After a lifetime career on “the hill” in Canberra and leading Australia’s peak organisation for museums and galleries, Alex Marsden, National Director of AMaGA, is handing the baton to someone else to lead with fresh ideas. Alex is also a Director of AusHeritage.
The following is an excerpt from an interview by Gina Fairley: Alex Marsden, AMaGA, 5 October 2020.
As National Director, Alex Marsden has lead the national peak body for museums and galleries, the Australian Museums and Galleries Association (AMaGA) since 2015. She recently announced that she is stepping down to make way for fresh ideas.
Familiar with policy positions and “pollie jostling”, her career had long been on “The Hill” in Canberra, formerly a Senior Adviser with the Strategy and Delivery Division of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (PM&C) for eight years. During this period, she was seconded to the Design Thinker and Strategic Adviser in Policy & Implementation (2012-13) team, where she co-created DesignGov, among other things.
But it was during her tenure with AMaGA, Marsden has been most proud. She has been part of the development of a First Peoples 10-year Roadmap, the establishment of the GLAM Peak coalition to focus on national digital access to collections, behind a strategic review of the organisation – which lead to a subsequent rebranding of AMaGA – and also set up the organisation’s first national professional development program.
And the last chapter, has seen Marsden shepherd the organisation through COVID-19, a true testament to her career. It is a huge achievement in that timeframe.
The full interview can be viewed at: