Management Team

Blair Jackson
Blair Jackson
Deputy Director - Manager Curatorial, Collections and Public Programmes
Profile
Lynley McDougall
Lynley McDougall
Visitor Services and Facility Manager
Profile

We know that an art gallery's success is measured by the breadth and richness of its collection and the scope and variety of its exhibition programme and publications – as well as the number of people through its doors. But how are these factors managed, and how do you actually steer something as large and unwieldy as a gallery to success?

From the moment you enter the Gallery, everything you see has been planned and coordinated by the Gallery's management team. From the overall shape of the programme to the generation of sponsorship income; from building security to the development of team culture, the team is charged with keeping budget, programme and staff all happily on track.

Gallery director Jenny Harper's responsibility is to represent the Gallery within the City Council and externally, on both national and international fronts. A former director of the National Art Gallery and head of art history at Victoria University of Wellington – where she was also assistant vice chancellor (academic) for three years – she is charged with the development and realisation of the Gallery's vision. Jenny is supported by deputy director, curatorial, collections and programmes manager Blair Jackson, projects manager Neil Semple and development manager Paul Doughty. All bring practical ‘shop-floor' experience to their roles, from having worked as an artist or landscape architect to curatorial, administrative and fund-raising roles in other cultural institutions.

So how important is this in running a successful gallery? Jenny says, ‘I was surprised at how useful my experience of taking Victoria University through a major academic audit became when providing benchmarking data to support our Gallery's bid for funding. So experience from other spheres directly supports what we are aiming for here, which is to create a rich and memorable experience of art for all our visitors.'

And the best moment of the job? Blair is in no doubt: ‘the first time I walked into Daniel Crooks's exhibition everywhere instantly once it was up and running. I was totally mesmerised by the sheer scale and sound of the show!' For  Jenny it was the mounting excitement as the Gallery reached its two-millionth visitor in early July 2008. Neil's favourite moment was when the Gallery received its Māori Language Week award in 2007, and for Paul it was ‘returning to the Colin McCahon exhibition with a completely different perspective after an inspiring lecture by Professor Lloyd Geering'.