Announcing Dr Terry Wu as ACCA’s new Chair

ACCA’s Board of Directors announced today that Dr Terry Wu will take on the role of Chair at ACCA. He follows John Denton, who steps down after thirteen years as Chair and two decades as a member of ACCA’s Board.

A member of the ACCA Board since 2019, Terry is a a long-standing arts advocate and supporter, and a leading plastic surgeon specialising in facial reconstruction.

‘I am honoured to take on this new role, and to cement the exceptionally important work John has done in steering ACCA through an enormous period of growth and change’, Terry said.

‘On behalf of the Board of Directors and the ACCA team, I thank John and applaud him for his exceptional contribution to ACCA, and to our wider community. As a Director of the internationally renowned architectural firm Denton Corker Marshall, John has helped shape the architectural and visual identity of Melbourne, but has also played a vitally important role supporting one of Melbourne’s – and Australia’s – most significant arts organisations.

‘We are so thankful for all he has done over the past two decades, as a longstanding and loyal donor, and a kind and generous leader, supporting ACCA with great vision, governance and advocacy’.

John Denton joined the ACCA Board in 2002 when it first moved into its award-winning building designed by Wood Marsh in Southbank. His retirement comes as ACCA celebrates 21 years at the heart of the Melbourne Arts Precinct, and 40 years as a leading producer of contemporary visual art and culture in Australia.

‘I am honoured to follow in John’s exceptional footsteps and to continue to work with the ACCA Board and team as it embraces new horizons and continues to build on the influential role it plays in the Australian visual arts ecology over the next 40 years and beyond. I’m especially excited to expand ACCA’s role as a platform for artists, through our ambitious and groundbreaking exhibitions and commissioning, our transformative education and public programs, and our strong community engagement,’ Terry said.

Dr Terry Wu is also a Board Member of ACMI (Australian Centre for the Moving Image), Science Gallery International (Dublin) and serves as a Member of Creative Australia’s Venice Biennale Ambassadors Council. He was formerly a Board Director of Heide Museum of Modern Art and the National Association of Visual Arts, and a member of the International Council of Tate (UK). As the son of an artist and writer, Terry is passionate about arts, culture and philanthropy and in 2019 was awarded the Emerging Philanthropy Leadership Award by Creative Partnerships Australia.