JW Power Artwork
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Power Institute

Sharing the latest ideas on art and visual culture
The Power Institute is a Foundation based at the University of Sydney dedicated to understanding the visual world through art and visual culture.

Our History

The Power Institute was founded at the University of Sydney in 1968, thanks to a bequest in the will of the Australian artist John W Power. The bequest sought:

To make available to the people of Australia the latest ideas and theories in plastic arts, so as to bring the people of Australia in more direct touch with the latest art developments in other countries.
Dr John Joseph Wardell Power

In the years since, the bequest has underpinned the establishment of the Univeristy of Sydney's Art History Discipline and the JW Power Collection of contemporary art (which led to the formation of the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia), as well as the Power Institute's decades of research support, public programs and award-winning publications. 

Our Council

The Power Foundation Council is devoted to supporting the Institute in the pursuit of its goals and to promoting its activities in Australia and abroad.

  • Susan Acret (Chair) 
  • Professor Lisa Adkins (Dean, FASS)
  • Simon Chan 
  • Marie Chretien 
  • Nicholas Curtis 
  • Lesa-Belle Furhagen 
  • Bridget Ikin 
  • Professor Alan McKee (Head of School, SACE)
  • Professor Mark Ledbury (Director, Power Institute) 
  • Alexia Nicholson (Division of Alumni & Development, Foundations)
  • Naomi Parry 
  • Imants Tillers 
  • Marni Williams (Power Publications)

Our People

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Stephen Gilchrist
Deputy Director

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Marni Williams
Publications Manager

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Michelle Montgomery
Projects and Administration Officer

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Lachlan Thompson 
Editorial Assistant

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Nick Croggon 
Events and Programs Officer

Director

Mark Ledbury

The Power Institute

Phone
  • + 61 2 9351 6908 (Enquiries)
Email
Address
  • R.C Mills A26