After rubbing shoulders with works by modern masters such as Dali, Picasso and Matisse in London for three months, Charles Sturt University’s (CSU’s) art curator is back overseeing the University’s regional art collection.

Working in “arguably the most enviable curatorial position in the world”, Thomas Middlemost recently returned from an internship as assistant curator with the Tate Modern art gallery, renowned as the world’s leading contemporary art gallery.

Mr Middlemost was last year awarded a number of grants to travel to England to help him develop the University’s art collection and make it accessible to its regional communities.

CSU’s art collection was formally established in 1992 to serve the University and its regional communities through the development of a quality collection of 20th Century Australian artworks. 

Focusing on regional artists between the Wars, Indigenous artists and artists with links to the University, the collection includes works by Arthur Boyd, John Brack, Jeffrey Smart and Rover Thomas.

Mr Middlemost believes his overseas stint will help him expand exhibition and collection management standards in the visual arts within CSU’s local communities and regions, including the cities of Albury-Wodonga, Bathurst, Dubbo and Wagga Wagga.

“The experience I gained was invaluable, and included research, display, and exhibition coordination and participation in the general running of a massive internationally renowned arts institution.”

Although worlds apart in distance and size, Mr Middlemost was surprised at the similarities between Tate Modern and many professionally run spaces in Australia.

“The main difference is with the immense numbers of visitors, scale and therefore budget, which is the largest limiting factor for a geographically isolated and modestly populated country such as Australia.”

While at the Tate, Mr Middlemost worked on numerous exhibitions, such as writing exhibition proposals including works by Giacometti, creating timelines for the films of Warhol and compiling invitation databases for the contemporary artist Katharina Fritsch.

“However the best experience was preparing a draft exhibition proposal on the life and artists surrounding the British critic and curator, David Sylvester, a display which is currently hanging on the walls of the Tate Modern.”

For two weeks, he took the opportunity to travel to other European art institutions, including the Guggenheim in Bilbao, the Venice Biennial and galleries and museums in Paris.

Mr Middlemost acknowledges the support of the Centenary Scholarship from the Foundation for Young Australians, the Gordon Darling Foundation and The Ian Potter Cultural Trust and Charles Sturt University.