Neil Balnaves AO

The Board and staff of TarraWarra Museum of Art express our immense sadness at the passing of Neil Balnaves AO and we send our deepest condolences to the Balnaves family at this difficult time. 

Neil was an extraordinarily generous philanthropist whose passion for giving back to the community shone through in the many projects he supported through The Balnaves Foundation which he established with his family in 2006. TarraWarra has been extremely fortunate to be one of the beneficiaries of the Foundation’s visionary spirit of collaboration. Through the long term support and commitment of The Balnaves Foundation our Museum has been able to bring to the Australian public many enriching, stimulating, and thought-provoking exhibitions of Australian art over several years including: Howard Arkley (and friends …) (5 December 2015 – 28 February 2016); The Sculpture of Bronwyn Oliver (19 November 2016 – 5 February 2017); Rosemary Laing (2 December 2017 – 11 February 2018); Patricia Piccinini & Joy Hester: Through love … (24 November 2018 – 11 March 2019); Assembled: The Art of Robert Klippel (23 November 2019 – 16 February 2020); Looking Glass: Judy Watson and Yhonnie Scarce (28 November 2020 – 8 March 2021; and the soon to open exhibition David Noonan: Only when it’s cloudless (24 March – 10 July 2022). Without the support of The Balnaves Foundation, exhibitions such as these would simply not have been possible. 

Neil’s dedication to, and enthusiasm for the arts in Australia will be sorely missed.  

Neil Balnaves AO photographed in front of work by Ben Quilty.