Natalie King

Natalie King
OAM
Born1966 (age 59–60)
Melbourne, Australia
OccupationsCurator, writer
Years active1991–present
Known forAustralian Contemporary Art

Natalie King OAM (born 1966) is an Australian curator and writer working in Melbourne, Australia. She specialises in Australian and international programs for contemporary art and visual culture; exhibitions, publications, workshops, lectures and cultural partnerships across contemporary art and indigenous culture.

King was formerly Chief Curator of Melbourne Biennial Lab, the Creative Associate of MPavilion and curator for Tracey Moffatt for the Australian Pavilion at the 57th Venice Biennale 2017.

Since 2017, she has been a senior research fellow at the Victorian College of the Arts, University of Melbourne, Australia and was recently appointed to the role of enterprise professor at the VCA. In that role she was named in The Australian Financial Review 100 Women of Influence awards for Arts, Culture and Sport in October 2018. In September 2019, King was appointed as curator of the first Pacific and transgender artist, Yuki Kihara, to represent Aotearoa New Zealand at the 59th Venice Biennale 2022.

Early life

Natalie King grew up in North Balwyn, Melbourne Victoria, in a conventional Jewish household. From a young age she had an interest in the indigenous history of the city, including the work of Aboriginal artist Destiny Deacon and long-time collaborator Virginia Fraser.

Education

King completed a Master of Arts (M.A.), Visual Arts & Museum Studies at Monash University in Victoria Australia, between 1991 and 1993.

Career

Venice Biennale

Natalie King's curatorships include Tracey Moffatt's exhibition for the Australian pavilion at the 57th Venice Biennale 2017; for the first Pasifika and Samoan artist, Yuki Kihara for the New Zealand pavilion at the 59th Venice Biennale 2022; and in 2024, the inaugural Timor-Leste pavilion, Maria Madeira: Kiss and Don’t Tell at the 60th Venice Biennale 2024.

Other institutions and projects

King's previous roles include Chief Curator of Melbourne Biennial Lab, City of Melbourne; senior research fellow, Victorian College of the Arts, The University of Melbourne and Creative Associate of MPavilion.

Awards

In 2018, Natalie King was selected as a finalist for the Australian Financial Review 100 Women of Influence, an award established to recognise the achievements of Australian women across a broad range of professions and disciplines.

In the 2020 Queen's Birthday Honours, King was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for "service to the contemporary visual arts".

In 2023 King won the Best Artist-Led Publication AWAPA award by the Art Association of Australia & New Zealand for editing the publication Paradise Camp by Yuki Kihara. (Thames and Hudson, 2022)

Her 2024 book, The Art of Kaylene Whiskey, won the Illustrated Book of the Year at the 2026 Australian Book Industry Awards.

Publications

King was co-editor (with Professor Larissa Hjorth and Mami Kataoka) of the anthology Art in the Asia Pacific: Intimate Publics, Routledge, 2014; editor/curator of Up Close: Carol Jerrems with Larry Clark, Nan Goldin and William Yang, Heide Museum of Modern Art; and co-editor of a publication on biennial curator Hou Hanru. Widely published in arts media including LEAP, Photofile and Flash Art, she is a member of the International Association of Art Critics, Paris.

Select exhibition curatorships

Selected interviews

Natalie King has conducted a number of public lectures and published interviews with leading international artists and curators including:

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Natalie King, curator, Venice Biennale". Australia Council for the Arts. 29 November 2016. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Natalie King, CHIEF CURATOR, BIENNIAL LAB". Public Art Melbourne Biennial Lab. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
  3. ↑ "Curatorial Statement: Chief Curator Natalie King". Public Art Melbourne Biennial Lab. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Natalie King". MPavilion. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
  5. 1 2 "On the Couch with Natalie King". Arts Review. 10 June 2016. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
  6. 1 2 Paul Dalgarno (16 March 2018). "Curator Natalie King on her new role as Enterprise Professor at the VCA". The University of Melbourne. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
  7. ↑ Patten, Sally (17 October 2018). "Women of Influence 2018 winner fights for recognition of Indigenous Australians". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
  8. ↑ Patten, Sally (23 February 2020). "Biennale Arte 2021: New Zealand's artist and curator announced". New Zealand at Venice. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  9. 1 2 "Natalie King, curator, talks about 1970s Melbourne, cafes and art". The Sydney Morning Herald. 7 November 2017. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
  10. ↑ "Natalie King". Linkedin. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
  11. ↑ "Moffatt in Venice". Art Guide Australia. 12 May 2017. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
  12. 1 2 "Flipping the script at the Venice Biennale – The University of Melbourne". 17 June 2022. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
  13. ↑ "Timor-Leste Presents Inaugural Pavilion at 2024 Venice Biennale – Art Asia Pacific". 31 January 2024. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
  14. ↑ "the Australian Financial Review 100 Women of Influence 2018 category winners revealed". The Australian Financial Review. 17 October 2018. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  15. ↑ "Queen's Birthday 2020 Honours List" (PDF). Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia. 8 June 2020. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  16. ↑ "WINNERS│HIGHLY COMMENDED FOR THE 2023 AWAPAS". Art Association of Australia & New Zealand. 8 January 2024. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
  17. ↑ "Sworder wins ABIA Book of the Year". Books+Publishing. 21 May 2026. Retrieved 25 May 2026.
  18. ↑ "Up Close: Carol Jerrems with Larry Clark, Nan Goldin and William Yang". Black Inc. 26 September 2014. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
  19. ↑ "Tracey Moffatt: My Horizon, by Natalie King". Thames & Hudson. Retrieved 15 December 2017.[dead link]
  20. ↑ "Timor-Leste Presents Inaugural Pavilion at 2024 Venice Biennale – Art Asia Pacific". 31 January 2024. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
  21. ↑ "Moffatt in Venice – Art Guide Australia". 12 May 2017. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
  22. ↑ "MONYET GILA: EPISODE ONE – 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art". 8 February 2016. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
  23. ↑ "HOME". Biennial Lab. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
  24. ↑ "Press Release : Conversation: Endless Acts in Human History, Entang Wiharso and Sally Smart – Galeri Nasional Indonesia – Website resmi Galeri Nasional Indonesia (GALNAS)". galeri-nasional.or.id. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
  25. ↑ "One Night Stand".
  26. ↑ "TarraWarra Biennial 2014". 23 July 2014. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
  27. ↑ Patrick, Pound (1 January 2014). "13th Dong Gang International Photo Festival 2014". Retrieved 20 December 2017. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  28. ↑ "Jitish Kallat: Circa : Asialink". Asialink. 24 August 2016. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
  29. ↑ Mundine, Djon; King, Natalie; Asialink; Bendigo Art Gallery (2012). Shadowlife / curated by Djon Mundine and Natalie King. Hayman Design. ISBN 9780734047571. Retrieved 20 December 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  30. ↑ Trade, corporateName= Department of Foreign Affairs and. "Australian Embassy in". thailand.embassy.gov.au. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
  31. ↑ "Ian Potter Museum of Art – Future Exhibitions". art-museum.unimelb.edu.au. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
  32. ↑ "Up Close: Carol Jerrems with Larry Clark, Nan Goldin and William Yang by Natalie King". Retrieved 20 December 2017.
  33. ↑ "Destiny Deacon: Walk & don't look blak :: Museum of Contemporary Art Australia". mca.com.au. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
  34. ↑ "institution The Tokyo Photographic Art Museum - artist, news & exhibitions - photography-now.com". photography-now.com. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
  35. ↑ "Rosemary Laing on Artmap.com". artmap.com. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
  36. ↑ "Australian Centre for Contemporary Art". acca.melbourne. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
  37. ↑ Clabburn, Anna (2 September 1998). "Behind the doors of home". The Age. p. 19.
  38. ↑ "Primavera 1994: Young Australian Artists :: Museum of Contemporary Art Australia". mca.com.au. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
  39. ↑ Gibson, Rachel (16 December 1994). "Subversion in Toyland". The Age. p. 28.
  40. ↑ Gibson, Rachel (9 December 1994). "Eyes of 50 years of us". The Age. p. 39.
  41. ↑ "A conversation with Pipilotti Rist". Ocula. 8 January 2018. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  42. ↑ "A conversation with Tracey Moffatt". Ocula. 1 September 2017. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  43. ↑ "A conversation with Maria Alyokhina". Ocula. 17 August 2017. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  44. ↑ "A conversation with Entang Wiharso and Sally Smart". Ocula. 20 January 2016. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
  45. ↑ "MUMA Boiler Room Lecture: Raqs Media Collective". State Library of Victoria, Melbourne. 13 November 2015. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
  46. ↑ "Hou Hanru in Conversation". Asialink, University of Melbourne. 14 October 2014. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
  47. ↑ "Polixeni Papapetrou in conversation with Natalie King". Eyeline Contemporary Visual Arts. 26 August 2015. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
  48. ↑ "Bill Henson in conversation with Natalie King at Monash Gallery of Art". Public Interview, Monash Gallery of Art. 13 October 2011. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
  49. ↑ "Anastasia Klose with Natalie King". SPEECH. 5 September 2009. Retrieved 19 December 2017.