Currently Director of Melbourne contemporary gallery West Space since 2015, Sharkey has overseen exhibitions from Fiona Abicare, Gavin Bell and Lisa Radford. Other works commissioned during her tenure have included Jason Phu’s my parents met at the fish market, which made its debut at West Space in 2017 before visiting ACE Open earlier this year.
Sharkey will take up her new post in February 2019, following the departure of her predecessor, ACE Open’s founding curator Toby Chapman.
Incoming ACE Open Curator and Exhibitions Manager Patrice Sharkey
In addition to Sharkey’s appointment ACE Open has also released further details of its suite of summer programming presented alongside Plenty, Chapman’s final exhibition with ACE Open, which continues until February 9.
ACE Open Summer Party will return to the Lion Arts Centre on January 19 with a ‘Sports Day’ theme curated by artist and sports fan Meg Wilson. Wilson has form in transforming arts spaces to riff on sporting culture, from running a marathon entirely within the confines of a CACSA gallery in 2015’s You Will Only Ever Be Any Good If You Can Run The Marathon to installing a pop up squash court and competing against the public at Vitalstatistix earlier this year. Sports Day will feature installations Test Match and Trampoline.
Sally Smart’s The Violet Ballet
Announced as part of the Adelaide Festival 2019 program, March will see ACE Open host a major installation from Sally Smart. Smart’s colourful multimedia work The Violet Ballet will take over the space for two months, combining textiles, dance, shadow puppetry and film.
ACE Open Summer Party: Sports Day
Saturday, January 19
Sally Smart, The Violet Ballet
March 2 – April 27
ACEopen.art
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