Griffith University Art Museum Director Angela Goddard has been appointed Chair of University Art Museums Australia.

Ms Goddard oversees Griffith University’s flagship public gallery, Griffith University Art Museum, and the University’s extensive art collection. The University holds more than 4,900 works of art, the second largest public collection in Queensland after QAGOMA.

Recent successes include winning last year’s Art Association of Australia and New Zealand Best University Art Museum Exhibition Catalogue for the publication ‘With Heart and Hand: Art Pottery in Queensland 1900-1950’.

Before joining Griffith University in 2015, Ms Goddard was Curator, Australian Art at the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA).

She is also currently a Board Director at The Sheila Foundation for Women in Visual Art.

Ms Goddard brings a wealth of experience to the national leadership role at University Art Museums Australia (UAMA).

Griffith University Art Museum Director Angela Goddard

“UAMA is an organisation I have long admired, and I am thrilled to be appointed its next Chair,” she said.

“I am passionate about the importance of university art museums as spaces of learning, as well as supporting artists and shaping significant collections.

“Fiona Salmon has built an impressive track record of support and collegiality to the sector, as well as furthering our reach and I look forward to building on her legacy.

“I am excited to work closely with this community and continue developing links and partnerships to ensure that the sector is well-scaffolded into the future.”

A new report from UAMA revealed the vital role that university art institutions play in acquiring artworks, hosting exhibitions and pushing artistic boundaries.

The new report collected data from 22 member galleries that acquired 7,160 artworks, hosted 492 exhibitions and showed the work of 5,180 artists over the past three years.

About 100,000 artworks are held across member collections and 1,644,564 people went through their doors from 2017 to 2019.

According to the Australian Public Galleries Snapshot 2020, the estimated total number of works at university museums and galleries represents 30 per cent of art collections held in Australia’s small-to-medium gallery sector.