A job that changed me: I was a rookie tour guide for art lovers – no one goes harder than active seniors in search of cultural enrichment

I spent time in some of the greatest art institutions with groups of self-funded retirees. But a vacation it was not

• Read more in the a job that changed me series

In 2012 I was living in Sydney, halfway through the shelf life of our annual theatric political satire The Wharf Revue, although I didn’t know that at the time. I was also doing some work for the Art Gallery of New South Wales, hosting panel discussions and interviews, when a colleague asked if I would be interested in co-leading a guided tour to New York, focusing on art and theatre. Of course I said yes.

Handling the art side of things was my gallery colleague Brian Ladd and together we landed in a wintery Manhattan in January with about 25 guests largely, shall we say, a certain demographic who were keen to sample the cultural delights of the great metropolis.