Leon Paroissien AM was founding Director of the Visual Arts Board of the Australia Council (1974–1980), appointed under Gough Whitlam as both Arts Minister and Prime Minister. He was later Director of the fifth Biennale of Sydney (1984), then founding Director of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, and later of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Taipei. He chaired the Public Art Advisory Committee of the Olympic Co-ordination Authority, Sydney, and was a member of the design review panels for the 2000 Olympic Games site, Homebush Bay, and the construction of the National Museum of Australia, Canberra. He was Adjunct Professor, Design and Architecture, at the University of Canberra (2004–2010) and has written extensively on contemporary art and design. He chaired the City of Sydney’s Public Art Advisory Panel (2007–2019) and continues to be involved in public art projects concerned with the commissioning of contemporary artists.