NEW YORK, NY, JUNE 24, 2025

The American Australian Association is pleased to announce that New York-based writer Annabel Keenan is the 2025 recipient of The Beverley Art Writers Travel Grant to Australia (The Beverley). Now in its fourth year, The Beverley is the result of a partnership between the Association and Australian expatriate John Melick, founder of Blue Medium, a New York-based art and design public relations firm.

The Beverley is administered by the American Australian Association. The 2025 grant selection committee consisted of select art world professionals with a working or personal connection to the visual arts community in Australia and included: Mark Hughes, Founder of Mark Hughes Art Advisory (Sydney, Australia); Rachel Kent, Chief Executive Officer of Bundanon (Illaroo, Australia); Phillipa McGuinness, Editor, Openbook (Sydney, Australia); Lauren O’Neill-Butler, arts writer, critic, and founder of November Magazine (New York, NY); and Trevor Smith, Associate Director of The Peabody Essex Museum (Salem, MA).

Annabel Keenan is a freelance writer and editor based in Brooklyn, New York. Her work focuses on environmental action in contemporary art, and she actively promotes climate action and sustainability in the art world. Keenan’s book, Climate Action in the Art World: Towards a Greener Future, was published in May by Lund Humphries and Sotheby’s Institute, and her writing appears in The New York Times, The Financial Times, The Art Newspaper, Artforum, Artsy, Brooklyn Rail, Cultured Magazine, and Wallpaper*. She completed an MA in Decorative Arts, Design History, and Material Culture from Bard College’s Bard Graduate Center.

As the recipient of the Beverley, Keenan plans to explore how Australian artists are responding to climate change and engaging with the natural world, including with First Nation artists, recognizing that the relationship between environmentalism and Indigenous practices cannot be separated. Keenan will engage with institutions which have introduced eco-friendly operations and will explore how they support artists addressing the climate crisis.

“By traveling to Australia, our arts journalists here in the United States can gain invaluable insights and perspectives, which they can then share with their audiences, fostering a richer understanding and appreciation of Australian art,”  explained Steven Marshall, President of the American Australian Association.

The Beverley was named in honor of the grant’s founder’s mother, Beverley Joan Melick (née van Eerde), who currently resides in New South Wales, Australia. According to John Melick, “My mother’s work as an artist and designer deeply influenced my career choice. As a PR professional, I’ve witnessed dwindling media travel funds, which has unfortunately limited cultural exchange and coverage of Australian art and artists. This grant is one way I hope to encourage independent, high-quality art journalism from the US and strengthen cultural ties with Australia at a time when art  is also a powerful messenger.”

To learn more about The Beverley, please visit here.

Background: 
The American Australian Association is the leading privately funded nonprofit organization dedicated to deepening and strengthening cooperation and understanding between the institutions and people of the United States and Australia. Since 2002, the Association’s philanthropic scholarship and grant programs have awarded over US $18 million to more than 1,100 graduates, veterans, and artists. This investment has contributed to further advancing the careers of the next generation of leaders, developing international networks, and generating solutions that address the global issues of our time.

Website – www.americanaustralian.org

DANIEL QUINTANILLA