The Art Gallery of South Australia has announced Mark Feary as curator of the 2028 Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art.
Aotearoa New Zealand-born curator Feary brings more than twenty years of curatorial experience across contemporary art centres, universities, museums and artistled initiatives, including his current position as Artistic Director of Gertrude Contemporary in Melbourne.
Feary’s former roles include the Australian Centre for Photography, Sydney; Artspace, Sydney; Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, Tokyo; Centre for Contemporary Photography, Melbourne; and West Space, Melbourne.
‘The Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art has been at the forefront of contemporary Australian art for 36 years, as the longest running survey of its kind. It has continuously built audiences, fostered critical engagement nationally and internationally, and elevated the work and reputations of contemporary Australian artists,” said Jason Smith, Director, Art Gallery of South Australia.
“We are delighted to welcome Mark Feary as curator of the 2028 Adelaide Biennial, whose extensive experience and thoughtful curatorial approach will undoubtedly shape an ambitious and compelling exhibition.”
The judging panel was unanimous in selecting Feary from a competitive range of applications from across Australia. The 2028 Adelaide Biennial selection panel comprised Hetti Perkins, Head Curator, Desert Mob; Matthew Lutton OAM, Artistic Director, Adelaide Festival; Daniela Valmorbida, Chair, Biennial Ambassadors Committee; Leigh Robb, Curator, Contemporary Art, AGSA; and Jason Smith, Director, AGSA.
“I am honoured to have been invited to develop the 2028 Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art and would like to sincerely thank Jason Smith and all of the members of the selection committee for their support and vision,” said Mark Feary.
“The Adelaide Biennial has been a series of defining cornerstones for me as a curator, since first visiting Charlotte Day and Sarah Tutton’s Before and After Science in 2010, with each edition defining a particular moment in and view of Australian culture, and each etched into the nation’s art history.”
“My research trajectory for the 2028 edition will be focussed upon capturing a particular mood, acknowledging problematic histories, and an increasingly uncertain and turbulent present, but motivated by the persistence of optimism,” said Feary.
Feary’s appointment comes following the June closure of the 2026 Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art: Yield Strength, curated by Ellie Buttrose. Yield Strength assembled twenty-four leading Australian artists with works that revealed how materials, selfhood and society are tested, and transformed, under pressure.
The Adelaide Biennial supports contemporary artists and the strategic development of the AGSA collection. From the 2026 edition thirteen works of art have been acquired for the AGSA collection including Matthew Teapot Djipurrtjun’s Wodhalyu dhäwu (The Story of Wodhal), two sculptural works by d harding, four works by Milminyina Dhamarrandji, Josina Pumani’s Black Mist, Julie Nangala Robertson’s Mina Mina Jukurrpa, Mark Maurangi Carrol’s Titikaveka (Aka va’a) (to cause openings to cut or make gaps in space) and three works from Nathan Beard’s Untitled (Ciceroni) series.
Established in 1990 as the leading visual arts offering of the Adelaide Festival, the Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art has created career-defining opportunities for almost 500 artists and has been experienced by more than 2 million visitors.
The 2028 Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art will run 3 March – 4 June as part of the 2028 Adelaide Festival. For more information, visit: www.agsa.sa.gov.au for details.
Image: Mark Feary – photo by Tim Herbert