History

FUMA was formally established in 1978 by resolution of the Council of Flinders University to house an expanding collection of art, which since the first year of undergraduate teaching at the University in 1966, was being actively acquired to complement courses in Fine Arts.

The founding of the Museum built on the efforts of academic staff, Robert Smith (inaugural Fine Arts Lecturer), Alan Flashtig (Head of Fine Arts) and Donald Johnson (Architectural Historian), who designed the Print Gallery at the Flinders University site in the early 1970s, and Donald Brook (foundation Professor of Fine Arts) and Amzad H. Mian (Curator) who in 1974-75 oversaw its construction.

In 1975, reflecting a broader remit of the Arts area, the then discipline of Fine Arts became Visual Arts and the Print Gallery was rebranded the Art Museum.

From the outset, collecting centred on prints by European masters but quickly grew to encompass prints and paintings by non-indigenous Australians, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and other indigenous peoples. This expansion reflected a widening of teaching interests (significantly, Flinders was the first Australian University to incorporate topics on Aboriginal art) and burgeoning activities undertaken by the Flinders Visual Art.

^{Image: The Art Museum at Bedford Park, 1975}

Set up in 1979 under the management of Brian Callen, the Visual Arts Studio taught a range of techniques to students undertaking the Visual Arts major and provided an on-campus centre for informal creative art. Callen, a graduate of the South Australian School of Art, had a particular interest in contemporary South Australian art practice and was encouraged to add to the Art Museum’s holdings works by local artists including Ann Newmarch and Barbara Hanrahan. Callen was also responsible for the design of all FUMA catalogues and posters during his 15 years at Flinders.

The Visual Arts Studio was integral to the FUMA Artist in Residence Program, an initiative of JVS Megaw founded with the encouragement of Robert Edwards, then Chair of the Aboriginal Arts Board, and John Kean, then resident art adviser of Papunya Tula Artists, and the support of grants from the Aboriginal Arts Board of the Australia Council, the Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies and the Visual Arts Discipline of Flinders University.

The Program involved a series of short-term residencies for Indigenous artists of diverse backgrounds that took place between 1979 and 1992. Participants included David Corby (1979), Turkey Tolson (1979), Bede and Francine Tungatalum (1980), David Malangi (1982), Dr B Marika (1986), Byron Pickett (1986), Kunwingie Kerry Giles (1988 and 1992), Peter Dabah (1990), Mitch Dunnett Jnr (1992-3) and Kunyi June McInerney (1992), who worked under the guidance of Callen. As well as contributing to the development of FUMA's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Collection (works produced during the residencies were purchased at a price determined by the artist), the residencies lent substantial encouragement and support to Indigenous arts practice.

In the mid-1990s rationalisation of teaching programs at the University saw the end of Visual Arts and closure of the Visual Arts Studio. Responsibility of the Art Museum subsequently shifted from the School of Humanities to the Office of the Vice Chancellor.

This move led to a growing emphasis on outreach and community engagement and saw the launch of a university gallery in the heart of Adelaide.

The Flinders University City Gallery opened on Grote Street opposite Adelaide’s Central Market in 1997. The Museum’s public facing exhibitions and programs expanded as a result, enabling it to connect with new and diverse audiences and widen its networks, partnerships and circle of supporters.

Thanks to this success and the foresight of the University’s then Vice Chancellor Professor Anne Edwards AO, the City Gallery relocated to a larger and more prominent location at the State Library of South Australia in 2003. Presenting 6-8 exhibitions annually, the City Gallery was leased for 15 years until June 2018 when the State Library ended the tenancy to curate its own program of exhibitions in the space.

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^{Images: City Gallery, 2017}

With the closure of the City Gallery, FUMA’s operations were consolidated at the University’s main campus at Bedford Park. This strategic decision resulted in improvements to FUMA’s infrastructure including the establishment of a gallery and collections resource room. With the launch of the new gallery in October 2019, the Museum also refreshed its brand and visual identity, changing from Flinders University Art Museum (FUAM) to Flinders University Museum of Art (FUMA).

Today, FUMA is a dynamic contributor to the cultural and intellectual life at Flinders and beyond. Since 2015 FUMA’s collections have been keenly promoted as a cross-disciplinary resource and are now routinely used in museum-based academic programs including in the humanities, arts, social sciences, medicine and health. FUMA’s Online Collections Catalogue, launched in 2018, has provided unprecedented access to the works in our care, opening them to new research and innovative projects with contemporary artists.

FUMA engages students, alumni, schools, community groups and members of the public through its exhibitions and program of events, and works with partners locally, nationally and internationally in the development and delivery of its activities.

FUMA’s founding curator was Amzad H Mian, who served the University for more than twenty years (1973-1994). He was succeeded by Museum Directors Louise Dauth (1994-1995), Doreen Mellor (1996-1999), Gail Greenwood (1999-2009) and Fiona Salmon (2009-).