IN what must be the shortest reign ever as a director in the constantly changing Canberra arts scene, David Sequeira is moving on from the directorship of M16 Artspace in Griffith to take a job in Victoria.
David Sequeira
Sequeira told “CityNews” this morning that he had been offered and would shortly take up a position in the La Trobe Valley, making him, among other things, the director of the Regional Art Gallery.
As reported in “CityNews” a week ago, Sequeira took up his position as the third director of M16 in late August, but submitted his resignation early this week, as M16 chairman Frank Arnold confirmed this afternoon.
Considered a mover and shaker in the local arts scene, he is an artist and curator with a Ph.D. in fine art from RMIT, he is a former staffer at the National Gallery of Australia, founder of the “Everything and Nothing” gallery project in Canberra, co-organiser of the queer cultural festival, “Springout”, founder/director of the Hughes Music Festival and former director of Events and Business Development at Parliament House.
Last year he was also the artistic director of the “Imagining Canberra” film event, a centenary project held in the famous Old Parliament House Senate Rose Gardens.
Sequeira has been offered the arts directorship at Latrobe Regional Gallery in Morwell, a town in the Latrobe Valley area of Gippsland and a 90 minute drive from Melbourne.
The gallery is considered one of Victoria’s most exciting public galleries, servicing the wider region. Its architecturally-designed building houses seven gallery spaces and a sculpture courtyard, and holds over 1500 works of art in all media, including individual works by Jessie Traill, Noel Counihan, Jan Senbergs, Mandy Martin and Kevin Mortensen and several larger collections.
Sequeira, who has lived in Canberra for over 20 years, says he is sorry to leave the ACT but says, “I’ve got an opportunity to contribute to a town, to make a difference.”
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