArtBank
2017
Eleonora Triguboff
Director of ARTAND
Dr Mary Knights
Senior Curator of Art at Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery
Ben Quilty
Artist
2016
Maudie Palmer AO
Independent Curator
Fiona Hall
Adelaide based contemporary artist
Sean Kelly
Arts Officer at Moonah Arts Centre
2015
Elizabeth Ann McGregor OBE
Director, Museum of Contemporary Art Sydney
Francis Parker
Curator, Monash University Museum of Art
Dr Ellie Ray
Director of the Devonport Regional Gallery
2014
Julie Ewington
Curatorial Manager, Australian Art at Queensland Art Gallery
Tim Storrier AM
New South Wales based artist
Michael Edwards
Director, Contemporary Art Tasmania
2013
Dr Frances Lindsay
Curator, arts administrator and Deputy Director at the National Gallery of Victoria
Dr Peter Hill
Scottish-born Australian artist, writer, independent curator and Coordinator of Postgraduate Programs at Melbourne’s RMIT University
Jasmin Stephens
Independent curator based in Perth, Western Australia
2012
Doug Hall AM
Long-time advocate for contemporary art especially in Australia and Asia
Jan Senbergs
Melbourne based artist, represented in many major national and international art galleries
Brigita Ozolins
Artist and academic at the Tasmanian School of Art, University of Tasmania
2011
Anthony Bond OAM
Assistant Director, Curatorial & Head Curator International Art, Art Gallery of NSW
Francis Parker
Curator, Contemporary Australian Art, Queensland Art Gallery
Prof Marie Sierra
Head of School of Visual & Performing Arts, University of Tasmania
2010
Imants Tillers
Artist, Trustee of Art Gallery of New South Wales
Maudie Palmer OA
Funding Director of Heide Museum of Modern Art
Jane Stewart
Coordinating Curator of Art at Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery
2009
John McDonald
Author, Art Critic Sydney Morning Herald
John Beard
Artist
Alex Baker
Senior Curator Contemporary Art National Gallery of Victoria
2008
Peter Timms
Art Critic and Author
Professor Ian North
Artist, Writer and Adjunct Professor at the University of Adelaide and University of South Australia
Kelly Gellatly
Curator of Contemporary Art at the National Gallery of Victoria
2007
John Wolseley
Melbourne based artist
Craig Judd
Co-ordinating Curator Fine Art, Tasmania Museum and Art Gallery
Robyn Daw
Brisbane based artist and Arts Consultant
2006
Rick Amor
Artist | Melbourne
Professor Noel Frankham
Head of the Tasmanian School of Art, University of Tasmania | Hobart
Elizabeth Ann McGregor
Director, Museum of Contemporary Art | Sydney
2005
Dick Bett
Bett Galley | North Hobart
Professor Vincent McGrath
Head of the School of Visual and Performing Arts of the University of Tasmania
Janet Laurence
Artist | Sydney
2004
Max Angus
Artist
David Hansen
Senior Curator of Fine Arts, TMAG
Professor Noel Frankham
Professor of Art and Head of School UTAS
Nevin Hurst
Masterpiece Fine Art Gallery & Antiques Pty Ltd.