Australia Pavilion Invigilation Program 2024

We engaged with state and territory galleries and museums to invite applications from audience engagement staff as invigilators for Venice Biennale 2024.


Photo: Josef Ruckli
For the Venice Biennale 2024, we engaged with state and territory galleries and museums to invite applications from audience engagement staff.

Selected participants will undertake exhibition mediation for the Australia Pavilion during the Biennale in 2024.

Applications were assessed by our staff against the criteria of: Relevant skills, understanding and capacity to support the exhibition mediation of Archie Moore’s exhibition within the Pavilion; and Leadership: An active and/or reflective approach to Australian and international visual arts practice and/or audience engagement.

In this professional development opportunity, successful applicants will travel to Venice for a rostered period of 6 – 12 weeks to undertake mediation of Archie Moore’s presentation in the Australia Pavilion, curated by Ellie Buttrose.

The Venice project team will work with participants to co-design additional professional development activities to expand upon the mediation experience of the Australia Pavilion. Participants will additionally receive a microgrant to facilitate this professional development.

Cultural Mediation training has been delivered in partnership with UQ Art Museum, who facilitated workshops in Brisbane with the participants ahead of their rostered placements in Venice. See more about UQ cultural mediation training here.

Reflections from the Pavilion  

After working closely with Archie Moore’s kith and kin presentation in the Australia Pavilion, curated by Ellie Buttrose, our Exhibition Mediators have taken some time to share their thoughts and reflections. 

Having spent 6-11 weeks immersed in the exhibition – much longer than any critic – they have gained a unique and deep understanding of the artwork. Their role as cultural mediators involves engaging with visitors in a meaningful exchange, which has enriched their experience even further. Through their words you will discover how kith and kin has affected and impacted their practice and lives.  

2024 mediators reflections

Joy Angelo Santos

Max Boland

Jayden Gonsalves

Gillian Jones

Laura Lewis-Jones

Leah Pirone 

Luisa Randall

Sanja Zeljko

Joy Angelo Santos is a recent Art History graduate from the University of Sydney. He strongly believes in the power of art to challenge the way we see the world and our place therein. In particular, he has a strong interest in accessibility, religious art, cross-cultural exchange and literature. During his studies, Joy Angelo has been awarded several prizes and scholarships. Most notably, he received the Frank McDonald Memorial Fund, which enabled him to conduct fieldwork in Paris.    

In the past few years, Joy Angelo has worked and volunteered across Sydney’s cultural institutions. Currently, he works as a Gallery Host for the Art Gallery of New South Wales, where he feels privileged to share his passion for the arts with the public. In his spare time, he enjoys various activities such as reading, cooking and drawing. Most recently, he has enjoyed the works of Annie Ernaux and Natalia Ginzburg. He is excited to be a part of the team and to gain new experiences and skills. 

Max Boland is a Naarm/Melbourne based artist, maker and arts worker. He studied at Monash University including spending a semester abroad in Italy with a Focus on Italian Renaissance and Baroque art history. He holds a Bachelors degree with Honours in Fine Arts. 

Max has been studying and working in the Arts sector for the past 10 years across various roles: as a Sculpture and Install technician, as well as working in Audience Engagement at the National Gallery of Victoria and developing his own creative practice in sculpture.  

Through these years Max has come to understand the significance of art for community and culture and its ability to foster communication and understanding through expression and storytelling. 

Jayden Gonsalves is a descendant of the Eastern Arrernte and Arabana people from Port Pirie (Nukunu country), South Australia. He is a Music Producer and Audio Engineer by trade, having studied at Collarts in Melbourne where he took his first steps into the arts world. He then moved to Adelaide and began working for the Art Gallery of South Australia as event support which turned into event programming with the Tarnanthi team and the broader AGSA team.  

Jayden coordinated the 2023 Tarnanthi Festival launch as well as AGSA’s open late ‘First Friday’ program. He is also an electronic producer under the artist name ‘Jay Gonsalves’ and is currently working on a two-sided album. Jayden has an interest in health, more specifically neurology and its overlap with creativity, and a deep appreciation for nature and being outdoors.   

Gillian Jones is the Visitor Experience Coordinator at the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory (MAGNT) and has a Bachelor of Photography from the Queensland College of Art, Griffith University and a Master of Arts and Cultural Management from The University of Melbourne.

With fifteen years’ experience managing customer service environments in the luxury hotel sector, and five years operational and visitor experience in cultural organisations and the government sector, Gillian is proficient in leading high performing teams. She credits interning at Footscray Community Arts and working for the Museum of Australian Photography and Creative Victoria, with developing her commitment to support meaningful engagement in arts and cultural activities.

Gillian is dedicated to working on projects that facilitate cross-cultural and inter-generational exchange. MAGNT’s annual major exhibition, the Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards (NATSIAA) exemplifies this and Gillian’s involvement since joining MAGNT in 2020 continues to be a highlight in her career.

Laura Lewis-Jones is a Tassie girl through and through; born on Tasmania’s picturesque East Coast, she has studied and worked all over the state. She graduated from the University of Tasmania with a Bachelor of Contemporary Art with Honours majoring in Theatre in 2007 and continued her studies to complete a Master of Contemporary Art in 2009. Her academic focus was on stage-management, directing and acting.

Laura’s love of performing and Tasmanian history led her to spend a summer on the West Coast of Tasmania, tour guiding on the historic Sarah Island and performing in Australia’s longest running play, The Ship That Never Was.

Laura landed her dream job as a Visitor Services Officer at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, just over 10 years ago. Her love of art and talking to people made her a perfect fit for this role, and the past 18 months she has been acting in the role of Manager of Visitor Services.

Leah Pirone (LAH) is a writer and an emerging, multidisciplinary artist born in Perth, Western Australia. After completing a double degree in Fine Art and Visual Culture at Curtin University with High Distinctions in both and receiving the Vice Chancellors Award, she is continuing her work exploring themes of im/balances of power, particularly through a gendered lens. She works at the Art Gallery of Western Australia as a Teaching Artist in the Learning and Creativity Research department contributing to the investigation of how audiences engage and contribute to participatory exhibitions through critical discourse, meaningful engagement, material practices, and aesthetic outcomes.

After recently winning the Painting Award from the City of South Perth’s Emerging Artist Awards (2023), and with exhibitions planned for 2025, LAH works from her studio and uses music, cultural studies and nature as her muse.

Luisa Randall is a Cultural Mediator and emerging arts educator. She has worked at UQ Art Museum since 2021. During this time, she has dialogued with visitors over seven exhibitions, and facilitated conversations of critical and intellectual inquiry through art with UQ students. She has also supported the development and delivery of cultural mediation training across Australia.

Luisa also has a working background in grassroots political campaigning, community organising and activism. She concurrently works in the office of Greens Federal MP Max Chandler-Mather, coordinating mutual aid programs. 

Sanja Zeljko is a Team Leader within the Protection and Visitor Services Department at the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA), Brisbane, Queensland. Se has 15 years’ experience in the arts sector spanning across various facets of this renowned visual arts institution, where her contributions have left an indelible mark on a multitude of local and international exhibitions, artist workshops, and festivals, all from the vantage point of visitor services and audience engagement. 
 
She is instrumental in forging meaningful connections between the Gallery, the artworks it houses and its visitors. Her in-depth knowledge allows her to provide invaluable insights, ensuring visitors receive superior customer service and are engaged in enriching discussions. 
 
Sanja’s unwavering passion, tireless advocacy, and her deep-rooted connections within the Australian visual arts have been pivotal in cultivating a vibrant, culturally relevant and community-engaged gallery environment by making it accessible, educational, and inspiring for all.