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Art Wank · Fiona Verity, Julie Nicholson and Gary Seller

Episode 204 - Max and Gabby Germanos, Art Collectors and founders of 333 Projects

·56 min·5 clips
Max Germanos explains how art acts as therapy, calming his busy mind and consuming him away from the normal world.
This episode of Art Wank features hosts Julie Nicholson, Fiona Verity, and Gary Seller interviewing Sydney-based art collectors Max and Gabby Germanos. Max and Gabby have built a significant private collection over more than twenty years and also run the arts initiative 333 Projects. The conversation takes place in their home during a renovation, with much of their collection still packed away. The Germanos collection includes close to 300 works, with a deep focus on figurative art and artists like McLean Edwards, of whom they own nearly 50 pieces. They also collect works by Nick Collison, Clara Adolphs, Ewan McLeod, and Adam Cullen. Their collecting began in earnest after both had a powerful, separate "ignition" moment upon discovering McLean Edwards's psychologically complex paintings. They run 333 Projects, which began by curating solo exhibitions like one for McLean Edwards in a corporate bank tower. A key initiative is their Young Curators Program, which partners secondary school students, including from public schools, with leading artists and takes them into collectors' homes. A surprising insight is that Max believes collecting is an innate trait, stating some people are "born collectors." He describes art as a therapeutic escape from his high-pressure finance career. The couple reveals they have a "no compromise" rule when acquiring art, believing choosing the best individual piece is more important than mutual agreement. Max loves strong negative reactions to artworks, valuing them over indifference. The Young Curators Program deliberately includes students not studying art to expose them to the creative ecosystem. The tone is conversational, relaxed, and informative, flowing from personal anecdotes to broader discussions about art community initiatives. Listeners interested in the psychology of collecting, behind-the-scenes art world initiatives, or Australian contemporary art would enjoy this episode. Those seeking critical art analysis or a structured debate might find it too anecdotal.

As heard by us

A warm, plainspoken look at collectors who treat art as something to share.

This conversation gives a clear sense of collectors who want art to be lived with, shared, and debated rather than kept at a distance. Max and Gabby Germanis come across as open and steady as they talk about years of collecting, 333 art projects, and the Young Curators program…

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Why you'd press play

Hear collectors who treat art as something to share, not stash away.

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