Charissa Davies

After completing Year 12, I did a Bachelor of Visual Arts and Applied Design at North Adelaide School of Art, a part of TAFE SA. After completing this, I lived in London for a couple of years working in a vintage clothes store. I had plans to be an artist but after seeing the determination and struggle that it took to make a living, I decided it was not for me. During my time in London, I would often visit galleries and knew in some way I wanted to work in one. At the time, I had no idea what a curator was.

After my visa expired, I moved back to Adelaide and swore I would never live there again as my plan was to study overseas. However, after researching the kind of courses I wanted to do, the best one I found was right here in Adelaide. I studied a Graduate Diploma in Art History which led onto a Master of Arts (Curatorial and Museum Studies). I also volunteered at the Art Gallery of South Australia during this time on the ticket desk. I spent a lot of time on public transport getting to and from the gallery to volunteer. It was well worth it to see the exhibitions and make connections.

As part of my Masters, I did an internship with Adelaide Festival Centre. I had been working as a Gallery Attendant in a commercial gallery and decided I wanted to get out of the pressure of sales. I spoke to the curator who I had done my internship with and asked if there were any jobs going at Festival Centre. Her assistant happened to have left that week, so I began as Visual Arts Assistant the following week. From there, I worked my way up, becoming Visual Arts Curator and then moving into my current role as Senior Exhibitions Curator. In this role, I am responsible for the programming and delivery of all aspects of the Adelaide Festival Centre’s Exhibitions and Collections program.

Pronouns: She/Her

Content supplied by: Charissa Davies

Edited for clarity by: Dahlia Opala

Photography by: Thomas McCammon

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