FLAMBOYANT art curator and events manager David Sequeira has just made another career move – but this time not of his own volition.
Happer days – David-Sequeira at his “Everything and Nothing” gallery
It has been reported in the Latrobe Valley Express today that has been summarily dismissed and escorted from the Latrobe Valley Regional Gallery, where he has been director for just four months.
According to the newspaper, Latrobe City chief executive Gary van Driel has confirmed that Sequeira was sacked during his probation period, and that while council would make no comment, he has claimed in a letter to Latrobe City mayor Dale Harriman that he was dismissed for his inability to “communicate effectively” with supervisors.
The news has sent shock waves through the arts community of the Valley, which is reportedly rallying behind Sequeira.
Sequeira told “CityNews” this afternoon by phone from Melbourne, where he is now living, that what had happened was “pretty devastating… I feel disappointed for the poor people in the community.”
He said that he had remained silent, but that it was the art lovers in the community of Morwell who collected signatures and went to the press. While he was not clear what the future offered, he said he was working on his private art practice at the moment.
He confirmed reports of two examples of communication issues which led to his sacking, including an incident in which he had protested a supervisor’s request to gift councillors $200 tickets to an LRG fundraiser held on Friday night.
He also confirmed that immediately following a meeting advising him of his termination he had been escorted from the building “as one found guilty of committing a crime.”
Prior to his move from Canberra where he had lived for over 20 years, Sequeira had been director of M16 Artspace in Griffith for just three weeks before accepting the job in the regional town of Morwell, a 90 minute drive from Melbourne.
“CityNews” has previously described him as a mover and shaker in the local arts scene. he is an artist and curator with a Ph.D. in fine art from RMIT, 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 a former director of Events and Business Development at Parliament House. He was also the artistic director of the “Imagining Canberra” film event, a centenary project held in the Old Parliament House Senate Rose Gardens.
Sequeira’s “After images”
This year the Canberra Museum and Gallery unveiled a commissioned work by Sequeira called “After images” a large mural visible to the public and facing north toward CMAG and the Playhouse car park.
Arts commenters have observed that what happened to Sequeira in Morwell bears some resemblance to circumstances surrounding the departure of former NGA staffer Ron Ramsey from the directorship of Newcastle Region Art Gallery, after a communication problem with the City Council.
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