Vancouver, BC
Associate Director and Chief Curator
m/Oppenheim Associates is assisting Vancouver Art Gallery in the search for a new Associate Director & Chief Curator. For more information, please review the complete Position Description.
The Chief Curator will lead an accomplished team of staff and guest curators; develop exhibitions of art and visual culture; shape experiences of art that excite and transform the perspectives of the museum visitors and the international art world; and engage artists, collectors, gallerists, academics, free-lance curators and others in enhancing VAG’s collections. There will be an emphasis on contemporary art and photography, the art of Canada, and approaches that present diverse art historical collections to VAG visitors.
In 2021 Vancouver Art Gallery will relocate to a new purpose-built museum designed by internationally renowned architects Herzog & de Meuron. Gallery and total space will double to 85,000 sq. ft. and 310,000 sq. ft. respectively, with 40,000 sq ft open-air public courtyard, 23,000 sq ft of classroom and studio spaces, a 350 seat theatre and other state-of-the-art facilities and infrastructure. The museum presents a vibrant schedule of changing historical and contemporary exhibitions (currently 16 – 20 annually) visited by about 600,000 people annually. Attendance is expected to climb to over a million visitors after the new museum’s opening. VAG currently employs 200 staff with a curatorial department of 16. Over 400 docents and volunteers support VAG’s mission in various ways. With the opening of the new Vancouver Art Gallery in 2021, the current C$ 18m annual operating budget is projected to increase to C$30m and the staff compliment is expected to increase by about one third.
Vancouver is the largest city in British Columbia with an urban population of over 600,000, a greater metro area population of over 2.4 million, and the city itself is the 4th most densely populated in North America. Metro Vancouver’s population is incredibly diverse, with peoples of First Nations, British and European, and Asian origin strongly represented. According to the Economist Intelligence Unit’s (EIU) Global Liveability Ranking which scores 140 cities on five lifestyle categories, Vancouver is ranked as #3 worldwide.
For additional information or to apply, please contact Mark Oppenheim or Lee Kappelman at info[at]moppenheim[dot]com.