(A Special Post Script for Art Heat)
While "So ArtHeat's underground sources have been muttering for some time now about the rumored appointment of Antoinette Murdoch as Chief Curator of JAG" - The Art Times has boozed slightly less in the Kimbery Hotel Bar, our mutterings clearer, and oviously way ahead of anyone in bringing you the news first. Entry Level, I think not, read the whole article next time. Goodluck I'll join you for a drink sometime. (Editor Art Times)

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Antoinette Murdoch : Johannesburg Art Gallery
Michael Coulson

The day after her appointment as chief curator of Johannesburg Art Gallery, in succession to Clive Kellner, was announced, Antoinette Murdoch is still breathless at the prospect and trying to get used to the idea.
“It’s more than I could ever have dreamt of. It’s an amazing museum. I used to go there as a student, and even before that, and just stare in wonder at the marvellous work on the walls.”
When I point out that most of the work she looked at 15 years ago is no longer on the walls but buried in store rooms, so does this mean a switch away from recent policy, she temporises.

“I’ve not given much thought to the African/traditional balance. I’m passionate about contemporary art, but I’d like to see some of the traditional [European] work again. When I was a child, it was the technique of the traditional artists that simply mesmerised me.”

No doubt it’s unfair to try and pin her down on specifics before she’s even taken office (which happens on April 1). But on one thing she’s determined. “I insist that I’m not a feminist and I accept that there’ll be restrictions on what we can show. But just as we’ve tried to correct past injustices at the Art Bank [where she’s been CEO for the past two years], there are still big gaps.

“In particular, I’d like to focus on women and what they make. And I do mean art, not crafts, though that can’t be excluded.”

Apart from the Art Bank (which employs just three people), she also managed the tiny gallery at the Civic Theatre a decade ago. But she seems unfazed at the challenge of taking on an institution the size of JAG – not least its funding problems. “It’s scary, but I’ve done it all on a smaller scale. I’ll just have to tackle it head on with the passion [that word again!] I devote to everything I do.”

And she’s adamant that running JAG won’t stifle her own much admired artistic career. She’s participated in many exhibitions and is a regular entrant in the Absa L’Atelier awards. “If I managed to run the Art Bank, support two [sub-teen] children [she’s ‘happily divorced’ from their father, artist Alex Trapani] and do a master’s degree, I think I can keep creating art when I’m at JAG.

“I’ll never stop making art. That happens after the children go to bed, between nine and three am,” conceding that she’s one of those people that “don’t sleep a lot.”
And just in case her various art activities don’t fill 24 hours a day, other hobbies include gym and running.

In her CV, which accompanied her application for the job, she claims “I have the ability to manage people and delegate tasks. I believe that I am the perfect candidate for this job!

“I am enthusiastic and extremely organised, with a firm belief in effective processes to achieve results. I am the most efficient person I know. If you want something done right, on time and with style, give it to me!”

At JAG, she’ll certainly have the opportunity to prove that those are no idle boasts.