CURATOR, arts lobbyist and craft expert Meredith Hinchliffe is a true believer in the arts – and she’s one of Canberra Museum and Gallery’s longest-standing donors, a model philanthropist in the ACT arts sector.

She is also the craft reviewer for “City News”, a role she’s been performing with different outlets since the 1970s in local, national and international publications.

Now CMAG has decided to make an example of her – a positive one – with a new exhibition called “The Art of Giving: Acquisitions from the Meredith Hinchliffe Fund”.

The exhibition will be made up of selected works purchased for the CMAG collection (but chosen by CMAG curators) from funds donated by Hinchliffe. While she has also donated from her own personal collection, particularly in the area of Canberra studio ceramics and design, this display features just the works from the fund.

Items include an extraordinary blown glass didgeridoo by Paul House with glass master Tom Rowney, made at Canberra Glassworks, and a hooked rug by Gail Nichols, who lives outside Braidwood.

While the CMAG’s annual acquisition provision is at a modest five-figure level, Hinchliffe has regularly committed funds for the purchase of artworks by Canberra and region artists that very nearly match the government-allocated budget and now amounting to works by more than 40 artists.

“I started quite a long time ago, in around 2004,” Hinchliffe says.

“I set out to give some money in January each year to assist in purchasing the work of Canberra region artists, with a focus on decorative artists, but not always so.”

Also a generous donor to the National Gallery of Australia’s decorative arts collection, she decided to go in that direction after her father died and left her a substantial legacy.

“I thought, what am I going to do with it? Then I decided I wanted to support the galleries. I was already donating to the NGA and I’ve donated to the Canberra International Music Festival several times, so for me to do that wasn’t unusual.”

What is unusual is her almost Renaissance-like even handedness, as she has given to and lobbied for enterprises right across the arts spectrum. She got behind the movement for the ANCA Studios in Dickson, took leave from the public service to join the Canberra Sculpture Forum committee and chaired Ausdance ACT for many years.

“Although I’m not wealthy, people like me can still make a difference,” she says of her giving, agreeing that it does provide a tax break but emphasising, “that’s not the reason I do it, I just believe in giving money to things that are really important, to support artists, I know how tough it is for them.”

Even so, Hinchliffe wouldn’t mind playing a part in a planned specialist lecture by a wealth adviser to be staged during “The Art of Giving”.

CMAG staff are now working to produce a catalogue of works Hinchliffe has assisted in purchasing to be available from August.

“The Art of Giving: Acquisitions from the Meredith Hinchliffe Fund”, CMAG, Civic Square, until August 24.