To my new friends,

Welcome to the first Curator Notes newsletter!

Welcome, welcome, welcome.

I’m so happy to have you here. I hope we get to learn, grow & discover new things together. Please let me know if you have any feedback or suggestions for the website or this newsletter, I’d be grateful to hear it.

This week is just a little introduction and to say hi 👋 but next week I’m planning a bumper newsletter dedicated to the impact the Coronavirus had on the museum industry. So keep an eye 👀 out for that, it should be in your inbox 📬 on Sunday 25th April.


On April 1st I launched the Curator Notes website!

It’s surreal that I have my own little space on the internet which is all mine. I’m so glad I made the leap last year to follow my dream and create a website I love. It’s been a steep learning curve for me, but it’s also been really rewarding to see it all come together.

I currently have five blog posts 👩‍💻 available to read, with many more to come. I’m hoping to having a regular posting schedule figured out soon and I’ll keep you informed of any changes to that.


Upcoming Museum Visits & Exhibitions

Last Wednesday night I visited the Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW). I didn’t go into any paid exhibitions, only the Margel Hinder: Modern in Motion exhibition which is free for anyone to attend. It was really interesting, and I’d highly recommend to anyone visiting to check it out.

I’m looking forward to the Archibald, Sulman and Wynne prize for 2021. It’s been a yearly tradition in my life for so long, but last year I wasn’t able to visit because I was stuck in Melbourne with the border closures.

Other than that, on the horizon I’ve got a trip to Canberra planned for a weekend at the beginning of May. This is to see the Botticelli to Van Gogh: Masterpieces from the National Gallery, London exhibition. Although I'm definitely excited to see this - I promise, I am! - I lived in London in 2018-2019 and was a frequent visitor to the National Gallery, so I’ve seen these paintings before, and also relatively recently.

Let me know what you think about this by sending me a reply to curatornotes@gmail.com. Would you still drive the three hours to Canberra and pay to see paintings you know you’ve seen before? I’m firmly in the “yes!” category but I know it wouldn’t be for everyone.

Recent Reads, Watches & Listens

• ‘In the Studio/Things to Put in Frames’ series (House & Garden YouTube channel). A look at three young artists studio’s - Rose Electra Harris, Isabelle Cotier and Venetia Berry. These are beautifully filmed and offer a sneak peak into the talented artists studios. I want all three studios for myself!

• The Sunday Read: ‘Rembrandt in the Blood’ (The Daily, New York Times podcast) “It was in the winter of 2016 that Jan Six, a Dutch art dealer based in Amsterdam, made a discovery that would upend his life.” It’s an amazing read-a-long of an article written Russell Shorto. You can also read it here.

• The Prince, The Flash, The Forgerer (Vanity Fair) a fascinating archived article about one of the world’s most famous art forgeries. I devoured this before and again recently.

Please let me know any of your own recommendations for this week, I’d love to have a discussion with you.

With love,

Emma