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*On his interests in art:
He’s said he’s interested in a wide range of art, including contemporary art, historical art, the art of other cultures, and “an abiding preoccupation” with Indigenous art.
“If you go back and look at the shows I’ve done, there has usually been an Indigenous element for the last 24 years,” he said.
While he won’t rule out curating in future, his focus is on the sustainability of the gallery and building the new gallery.
He’s committed to showing the VAG’s permanent collection which now numbers more than 11,000 works.
“The VAG has an extremely strong and deep permanent collection,” he said.
“I think we need to balance local with international and highlight our permanent collection which we’ve not been able to share enough because of the restraint of our physical plant. Another reason for the new facility is to emphasize the collection.”
He said he believes that exhibitions should express “radical diversity.
“It’s ensuring when you come to the gallery, when you move from room to move, you’ll never sure what to expect when you turn the corner,” he said.
“What can be exciting is that if you come to see one show that you expect, but you find another show that you’re grabbed by, it’s that kind of curiosity and wonder that museums and art galleries excel at. Very few things in society really duplicate that.”
*On staff morale during the pandemic:
Like other cultural institutions, the VAG hasn’t been spared financial challenges, he said.
The VAG has had to scale back its exhibition schedule and has laid off 15 employees. The gallery employs 139.
“I really want to get our staff back to work and working full time. That really weighs heavily on me,” he said.
“It’s hard to move forward when staff are working three, four days a week.”
He also mentioned the lingering affects of the strike at the VAG from Feb. 5 to Feb. 11, 2019 by members of CUPE Local 15.
“I really want to move beyond that and strengthen the internal culture of the gallery.”
