Brendan McCleary is a Curator with over 15 years experience, currently working with Photo Australia, Melbourne. As a founding team member, he has been instrumental in creating and delivering the biennial’s public artworks. He recently presented PHOTO 2024 International Festival of Photography, featuring artists including Nan Goldin, Ryan McGinley, Mous Lamrabat, and filip custic. In 2024, Brendan was the lead curator for Queer PHOTO, a celebration of Australian and international queer artists transforming streets and galleries with projects focused towards understandings of queer futures, featuring artists such as Sunil Gupta, Clifford Prince King, Salote Tawale, Jake Elwes, and Lilah Benetti. He has worked with artists such as Cindy Sherman, Martine Gutierrez, Paul Mpagi Sepuya, Thandiwe Muriu, Mohamed Bourouissa and Vasantha Yogananthan at PHOTO 2022, and Zanele Muholi, Hoda Afshar, Brook Andrew and Maree Clarke at PHOTO 2021. For PHOTO 2022, he curated Queering the Frame: Community, Time, Photography at the Centre for Contemporary Photography, Melbourne.
Alongside his work for PHOTO Australia, Brendan has worked on exhibitions and installations with artists including Carolee Schneemann (Golden Lion, Venice 2019), Allora and Calzadilla (Venice Biennale 2017), and directed the program for the Monash MPavilion (designed by OMA). Beyond fine art, he has directed programs for White Night Melbourne, Melbourne Music Week and Dark Mofo. Gallery exhibitions include exhibitions at Monash University Museum of Art, BUS projects, and his four-year tenure as Gallery Director at SEVENTH Gallery, Melbourne.
contact:
bpmccleary@gmail.com