Charles Darwin University has honoured former Chancellor Dr Nan Giese by naming a Casuarina campus art gallery after her.
Dr Giese had the CDU art gallery located in building Orange 10 named in her honour this week in recognition of her contributions to the Northern Territory arts community and the university over many years.
Named the Nan Giese Gallery, the gallery will provide a dedicated space for emerging and established Territory artists to display their works.
Dr Giese said she was hugely honoured that the gallery now bore her name.
“I am extremely passionate about all forms of visual and performing arts and I hope that this gallery will act as a vehicle for Territory artists to further their careers,” she said.
The Nan Giese Gallery is currently exhibiting a blend of visual, multimedia, print and sculpture artworks as part of the MERGE festival.
Arriving in Darwin from Queensland in 1954, Dr Giese began her career teaching in the area of early childhood. In 1968, her involvement in education extended to tertiary levels, which included 17 years with the Darwin Community College, later known as the Darwin Institute of Technology.
Elected to the position of Chancellor of the then Northern Territory University in 1993, Dr Giese continued her life-long commitment to improving education for all Territorians. In 2003, Dr Giese’s association with the university came full circle as she was awarded the degree of Doctor of Education Honoris Causa.
She has been recognised throughout her long-standing career with a number of awards for her contribution to the community. In 1971, she was awarded with the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, and in 1977 received the Order of the British Empire. In 1997, she was appointed Officer in the Order of Australia (OA), and in 2003 received the Centenary Medal as well as the Administrator Medal.
She is also a life friend of the Darwin Symphony Orchestra and a member of the Darwin Entertainment Centre and the Darwin Chorale. She remains one of the Northern Territory’s most enthusiastic supporters of local talent in the scope of visual and performing art.