Rhana Devenport


Rhana Devenport ONZM is an Australian-born art curator and museum professional. She is currently director of the Art Gallery of South Australia and was previously director of the Auckland Art Gallery.

Early life

Devenport was born and grew up in Brisbane, Australia.

Career

Devenport began her career as an art and theatre teacher, and a practicing artist. From 1994 to 2004 she was senior project officer with the Asia Pacific Triennial at the Queensland Art Gallery. She was visual arts manager with the Sydney Festival in 2004, an independent curator, curator in residence at Artspace, Auckland for three months in 2005, manager of public programmes and publications with the Biennale of Sydney in 2005-2006.
In 2006 Devenport was appointed as director of the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery in New Plymouth in 2006. In this role she led the fundraising effort for the development of the Len Lye Centre. She was appointed director of the Auckland Art Gallery in 2013.
In 2015 Devenport took part in the second annual Global Museum Leaders Colloquium, held at the Metropolitan Museum.
In 2015 Devenport curated New Zealand artist Lisa Reihana's video work In Pursuit of Venus at Auckland Art Gallery. Reihana has been selected to present this work as New Zealand's representative at the 2017 Venice Biennale with Devenport as the curator for the presentation.
In July 2018 it was announced that Devenport would leave the Auckland Art Gallery to become director of the Art Gallery of South Australia in Adelaide in October 2018.

Awards

In 2018 Devenport was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the New Years Honours List, for services to arts governance.

Publications

As editor and/or contributor: