Business
21 July, 2025
Gallery director resigns
CAIRNS Art Gallery director Andrea May Churcher will step down at the end of the year, concluding 14 years at the helm that has seen the regional institution rise to national prominence.
“It has been an honour to lead such an important Queensland gallery with an exceptionally creative and generous community,” Ms May Churcher said.
“It has been an incredibly rewarding experience working with the talented team of staff at the gallery along with gallery board members, led by chairman Doug McKinstry, who have invested so much of their time to assist us to achieve our ambitious vision ...,” she said.
Visitor numbers have soared under her leadership, rising from 55,000 in 2011 to a record 180,000 last year.
Major exhibitions brought to Cairns during her tenure include Andy Warhol, Ellis Rowan, Brett Whiteley, Sidney Nolan’s Ned Kelly series and the Archie 100. She also secured the Archibald Prize exhibition for Cairns, its first presentation outside New South Wales and Victoria.
Mr McKinstry said the contributions by Ms May Churcher to Cairns’ cultural life had been “immense and transformative.”
He praised her “unique combination of creative and entrepreneurial skills” for cementing the gallery’s national reputation and establishing “a strong financial foundation, free entry to the gallery and a loyal audience to support the gallery’s ambitions into the future.”
Among her other achievements is a commissions program supporting original works and a nationally acclaimed series of cross-cultural exhibitions launched in 2017, promoting First Nations artists from Far North Queensland and around the world.
She also significantly expanded the gallery’s collection, strengthened its First Nations holdings, and brokered philanthropic and sponsor-backed fellowships and mentorships that have fostered new career pathways for artists.
“The gallery board is extremely proud of our achievements over 14 years under Andrea’s leadership,” Mr McKinstry said.
“Her focused strategic vision together with artistic excellence and strong community engagement ensured that contemporary art’s relation to wider social, cultural and political contexts was always foregrounded.”
Mr McKinstry said that the board had planned for a smooth leadership transition, with Ms May Churcher to remain in her role until the end of the year, when a new director will be appointed.
She is moving to Spain for personal and career reasons.
