Who is Hamish Sawyer?
I am the Curator at Linden New Art, a gallery located in an historic house on Bunurong Boon Wurrung Country, St Kilda.
What would you do differently from what you do now?
I would like to have the resources to collect artists’ work and support them financially to realise ambitious projects.
Who inspires you and why?
Artists – for seeing the world differently and reflecting it back to us in new and insightful ways.
What would you do to make a difference in the world?
To make politicians and decision makers understand the value of the arts in education, and the importance of supporting free arts experiences for all.
Favourite holiday destination and why?
Far North Queensland – it’s tropical and unlike anywhere else in Australia. It’s where the world’s oldest rainforest (the Daintree) meets the youngest reef system, the Great Barrier Reef.
When friends come to town, what attraction would you take them to, and why?
One of Melbourne’s great public gardens such as Fawkner Park, Fitzroy Gardens or the Botanic Gardens. They are an oasis of calm and greenery in the urban environment.
What are you currently reading?
The late Queensland poet and environmentalist Judith Wright’s The Coral Battleground, about the campaign to save the Great Barrier Reef from oil drilling in the 1960s and 70s.
What are you currently listening to?
I’m currently enjoying The Louis Theroux Podcast, and Dialogues – a podcast about art and ideas hosted by a Helen Molesworth, an American curator and writer I admire.
Happiness is?
Spending time with family and friends. And seeing art.
What does the future hold for you?
Hopefully I can continue working with artists to realise their ideas.
Hamish is the Curator at Linden New Art – which is presenting the 2024-2025 Post Card Show from 7 December 2024 – 2 February 2025. For more information, visit: www.lindenarts.org for details.
Image: Hamish Sawyer – photo by Sam Cranstoun