Culture and the Arts Minister John Day.

Hasluck to chair art gallery board

Thursday, 19 June, 2014 - 12:17

Nicholas Hasluck will be the next chair of the Art Gallery of WA board.

Culture and the Arts Minister John Day announced that Mr Hasluck will replace Fiona Kalaf in the role on January 1 next year. Ms Kalaf has been involved on the AGWA board for 11 years.

"Fiona has been an invaluable member of the Art Gallery board and will leave a lasting legacy in her contribution to the success of this highly respected institution," Mr Day said.

Ms Kalaf, who is chief executive of suicide prevention and support charity Lifeline WA, continues on as a board member of the Metropolitan Redevelopment Authority.

Mr Hasluck was appointed as a judge in the Supreme Court of Western Australia in 2000, and retired in 2010.

He is a well-known Perth writer whose novel The Country Without Music won the Western Australian Premier's Book Award in 1991. Mr Hasluck is a former chair of the Literature Board of the Australia Council.

His father, Paul Hasluck, was a minister in the Menzies federal government, and was later made Governor-General of Australia.

"As a retired Supreme Court judge and a well-known author, Mr Hasluck is well placed to bring his experience and personal interest in the arts to the state's flagship art gallery," Mr Day said.

The minister also confirmed that Wesfarmers Arts manager Helen Carroll-Fairhall and Public Trustee of WA Brian Roche have been reappointed as AGWA board members until 2016.