With a $15 million donation, Simon Mordant, co-CEO of the independent corporate advisory firm Greenhill Caliburn, and his wife, Catriona, led the recent $53 million campaign to renovate the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (MCA), in Sydney. In addition to chairing the MCA, the 52-year-old is serving as commissioner for the Australian pavilion at next year’s Venice Biennale and sits on the international councils of MOMA and the Tate. Mordant spoke with Benjamin Genocchio about art, philanthropy, and giving it all away.
Can you describe your personal collection and how you got started acquiring art?
I bought my first picture as a teenager from the Royal Academy’s summer show in London. I was working across the road and popped in at lunchtime and fell in love with the work. I bought it and started a correspondence with the artist. The picture sits on the desk in my study. We own several hundred works of art from Australia and internationally, covering all media. We have never thought of it as a “collection” but rather as things we love. We have only ever sold one work, and I still regret that sale.
Do you find your collecting now is tied up with your institutional philanthropy?
We lend work to institutions and have also gifted works, and we expect to be doing more of that over time. However, we only buy things we love. We have supported institutions in funding their own acquisition programs, but those are curatorial decisions and not something we feel we should be involved in.
When did you get involved with the MCA, and how did you choose that institution to support?
It is my view that if you want a creative and vibrant community, then the arts are central, and contemporary art is the core. When I emigrated to Australia from the U.K. in 1983, I was quite surprised that there was no institution dedicated to contemporary art. I first visited the MCA’s current site — opposite the Opera House and Harbour Bridge when the building was turned over by the state government. And since its opening in 1991, I have been heavily involved.
What do you see as your role as commissioner for Venice?
The task is more daunting than I had realized. Along with the Australia Council, my task has been to choose the artist — the wonderful Simryn Gill — and then fund and mount the exhibition and ensure that the widest possible audience engages with theworks in Venice and then in Australia and in the international arts community. Australia was one of the last countries to be granted a site in the gardens and built a “temporary” building in 1988. Now we will be the first country to redevelop. It is a wonderful design by DCM. My wife and I kicked off the campaign with a $1 million pledge before the selection process was started.
What do you think are the most important recent developments in Australia’s contemporary art world?
Audience engagement with contemporary art has grown dramatically. Institutions have been developed in Melbourne, Brisbane, and Tasmania with a focus on contemporary art and it is now part of the national curriculum. At the MCA we have grown from 100,000 visitors annually to 600,000 — and that was before we renovated and reopened. I’m sure this will grow dramatically now.
How do you go about getting more people involved in supporting the arts?
We don’t care what people are passionate about — the key is finding your passion. I have a personal desire to ensure that wealthy Australians do more to engage with the community and help to make a difference. Huge wealth has been created here, and more of it should be given back.
You are often quoted as saying you want to “die with nothing.” Why is that?
My wife and I have a shared view on inheritance and our son respects that. We came into the world with nothing and want to put back whilst we are around and can enjoy the pleasure and engagement arising from this.
This article appears in the summer issue of Art+Auction magazine.