By JOHN VAN KLAVEREN
They are like two old mates having a chat about art.
And they are, except that one is the incoming and the other is the outgoing director of Geelong Gallery.
Geoffrey Edwards handed over the reins to Jason Smith this week after guiding Geelong Gallery for 15 years.
“Jason and I have known each other for some years, and it’s great to be able to hand over to someone and know it will be in safe hands,” Mr Edwards said.
Mr Edwards has already jumped into life as an art consultant, with clients lined up.
Mr Smith said he would take the first 100 days to familiarise himself with the gallery and its collections.
Despite not officially starting until Monday Mr Smith was already attending planning meetings with other Geelong cultural precinct stakeholders.
Mr Smith said he came from a contemporary art background but deeply appreciated the historical collection amassed by Geelong Gallery.
“It’s become part of Geelong history and has led to the gallery being among the foremost regional galleries in Australia, so it really is an honour to be here,” he said.
