NFSA Chief Curator announces retirement

The National Film & Sound Archive’s (NFSA) Chief Curator, Gayle Lake, has announced she will be retiring in mid-2024. 

Lake joined the NSFA in 2012 and became Chief Curator in 2018 – contributing to a period of intense growth.

During her time in the role, the NFSA’s national audio-visual collection has grown from 2.3 million items to more than 4 million items in 2023.

Gayle also established the NFSA Restores program which digitises and preserves Australian films so they can be seen in modern cinemas. 

“The national audiovisual collection is not only a record of our past, but also a signpost to our future,” said Lake. 

“The joy of this role has lain not only in exploring the enormous diversity of material we acquire and preserve, but also in working with such a dedicated, smart and talented group of people, not only in my team but right across the NFSA. Honouring our responsibility not only to the collection but to the people who have entrusted it to us has been a been a privilege and a pleasure.”

The NFSA’s CEO Patrick McIntyre, says Gayle has made a remarkable contribution.

“It’s hard to overstate Gayle’s contribution to the NFSA and the national audiovisual collection. The remarkable breadth of her career prior to joining the institution means that she was as adept at teasing out the nuances of a forgotten silent classic as she was hammering out a commercial deal with a hardnosed studio exec,” he said.

“Her commitment to the continuing preservation, collection and interpretation of Australia’s audiovisual collection has been extraordinary and is reflected in the strength of the institution. She will be very much missed by us, and not least by me, but has chosen to retire on an unequivocal high.”

The NFSA will commence a recruitment process before the end of 2023 and will announce further details in the coming months.