Hailing from the city of Adelaide in South Australia, Nici Cumpston OAM, the new director of the Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection at UVA, is a Barkandji Aboriginal artist, curator, writer, and educator whose family is also of Afghan, Irish, and English descent. Barkandji are the river people who belong to the Barka, the Darling River in far western New South Wales, Australia. Cumpston prides herself on her ability to build meaningful relationships, and she is passionate about supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists. Before undertaking her role at Kluge-Ruhe, she served as the inaugural curator of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art at the Art Gallery of South Australia from 2008–25 and the artistic director of the internationally renowned Tarnanthi Festival of Contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art from 2014–25. Cumpston recently relocated to Charlottesville, and we welcomed her into the HotSeat.
Name: Nici Cumpston
Age: How very dare you.
Pronouns: She/her/hers
Hometown: Adelaide, South Australia
Job(s): Director, Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection
What’s something about your job that people would be surprised to learn? Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection is the only museum in the world outside of Australia dedicated to the research and exhibition of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art.
What is art to you? Art is core to our foundation as human beings. It is how we express ourselves and is present in every aspect of daily life.
Why is supporting arts education important? To enable people of all ages and from all walks of life to gain a deeper understanding of other cultures and their beliefs. This insight develops empathy and shows how art has the power to transform the way people can express themselves to share and deal with their lived experiences.
What are you looking at/researching right now? Our next visiting artist-in-residence is Robert Fielding, who is coming in September from the desert in the South Australian Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands.
Favorite exhibition venue: Fondation Opale, in Lens, Crans-Montana, Switzerland, with views of the Swiss Alps and Lake Louché.
Favorite artist: Wendy Hubert, Yindjibarndi artist from Roebourne, Western Australia.
Best advice you ever got: From my late mum, Noelene, when I was in my early 20s, to go to art school to learn how to use my camera.
Proudest accomplishment: Presenting the Tarnanthi Festival of Contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art at the Art Gallery of South Australia for the past 10 years.
Best part of living here: The people, exploring the countryside, and getting to know my new work colleagues.
Worst part of living here: It’s a long way from Australia.
Favorite Charlottesville restaurant: Orzo
Favorite Charlottesville gallery/museum: I have to say Kluge-Ruhe!
Favorite Charlottesville landmark/attraction: Farmers market at IX Park
Bodo’s order: Turkey, avocado, jack cheese, and sprouts.
Describe your perfect day: A morning swim, followed by a slow walk with our little dog Lozzi, a pancake brunch, and a lazy afternoon puttering around home.
If you could be reincarnated as a person or thing, what would you be? A Blue Ulysses butterfly.
If you had three wishes, what would you wish for? World peace, an end to homelessness, sustained support and recognition for the arts.
Are there any superstitions you abide by? It’s not a superstition per se, but a cultural practice of cleansing myself by splashing water on the back of my neck when visiting a waterway, to let the ancestors know I am visiting their country.
Most embarrassing moment: Spending a ridiculous amount of money on a coat when freezing and jet lagged on Park Avenue in NYC.
Do you have any pets? Lozzi, our gorgeous doggo.
Favorite movie and/or show: “Reservation Dogs”
Favorite book: Sally Mann, Hold Still
Who’d play you in a movie? The character of Stevie Budd from “Schitt’s Creek.”
What’s your comfort food/meal? Mac-n-cheese
Go-to karaoke song: “Flame Trees,” Cold Chisel
Subject that causes you to rant: Racism
Best journey you ever went on: Reef House, Palm Cove, Far North Queensland
Next journey: Tarnanthi Festival, Adelaide, South Australia
Favorite word: Discombobulated
Hottest take/most unpopular opinion: Tea is better than coffee.
What have you forgotten today? To dance.
