Natalie King

Professor Natalie King is Enterprise Professor of Visual Arts at the Victorian College of the Arts, Faculty of Fine Arts and Music, University of Melbourne, where she has served as Senior Research Fellow since 2014. A leading Australian curator, writer, editor, and senior researcher, she engages extensively with contemporary artists and institutions across the Asia-Pacific region and Europe. King curates Australian and international programs that include exhibition making, publications, lectures, workshops, and cultural partnerships, with a focus on contemporary art and Indigenous culture. She has collaborated with prominent Aboriginal artists including Destiny Deacon, Fiona Foley, Michael Cook, Bindi Cole, Michael Riley, and Christian Thompson. Her career highlights include co-curating the TarraWarra Biennial 2014: Whisper in My Horizon with Djon Mundine, and curating landmark national pavilions at the Venice Biennale: Tracey Moffatt: My Horizon for the Australian Pavilion at the 57th edition in 2017, marking the first solo exhibition by an Indigenous artist; Yuki Kihara: Paradise Camp for the Aotearoa New Zealand Pavilion at the 59th Biennale in 2022; and the inaugural Timor-Leste Pavilion, Maria Madeira: Kiss and Don’t Tell, at the 60th Biennale in 2024.

King edited the publication Tracey Moffatt: My Horizon (Thames & Hudson), featuring her feature essay, which was shortlisted for the Cornish Family Publishing Award. She contributes to leading international art publications and serves as President of AICA Australia. Her influence in the field is evidenced by major awards, including the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for service to the visual arts as a curator and educator, the University of Melbourne’s Patricia Grimshaw Award for Mentor Excellence in 2021, and recognition as one of the Australian Financial Review’s 100 Women of Influence. King has delivered public lectures, such as the Art Forum at the University of Melbourne, and continues to mentor women, colleagues, and First Nations peers in the arts over more than two decades.

Professional Email: n.king@unimelb.edu.au