Ms Mobayed has moved here from Sydney to take up the role, which she is approaching with great enthusiasm.

She said her particular passion is contemporary art.

“Contemporary art is really important. It can be experienced in different ways,” Ms Mobayed said. 

“It can be static and dynamic and it can form the basis of a collection.

“Contemporary art is a valid form of expression and Australian contemporary artists are doing some exciting things.”

She said she had been impressed with the Goulburn Regional Art Gallery for a long time.

“The gallery has a long history of supporting Australian artists through its program and collection,” she said.

“Regional galleries have collections and exhibition spaces, so you can work to activate something and bring together a lineage of stories. It is a wonderful collection here - I am still getting my head around it.

“One of the attractions of coming to a region is that you have an opportunity to get to know its artistic community and I hope to facilitate greater access for these artists with my networks.

“It is also good for artists to have fresh eyes upon the material that is here.”

Ms Mobayed has been working in the arts and cultural sector for over a decade and has gained extensive experience gained through her work in the commercial gallery, institutional and not-for-profit sectors and, most recently for the Australian Government initiative Artbank.

She has worked with artists including Ben Quilty, Mel O’Callaghan and Nicole Foreshew. 

Ms Mobayed said she was impressed with the gallery’s Outreach Program.

‘’The outreach activities and schools program is wonderful; it is great to see a gallery activated so well. 

“I want to align all of the functions of the gallery and make them more public and accessible to everyone,” she said. 

“I want to be a part of the culture and the life of the city.”