The highly esteemed curator will head the Melbourne-based Australian Centre for Contemporary Art.

December is turning out to be quite a month for eminent Australian art curator Max Delany. Not only has his recently opened summer exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria, Andy Warhol | Ai Weiwei, been a smash hit success with critics and gallery visitors alike, but he has also been announced as the new Artistic Director of the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, based just a short distance from the NGV on Melbourne’s Southbank.

The appointment is a coup for the ACCA, Delany is one of the country’s most highly regarded contemporary art figures. He has previously worked as a curator at the Heide Museum of Modern Art, Director of the Gertrude Contemporary and Director of the Monash Museum of Art where he oversaw the design process for the gallery’s award-winning new premises. Delany is currently the Senior Curator of Contemporary Art at the National Gallery of Victoria. In addition to his substantial curatorial credentials, Delany has also played important advocacy and leadership roles within the sector, including being part of the team behind Melbourne Now.

ACCA Chair John Denton said of the auspicious engagement, “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.” Delany takes the role from outgoing Artistic Director Juliana Engbery, who is relocating to Aarhus, Denmark to be Program Director of the European Capital of Culture 2017.

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