Our Team

Tina Baum
Senior Curator
First Nations Art

Gulumirrgin (Larrakia)/Wardaman/Karajarri peoples

Tina Baum is from the Gulumirrgin (Larrakia)/Wardaman/Karajarri peoples of the Northern Territory and Western Australia with Japanese, Chinese, Filipino, Scottish, and German heritage. She has over 35 years’ experience working in Museums and Galleries throughout Australia and is the Senior Curator of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art at the National Gallery of Australia. Tina curated the Defying Empire: 3rd National Indigenous Art Triennial, 2017, the Ever Present: First Peoples Art of Australia, 2021–25 national and international major exhibitions, Single Channel multimedia touring exhibition 2023–2025, the Of this Earth ceramics touring exhibition 2025, and the Emerging Elders, 2009 exhibition.

She is a recipient of the Nguluway Dhuluyarra Fellowship to the Netherlands 2024, Australia Council for the Arts 2022–23 International Curators Program Asia Pacific Triennial x TarraWarra Biennial, the 2021–22 Art Monthly Australasia, Indigenous Voices Program (writing mentor), the Australia Council for the Arts, Arts Leaders Program, 2020–22, the Australian Institute of Management Rebecca Gregory Indigenous Scholarship in 2011, and the inaugural British Council Accelerate Programme to the UK, 2009. She is a mentor to alumni, presenter and organiser of the National Gallery now named Dhiraamalang: Wesfarmers Arts First Nations Leadership and Fellowship Programs since 2010.

Tina has a passion for learning and sharing First Peoples cultural knowledge and representation through the arts, culture, histories and Indigenising/de-colonising voices, perspectives and truth telling. Tina has a focussed passion to Indigenise best practice museum methodologies through appropriate cultural-care, identification, documentation, and Community engagement/co-management of Indigenous collections by reasserting traditional language, cultural authority and agency within Museum and Galleries throughout Australia and internationally. She is also passionate about increasing First Nations employment and representation within the arts and culture sector.

Portrait of a woman standing in front of artwork in an Art Gallery

Summer Sorensen
First Nations Art Leadership Coordinator

Darumbal/ Torres Strait Islander

Summer is a proud Darumbal and Torres Strait Islander from Northeast Queensland who is the Gallery’s Wesfarmers First Nations Arts Leadership Coordinator for the Wesfarmers First Nations Arts Leadership Program.

Summer has worked in government for the past 6 years after completing the Indigenous Australian Government Development Program (IAGDP). Summer completed her diploma of Government, specialising in Human Resources in 2018 in Canberra.

Summer has worked as the Secretariat for the Indigenous Employee Network at Parliament House, assisted the Working Exposure in Government program (WEX) hosted by the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet for First Nations students and has also assisted in the development and delivered of RAP initiatives.

Moving into the First Nations Arts Leadership Program, Summer will deliver the Wesfarmers First Nations Arts Leadership Program for First Nations arts professionals. The Program is delivered by the Gallery and bolstered by the support of Wesfarmers Arts as part of the Gallery’s dedication to nurture and amplify our First Nations leadership within the arts sector.