Bruce Johnson McLean, member of the Wierdi people of Wribpid (Belyando River region in Central Queensland) will be visiting Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland from 6-10 October as part of the Visiting Curators Programme co-hosted by Te Uru Waitakere Contemporary Gallery, University of New South Wales Galleries and AUT School of Future Environments. OCAA is pleased to be working with Te Uru to develop a programme of visits with artists and curators across Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland.
You are invited to join Te Uru and AUT at a public talk given by Bruce on Thursday 9 October at 6pm. The talk will be at AUT in WG308, 55- 55 Wellesley Street East (GATE 3 AUT), Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland - free and no booking required.
Bruce has been involved in First Nations art and culture his entire life and has over 25 years’ professional experience in the sector, primarily as a writer, curator, advisor, and consultant. He is currently the Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemporain First Nations Curatorial Fellow for the 2026 Biennale of Sydney.
Bruce was previously Assistant Director, First Nations at the National Gallery of Australia, managing their First Nations programs and initiatives. Prior to that, Bruce was Curator, Indigenous Australian Art at the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art, for more than 16 years. Bruce has curated many exhibitions and programs including Tony Albert: Visible 2018, Mirdidingkingathi Juwarnda Sally Gabori: Dulka Warngiid Land of All 2016, and My Country, I Still Call Australia Home: Contemporary Art from Black Australia 2013. He has co-curated: Mavis Ngallametta: Show Me the Way to go Home 2020, Goobalathaldin Dick Roughsey: Stories of this Land 2019 and GOMA Q: Contemporary Queensland Art 2015. Bruce was also a curator of the international collaborative exhibition Histórias Indígenas (Indigenous Histories) 2023 at MASP, Sao Paulo, Brazil and KODE, Bergen, Norway. He has also worked on several major projects including large-scale illumination projects with Vincent Namatjira and the Mulka Project for Canberra’s Enlighten Festival.
Bruce will visit Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland as part of the Visiting Curators Programme hosted by Te Uru Waitakere Contemporary Gallery, in partnership with University of New South Wales Galleries and AUT and the School of Future Environments and supported by Te Uru Benefactors Collective. OCAA is pleased to be working with Te Uru to develop a programme of visits with artists and curators across Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland.