Vale Marc Besen AC

Australia has lost a beloved member of the arts community with the sad passing of Marcus (Marc) Besen AC. The Trustees and team at The Balnaves Foundation express our deepest condolences and sympathies to Marc’s family and the team at TarraWarra Museum of Art and the Besen Family Foundation.

Marc and his late wife Eva Besen AO were well known for their generous support to arts and culture, education, the Jewish community and the environment, through the Besen Family Foundation they established in 1978.

Marc and Eva’s love and dedication to the arts is something that the Besens and the Balnaves Family share an immense passion for, which culminated in a collaboration to support programming at TarraWarra Museum of Art from 2015 to 2023, bringing together two titans of the philanthropic community, Neil Balnaves AO and Marc Besen AC.

Marc’s leadership, passion and dedication to the arts, as well as the other causes close to his heart, were inspirational and he will be greatly missed.

Image: Marc Besen AC, Courtesy of TarraWarra Museum of Art