This Australian stared down art elites to win the Guggenheim top job

Jessica GardnerUnited States correspondent
Jul 17, 2026 – 9.00am

M

elissa Chiu catches my eye wandering. We are on the second floor of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, which the Darwin-born curator has led since 2014. She’s discussing a Duchamp installation, but I’m looking elsewhere.

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Jessica GardnerUnited States correspondentJessica Gardner is The Australian Financial Review’s United States correspondent. She was previously deputy editor - news. Connect with Jessica on Twitter. Email Jessica at jgardner@afr.com

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