Megan Williams is a curator and writer with over fifteen years of experience in leadership, programming and management roles across the university art museum sector. Since 2016, she has been the Manager and Curator of UniSC Art Gallery. The Art Gallery presents a program of exhibitions by leading local, national and international artists that are research-led, enquiry based and shaped by the university’s commitment to enabling opportunities for our communities to participate meaningfully with UniSC. In 2020, Megan led a major redevelopment of UniSC Art Gallery that expanded exhibition and storage space and re-positioned the Gallery as the leading public gallery in the Sunshine Coast region. Before joining UniSC, she worked at QUT in a range of curatorial and programming roles across QUT Art Museum, the William Robinson Gallery, the Creative Industries Precinct and The Cube.
As a researcher, Megan has a portfolio of non-traditional research outputs (NTROs) realised as major exhibitions and accompanying monographs. These NTROs have attracted nationally competitive funding and highly visible public outcomes. Recent examples include Final Call an exhibition about climate change that was realised as a physical exhibition in Maroochy Regional Bushland Botanic Gardens and online. The digital platform demonstrated new ways of presenting exhibitions online and received national and international engagement. A recent monograph Michael Cook 2010-2020 has also received national and international attention and is stocked by art gallery bookshops across Australia and northern Europe.
Professional memberships
- University Art Museums Australia (UAMA)
- Vice President, Sunshine Coast Creative Alliance (SCCA)
- Regional Arts Development Fund (RADF) Assessment Panel
- The Art Association of Australia and New Zealand (AAANZ)
Awards and fellowships
- 2023 UniSC Vice-Chancellor and President’s Commendation for Excellence in Engagement
- 2016 QUT Vice-Chancellor’s Commendation for Excellence
- 2011 QUT Vice-Chancellor’s Performance Fund Award
Research grants
| Project name | Investigators | Funding body | Year | Focus |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Beeyali Project |
Leah Barclay, Lyndon Davis, Tricia King, Megan Williams |
Australia Council for the Arts $25,485
|
2022 |
Visualising acoustic ecology with cymatics on Kabi Kabi Country. |
|
In Residence (USC) |
Lee McGowan, Leah Barclay, Tricia King, Megan Williams |
Arts Queensland $49,200 |
2021-2022 |
Interdisciplinary practice and creative exchange in Regional Queensland. |
|
Sandra Selig: Exploring Giant Molecules |
Sandra Selig, Hamish Sawyer, Megan Williams |
Arts Queensland $24,000 |
2021-2022 |
An exhibition and publication on the work of Queensland artist, Sandra Selig. |
|
Dark Rituals, Magical Relics |
Beata Batorowicz, Megan Williams |
Australia Council for the Arts $45,000 |
2018 |
An exhibition and publication looking at work of seven contemporary women artists from Australia, Canada and New Zealand who have explored the importance of ritual and its place in their practice. |
Research areas
- visual arts
- curating
Teaching areas
- Design
Recent publications
- ‘Modern Dreams’ in Megan Williams (ed.) Michael Cook 2010—2020; UniSC, Sunshine Coast, 2022
Megan Williams' specialist areas of knowledge include contemporary Australian art, curating and regional arts.