She may be moving from regional Australia to the big smoke of Canberra, but Bree Pickering likes to see it as a continuum.
The new director of the National Portrait Gallery says when it comes to telling stories through art, context is everything.
She's set to take up the role in April after she's tied up the latest show at the Murray Art Museum Albury, where she has been director since 2016.
Before that, she headed up Vox Populi, a not-for-profit contemporary art space in Philadelphia in the United States, and was cultural program manager for the Australian Embassy in Washington DC.
"I think that we can't sort of know ourselves unless we know our context as well," she said.
"Everything is going to be, to some degree, an international story in an international context."
"I think what's also exciting is this gallery, MAMA, where I work now, is very much aiming to be attuned to our local context, whilst in conversation with national and international art.
"What I'm excited about with the National Portrait Gallery is yes, it is a national institution telling national stories, but it has to be more responsive than that in order to tell those stories. So I see it as a continuum."
Ms Pickering is taking the helm from Karen Quinlan, who departed the role in September after four years in the top job.
She will be moving here with her partner, the artist Marley Dawson, and their four-year-old son, and said while her career trajectory had not been a straight line, it made sense to be moving into a national collection.
"It does seem like a veer, but actually, it does a beautiful thing of bringing together my interest in art and my interest and academic background in social and cultural history," she said.
"I'm really excited about the potential of portraiture as an artistic medium to bring people together. It's so accessible, I see it as a way into a lot of people's hearts, I suppose.
"A more expanded audience to art is what I think you can get through the National Portrait Gallery, as well as being a great place for responding to, reflecting on, communicating our national stories."
While in Washington, she worked under former ambassador Kim Beazley (the recently appointed chair of the Australian War Memorial), and worked to show Australia to America through the arts.
She said it had been a wrench to move from the US to Albury in 2016, not least for her partner, who had been to school in the Victorian town and didn't relish returning.
But she said the regional city had changed immeasurably, and she had had the chance to oversee a period of change for the now-flourishing art gallery there.
"It's been a real privilege to be here, and hard to leave this organisation," she said.
And she was excited to be arriving in Canberra in the wake of the recently launched National Cultural Policy.
"To have this federal focus with a really well-articulated cultural policy, I think is quite, dare I say, thrilling," she said.
Following Monday's announcement, federal Arts Minister Tony Burke said strong leadership was "crucial to enhancing the future of Australia's national cultural institutions".
"The National Portrait Gallery holds up a mirror to who we are, showcasing our diverse history and culture. It's critical the gallery is supported to continue doing that," he said.
"I know Bree will bring creativity and vision to the National Portrait Gallery and look forward to working with her to secure the future of this important cultural institution."
Ms Pickering will be the fifth director in the gallery's history. Founding director Andrew Sayers was appointed 1998, and moved to the National Museum of Australia in 2010.
He was succeeded by Louise Doyle, who left the post in 2014, succeeded by Angus Trumble.
Ms Quinlan came to the role in 2018, and recently became chief executive of Arts Centre Melbourne.
