CEO of one of Australia's top cultural events becomes French knight

The CEO of the Biennale of Sydney, Barbara Moore, has been appointed Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, or a knight of the French Order of Arts and Letters.

"I'm pretty shocked by it," she told ABC Arts, ahead of the ceremony at Sydney Town Hall on October 29.

"It's a big deal and admittedly I have a bit of impostor syndrome. Like, I'm still young!

"But these endorsements mean a lot … they say we're doing something that's contributing in a positive way."

Moore, who moved to Australia from Canada in 2007, has been CEO of the festival since 2019.

The French Order of Arts and Letters is one of the country's highest cultural honours, awarded to someone for their contribution to arts and culture in France and around the world.

Past recipients include musicians Nick Cave and Kylie Minogue, actor Cate Blanchett, artist Tony Albert, the late film critic David Stratton, and former Sydney Opera House CEO Louise Herron.

"I think the point of these things is to encourage relationships and bonding," Moore said.

"I'm an untrained diplomat, where I'm just trying to bring people together and break down barriers.

"When the world is so used to shouting at each other and we're losing the art of listening, art helps us connect and learn from each other."

It is a poignant statement in a year when the biennale, curated by Hoor Al Qasimi, was subjected to community, commercial and political pressures, including the withdrawal of sponsors and accusations of antisemitism.

Asked how arts festivals like the biennale should navigate a charged political climate, Moore offered plainly: "Boldly, like warriors."

She continued: "If we operate through fear, if we're part of burning books and over-censoring, we have a problem.

"People are going to have feelings and opinions, especially in divisive times. But that doesn't mean we cancel organisations and we shut projects down.

"We have to remember what we're there for and that's to bring people together."

Earlier this month, Moore was in France for the contemporary art fair Art Basel Paris, which was cut short in response to education and cost-of-living rallies that escalated into rioting.

She was there to take a group of biennale patrons to see a new exhibition by Ghanian artist Ibrahim Mahama. His work featured in the 2020 Biennale of Sydney, which was forced to close after 10 days by the COVID-19 pandemic.

His exhibition opened at the Cartier Foundation gallery, which partners with the biennale to platform First Nations artists and curators.

The partnership has inspired another celebration of Australian artists on the world stage, with Australia announced as guest of honour at next year's Art Paris contemporary art fair.

Art Paris director Guillaume Piens saw the large-scale work of First Nations artists including Kaylene Whiskey and Dylan Mooney at the newly reopened White Bay Power Station during the 2024 Biennale of Sydney.

"He'd never seen anything like that before, and he thought he wanted to bring First Nations artists to the fair," Moore said.

What that means for the place of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art on the world stage, Moore suggests, is more than its popularity with collectors.

"It's a reckoning," she said. "[People are asking:] 'How do we make the world a better place? How do we get through these tumultuous times?'

"Maybe looking at the oldest continuous living culture could be a good start, to think about how to exist on this planet and where the humanity is.

"Maybe there's some things we forgot we need to remember again."

The next Biennale of Sydney is scheduled to start on March 21, 2028, and will be led by Singaporean curator Low Kee Hong.