Natalie King (born 1966) is an Australian curator and writer working in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, Australia. She specialises in Australian and international programs for contemporary art and visual culture; exhibitions, publications, workshops, lectures and cultural partnerships across contemporary art and indigenous culture. King was formerly Chief Curator of Melbourne Biennial Lab, the Creative Associate of

MPavilion MPavilion is a temporary pavilion in Queen Victoria Gardens, Melbourne, erected annually since 2014. The event is sponsored by philanthropist Naomi Milgrom. Initially the project was planned for four years, but later it was extended by another ...

and curator for

Tracey Moffatt Tracey Moffatt (born 12 November 1960) is an Indigenous Australian artist who primarily uses photography and video. In 2017, she represented Australia at the 57th Venice Biennale with her solo exhibition, "My Horizon". Her works are held in t ...

for the Australian Pavilion at the

57th Venice Biennale The 57th Venice Biennale was an international contemporary art art exhibition, exhibition held between May and November 2017. The Venice Biennale takes place biennale, biennially in Venice, Italy. Artistic director Christine Macel, the chief cu ...

2017. Since 2017, she has been a senior research fellow at the

Victorian College of the Arts The Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) is the arts school at the University of Melbourne in Australia. It is part of the university's Faculty of Fine Arts and Music (FFAM). It is located near the Melbourne city centre on the Southbank campus ...

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...

, Australia and was recently appointed to the role of enterprise professor at the VCA. In that role she was named in ''The Australian Financial Review'' 100 Women of Influence awards for Arts, Culture and Sport in October 2018. In September 2019, King was appointed as curator of the first Pacific and transgender artist,

Yuki Kihara Shigeyuki "Yuki" Kihara (born 1975) is an interdisciplinary artist of Japanese and Samoan descent. In 2008, her work was the subject of a solo exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York; it was the first time a New Zealander and t ...

, to represent Aotearoa New Zealand at the 59th Venice Biennale 2022.

Early life

Natalie King grew up in North Balwyn, Melbourne Victoria, in a conventional

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

household. From a young age she had an interest in the indigenous history of the city, including the work of Aboriginal artist

Destiny Deacon Destiny Deacon HonFRPS (6 February 1957 – 23 May 2024) was an Australian photographer, broadcaster, political activist and media artist. She exhibited photographs and films across Australia and also internationally, focusing on politics and ...

and long-time collaborator Virginia Fraser.

Education

King completed a Master of Arts (M.A.), Visual Arts & Museum Studies at

Monash University Monash University () is a public university, public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. Named after World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the ...

in Victoria Australia, between 1991 and 1993.

Career

Venice Biennale

Natalie King's curatorships include

's exhibition for the Australian pavilion at the 57th Venice Biennale 2017;for the first

Pasifika Pasifika may refer to: *Pacific Islander people, indigenous peoples of the Pacific Islands **Pasifika New Zealanders, Pacific peoples living in New Zealand *Pacific Islands, including Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia *The Pasifika Festival, an a ...

and Samoan artist, Yuki Kihara for the New Zealand pavilion at the

59th Venice Biennale The 59th Venice Biennale was an international contemporary art exhibition held between April and November 2022, having been delayed a year due to the COVID pandemic. The Venice Biennale takes place biennially in Venice, Italy. Artistic directo ...

2022; and in 2024, the inaugural

Timor-Leste Timor-Leste, also known as East Timor, officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is a country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the coastal exclave of Oecusse in the island's northwest, and ...

pavilion, ''Maria Madeira: Kiss and Don’t Tell'' at the

60th Venice Biennale The 60th Venice Biennale was an international contemporary art exhibition held between April and November 2024 with the theme ''Foreigners Everywhere'' curated by Adriano Pedrosa as the artistic director. In addition, 88 countries contributed n ...

2024.

Other institutions and projects

King's previous roles include Chief Curator of Melbourne Biennial Lab, City of Melbourne; senior research fellow,

, The University of Melbourne and Creative Associate of MPavilion.

Awards

In 2018, Natalie King was selected as a finalist for the

Australian Financial Review The ''Australian Financial Review'' (''AFR'') is an Australian compact daily newspaper with a focus on business, politics and economic affairs. The newspaper is based in Sydney, New South Wales, and has been published continuously since its foun ...

''100 Women of Influence'', an award established to recognise the achievements of Australian women across a broad range of professions and disciplines. In the '' 2020 Queen's Birthday Honours'', King was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for "service to the contemporary visual arts". In 2023 King won the ''Best Artist-Led Publication'' AWAPA award by the Art Association of Australia & New Zealand for editing the publication ''Paradise Camp by Yuki Kihara''. (Thames and Hudson, 2022)

Publications

King was co-editor (with Professor Larissa Hjorth and Mami Kataoka) of the anthology ''Art in the Asia Pacific: Intimate Publics'', Routledge, 2014; editor/curator of ''Up Close: Carol Jerrems with Larry Clark, Nan Goldin and William Yang'',

Heide Museum of Modern Art The Heide Museum of Modern Art, also known as Heide, is an art museum in Bulleen, Victoria, Bulleen, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. Established in 1981, the museum exhibits modern art, modern and contemporary a ...

; and co-editor of a publication on biennial curator

Hou Hanru Hou Hanru ( zh, s=侯瀚如, t=侯瀚如, p=Hóu Hànrú; born 1963) is a Chinese-born art curator and art critic. He is based in San Francisco, Paris and Rome. He was artistic director of the National Museum MAXXI in Rome, Italy, from 2013 to ...

. Widely published in arts media including ''LEAP'', ''

Photofile The Australian Centre for Photography (ACP) was a not-for-profit photography gallery in Darlinghurst, Sydney, Australia that was established in 1973 and which also provided part-time courses and community programs. One of the longest running co ...

'' and ''

Flash Art ''Flash Art'' is a contemporary art magazine, and an Italian and international publishing house. Originally published bilingually, both in Italian and in English, since 1978 is published in two separate editions, Flash Art Italia (Italian) and ...

'', she is a member of the

International Association of Art Critics The International Association of Art Critics (French: ''Association Internationale des Critiques d’Art'', AICA) was founded in 1950 to revitalize critical discourse, which suffered under Fascism during World War II. Affiliated with UNESCO AICA wa ...

, Paris. * ''Tracey Moffatt: My Horizon'', by Natalie King, Thames & Hudson, 1 May 2017 * ''Whisper in my mask: TarraWarra Biennial 2014'', edited by Natalie King and

Djon Mundine Djon Mundine (born 1951) is an Aboriginal Australian artist, curator, activist and writer. He is a member of the Bundjalung people of northern New South Wales. He is known for having conceived the 1988 work ''Aboriginal Memorial'', on display ...

, TarraWarra, 2014, * ''Hou Hanru'', edited by Natalie King and Victoria Lynn, University of Melbourne, 2013, * ''Jitish Kallat: Circa'', edited by Natalie King and Bala Starr, University of Melbourne, 2012, * ''Shadowlife'', curated by Djon Mundine and Natalie King, Asialink, 2012, * ''Up Close: Carol Jerrems with Larry Clark, Nan Goldin and William Yang'', Edited by Natalie King, 31 August 2010 * ''Destiny Deacon: Walk & don't look blak'', curated by Natalie King, Museum of Contemporary Art, 2004,

Select exhibition curatorships

* 2024, ''Kiss and Don’t Tell'', Timor Leste (Democratic Republic of) Pavilion, 60th Venice Biennale, Venice * 2022, ''Paradise Camp, Yuki Kihara'', New Zealand, 59th Venice Biennale, Venice * 2017, ''My Horizon: Tracey Moffatt'', Australian Pavilion, 57th Venice Biennale, Venice * 2016, ''Monyet Gila: Episode One – The Episode with the Crazy Monkey'', Contemporary Asian Art, Sydney, co-curated with Mikala Tai * 2016, ''Melbourne Biennial Lab: What happens now?'', Melbourne Festival * 2016, ''Conversations: Endless Acts in Human History, Entang Wiharso and

Sally Smart Sally Smart (born 1960) is an Australian contemporary artist known for her large-scale Assemblage (art), assemblage Installation art, installations that incorporate a range of media, including felt cut-outs, painted canvas, drawings, screen-pri ...

'',

National Gallery of Indonesia The National Gallery of Indonesia is an art gallery and Art museum, museum in Jakarta, Indonesia. The National Gallery of Indonesia has existed as a cultural institution in the field of visual arts since 8 May 1999. The institution plays an impor ...

, Jakarta, co-curated with Suwarno Wisetrotomo * 2014, ''One Night Stand: Slow Art Collective & The Telepathy Project'', MPavilion, Melbourne * 2014, ''Whisper in My Mask: TarraWarra Biennial 2014'' (with Djon Mundine),

TarraWarra Museum of Art The TarraWarra Museum of Art is an art museum in Healesville, Victoria, 45 kilometres northeast of Melbourne. It was founded by philanthropists and art collectors, Eva and Marc Besen. Opened in 2003, TarraWarra is a not-for-profit art gallery that ...

, Victoria * 2014, ''Episodes: Australian Photography Now'' 13th Dong Gang International Photo Festival 2014, Dong Gang Museum of Photography, Korea * 2013, ''Jitish Kallat: Circa'',

Ian Potter Museum of Art The Potter Museum of Art at the University of Melbourne in Melbourne, Australia was established in 1972. The Potter, as it is known locally, presents a curated exhibition program of historical and contemporary art. Through its activities the Pot ...

, Melbourne, co-curated with Bala Starr and Andrew Jamieson * 2012, ''Shadowlife (with Djon Mundine)'', Bangkok Arts & Cultural Centre;

Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts The Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts (KMFA; ) is located in Gushan District, Kaohsiung, Taiwan. It was founded by the Kaohsiung City Government and has been administrated by the Kaohsiung Bureau of Cultural Affairs since 2003. It occupies about ...

, Taiwan; Nanyang Academy of Fine Art, Singapore;

Bendigo Art Gallery Bendigo Art Gallery is an Australian art gallery located in Bendigo, Victoria. It is one of the oldest and largest regional art galleries. History The gallery was founded in 1887. The gallery's collection was first housed in the former Bendig ...

, Victoria * 2012, ''Gigi Scaria: Prisms of Perception'', Ian Potter Museum of Art, Melbourne, co-curated with Bala Starr * 2010, ''Up Close: Carol Jerrems with Larry Clark, Nan Goldin & William Yang'',

, Melbourne * 2004, ''Destiny Deacon: Walk & don’t look blak'',

Adam Art Gallery The Adam Art Gallery (in Māori language, Māori: ''Te Pātaka Toi'') is a purpose-built arts gallery located in the Kelburn Campus of Victoria University of Wellington in Wellington, New Zealand. History On 15 July 1997, Jenny Harper and Tin ...

, Wellington; Tjibaou Cultural Centre, New Caledonia;

Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography The is an art museum concentrating on photography. As the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, it was founded by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, and is in Meguro-ku, a short walk from Ebisu station in southwest Tokyo. The museum also ...

, Japan and Ian Potter Museum of Art, Melbourne, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney * 2004, ''Supernatural Artificial'', Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, Japan * 1999, ''aero-zone, Rosemary Laing'', National Museum of Art, Osaka, Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne * 1998, September: co-curation with

Naomi Cass Naomi Noel Cass is an Australian art curator, writer and critic, educator and administrator who has worked at the Jewish Museum of Australia, the Caulfield Arts Centre, the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, and the University of Melbourne's G ...

; ''Haimish,''

Jewish Museum of Australia The Jewish Museum of Australia, not to be confused with the Sydney Jewish Museum, aims to "explore and share the Jewish experience in Australia". It is located in St Kilda, a suburb of Melbourne. History The Jewish Museum of Australia was estab ...

, St Kilda * 1994, ''Primavera 1994: Young Australian Artists'',

Museum of Contemporary Art Museum of Contemporary Art (often abbreviated to MCA, MoCA or MOCA) may refer to: Africa * Museum of Contemporary Art (Tangier), Morocco, officially le Galerie d'Art Contemporain Mohamed Drissi Asia East Asia * Museum of Contemporary Art Shanghai ...

, Sydney * 1994, December-January: ''Bad Toys'' Australlan Centre for Contemporary Art, Dallas Brooks Drive, South Yarra * 1994, December: co-curation with Zara Stanhope of ''Tableaux,'' featuring

Maria Kozic Maria Kozic (born 10 August 1957) is an Australian feminist painter, sculptor, designer, musician, and video artist originally from Melbourne, who currently lives and works in Brooklyn, New York City. Kozic came to prominence as a member of the ...

Howard Arkley Howard Arkley (5 May 1951 – 22 July 1999) was an Australian artist. He is known for his airbrushed paintings of Melbourne suburbia. Life and career After seeing exhibitions of works by Melbourne artists Sidney Nolan and John Brack, Arkley d ...

Peter Booth Peter Booth may refer to: * Peter Booth (painter) (born 1940), Australian painter * Peter Booth, Baron Booth, British businessman and Conservative life peer * Peter Booth (priest) (1907–1993), British Anglican priest and Archdeacon of Lewes * P ...

, Tim McGuire, Brent Harris,

Jan Nelson Jan Nelson (born 1955) is an Australian artist who works in sculpture, photography and painting. She is best known for her hyper real images of adolescents. She has exhibited widely in Australia as well as Paris and Brazil. Her works are in the c ...

, Phillip Hunter, David Stephenson, Tim Jones, Jon Campbell.

Monash University Gallery The Monash University Museum of Art (MUMA), formerly the Monash University Gallery, is a contemporary art museum on Monash University's Caulfield campus on Dandenong Road, Melbourne, Australia. History The Museum grew out of a number of ear ...

Selected interviews

Natalie King has conducted a number of public lectures and published interviews with leading international artists and curators including: * ''Curator Natalie King on her new role as Enterprise Professor at the VCA'', The University of Melbourne, 2018 * ''Pipilotti Rist'' – artist (Switzerland), 8 January 2018 * ''Tracey Moffatt'' – artist (Australia), 1 September 2017 * ''Maria Alyokhina'' – a founding member of

Pussy riot Pussy Riot is a Feminism in Russia, Russian feminist protest and performance art group based in Moscow that became popular for its provocative punk rock music which later turned into a more accessible style. Founded in the fall of 2011 by the th ...

(Russia), 17 August 2017 * ''Entang Wiharso and

'' – artists (Australia), 20 January 2016 * Interview with Raqs Media Collective, Boiler Room Lecture, State Library of Victoria, Melbourne, 2015 * ''Falling back to Earth: Cai Guo-Qiang'', Art and Australia, 2014, pp. 508–513 * Interview with Hou Hanru, Asialink, University of Melbourne, 2013 * ''A Human Texture: The video portraits of Candice Breitz'', Art and Australia, Vol 51 No 2, Summer 2013, pp. 191–5 * ''Polixeni Papapetrou'' – artist (Australia), 2013 * ''Bill Henson'' – artist (Australia), 2011 * ''The Material of meaning: Illuminating the art of Joseph Kosuth'', Art and Australia, Vol. 47, No. 4, Winter 2010, pp. 590–595 * ''Anastasia Klose'' – artist (Australia), 2009 * ''Interview with Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev'', Flash Art, May–June 2008, p. 86 * ''Interview with Ai Weiwei, Art and Australia'', Vol. 45 No. 4, 2008, pp. 546–549 * ''Interview with Massimiliano Gioni, Art and Australia'', Vol. 45, No. 2, Summer 2007, pp. 274–9

References

External links

*
"Tracey Moffatt in Conversation with Natalie King, South Australia"
''Australia Council for the Arts'' 12 May 2016 {{DEFAULTSORT:King, Natalie Writers from Melbourne 1966 births Australian curators Australian art curators Australian women curators Living people Australian art critics Australian women art critics Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia People from Balwyn, Victoria Monash University alumni