Megan Dick has been crowned the second curator of the prestigious art prize.  

After studying in Art History in Hobart, moving to Melbourne and then to Sydney for 15 years, Dick has returned home to make her mark on the Glover Prize. 

“The arts scene has grown tremendously since I left. It seems to now be a really fertile environment for artists museums, galleries, prizes, festivals and culture to florish,” Dick said. 

In Sydney, Dick opened her own gallery, MiCK Fine Art in Paddington, as well as managing commercial art and doing public relations and marketing. 

“The building [which housed MiCK Fine Art] sold in 2014 and instead of re-locating to another permanent space, I have found I can work directly with clients and artists predominantly from my now home base, Launceston, while still holding a few exhibitions in Sydney,” she said.

“I continue to be involved with The HeadOn Prize in Sydney by being on the selection committee for their Portrait Prize.” 

Dick also speaks at seminars, reviews portfolios and advises other corporate art prizes and organisations on artist selections. 

Glover Society chairman, Andrew Heap said the art expert had “landed in their lap” when she moved home two years ago.

“It’s the start of a new millennium. It’s great to have someone like Megan, who is also from the North,” Mr Heap said. 

“There are not a lot of people who have got Megan’s skill set, so when we heard about her background with galleries and art … it was a natural progression.”

The Glover Society like having people work with the committee for a year or two before bringing them on board. 

Dick worked with Deeth over the past couple of years and said she was just happy lending a hand. 

“I know the nature of arts organisations, they often need a helping hand so I put the word out to see if anything was on, it got around that the Glover might need some help unpacking and hanging the show so I did that with Jane,” she said.

“The more involved and connected I became with the Glover Prize and the people involved in making it all happen, the more I understood the enormous potential it has and how wonderful it would be to join the fold.

“Following (Jane’s) resignation I have been privileged to be offered the position of curator and am delighted and excited about the role.” 

Dick said she had heard a lot about the Glover from family and friends before she actually went. 

“Being quite involved in the arts scene in Sydney, it sparked my interest and I was so impressed by the standard when I first attended,” she said. 

“There are so many art prizes nationally, but the Glover is unique in that it is also an event. 

“It has such a high level of community engagement, providing a cultural and historical experience on a local grass roots level and and attracting a broad range of viewers.” 

Glover Prize entries are required to be of the Tasmanian landscape, which Dick says promotes the state’s wonderful surrounds. 

“Sometimes you just need to go away to realise how fortunate we are here to have such a stunning environment,” she said. 

The job at the top of the list for the new curator is to appoint judges for the 2018 Glover Prize. 

“The Glover Prize has already attracted leading arts professionals to be on the judging panel. I’ll be looking for a main judge, a Tasmanian and possibly an artist,” she said. 

“The trio need to be complimentary but from differing backgrounds, it’s harder than it sounds.” 

Dick said her main goal is to ensure the number continues to grow after this year’s Glover Prize saw a record number of 336 entries.

“There have been some notable interstate artists, and two international artists as finalists this year, entering the prize and I will be encouraging further entries from artists nationally and abroad,” she said. 

The 2017 event also achieved $250,000 in sales for the artists, with another record of 27 out of the 43 finalists selling their work.

Dick has already identified ways to further grow the prize, including the number of entrants, viewers and sales.

She also highlighted the potential for a Glover Gallery to give the collection a permanent home but she’ll take one step at a time.

Check out The Examiner’s Glover Prize throw back gallery here.