Shelley McSpedden is Senior Curator and Head of Exhibitions at the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art (ACCA) in Melbourne, where her recent projects have included Tschabalala Self: Skin Tight 2025 (co-curated with Myles Russell-Cook); The Charge That Binds 2024; Tennant Creek Brio: Juparnta Ngattu Minjinypa Iconocrisis 2024 (co-curated with Max Delany, Jessica Clarke and Elyse Goldfinch); Future Remains: The 2024 Macfarlane Commissions 2024; and James Nguyen: Open Glossary 2023. 

Prior to joining ACCA, she was Senior Curator and Acting Artistic Director at Shepparton Art Museum (SAM), where she oversaw the inaugural exhibition program for the new purpose-built, landmark museum in 2021. Shelley has also held curatorial roles at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI), Monash University Museum of Art (MUMA) and National Exhibitions Touring Support (NETS), as well as academic appointments at Monash University and RMIT. She has written extensively on contemporary art and edited several art publications. Shelley holds a PhD from the Art History and Theory program at Monash University.