Andrew Clifford commenced his new role as Director of the Sarjeant Gallery Te Whare o Rehua Whanganui this week. A pōwhiri was led by kaumātua John Maihi and attended by invited guests including Gallery and Council staff, mana whenua, local artists and fellow public gallery directors from the North Island who showed up in strength.

From 2013-2023 Clifford was the inaugural director of Te Uru, a public gallery based in the Waitākere Ranges west of Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland. Coincidentally, he commenced at Te Uru approximately a year before the gallery reopened after a lengthy period of closure during a redevelopment and brings this valuable experience to the Sarjeant as it prepares to reopen at Pukenamu Queen’s Park in 2024. Prior to that, he was Curator and Acting Director at the University of Auckland's Centre for Art Studies, where he helped manage the Gus Fisher Gallery and the university’s art collection.

Clifford’s writings have been widely published in books and publications throughout the Asia-Pacific region, including ArtAsiaPacific, Art + Australia, Eyeline, Art New Zealand, Art News New Zealand, New Zealand Listener, New Zealand Herald, Pavement, Rip It Up and Vogue. From 2002–2007 he produced music programmes for Radio New Zealand, preceded by ten years at 95bFM. He has been a judge for the Wallace Art Awards, a juror for the Walters Prize and has sat on various other selection panels. He is a trustee of the Len Lye Foundation and now the Edith Collier Trust. He has been a board member for the Audio Foundation and CIRCUIT, and holds an MFA from the University of Auckland.

Clifford says “I’m really happy to have arrived in a city that holds the arts in high regard and is renowned for its heritage and design. The Sarjeant redevelopment is an exciting project to be joining and I’m looking forward to helping ensure the new gallery plays a major role in Whanganui’s continued growth.”

The Sarjeant Gallery whānau and the wider Whanganui community welcomes Andrew Clifford.

Image by Gallery photographer Michael McKeagg taken at pōwhiri for Andrew Clifford on Monday 27 March at Sarjeant on the Quay.

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