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special project

on view
Apr 12, 2026–Apr 12, 2027

Curatorial Portraits

Reading the 1980s and 90s

A conference room featuring a long wooden table surrounded by chairs. A woman sits at the table, examining a magazine. Behind her is a bookshelf filled with books and a large window that offers a view of the outside. Natural light streams in, casting shadows on the walls.

The Gibson Library.

Ema Peter 

This archival project raises the visibility of notable curators active in the Lower Mainland between 1980 and 1999, when curatorial practices were expanding alongside a growing field of exhibition spaces. Some participants lived in the region throughout this period; others landed more briefly but made decided impacts; several had broader careers as artists or administrators but made valuable curatorial contributions. Some held positions at local museums and public art galleries, while others activated smaller artist-run spaces or realized ideas in public sites or through thematic gatherings or media-specific contexts such as photography, video, performance, and new technologies. Their approaches were shaped variously by the drive to respond to the demands of a specific place and time, to bring visibility to lesser-known practices, or to experiment with the conventional curatorial model itself.  

Each participant has selected up to a dozen publications that reflect their influences, focus, and practice—in a sense, creating a type of self-portrait. These archival fragments begin to chart Metro Vancouver’s curatorial activities, revealing shifts in attitudes, institutions, and strategies as they pertain to exhibiting art. Additionally, many contributors have made annotations in their selections as a way of inscribing personal histories into their books and brochures. The publications have been donated to the Gibson Art Museum, which is itself a malleable container of histories and ideas. Paper copies of participants’ curriculum vitaes are also available in the Gibson’s library, showing the full extent of their curatorial activity. 

This unofficial archive is but a starting point, representing only a portion of the curators who energized Vancouver’s art scene during these decades. With further engagement and deeper research, our aim is for this library of portraits to grow to encompass even more curators from this period (including those who are deceased), as well as those from earlier and successive generations, and from a broader geographical area. Over time, this growing archive will undoubtedly add a curatorial dimension to the histories of Vancouver’s art ecology that have yet to be written.

To make a research appointment within the Library, please contact the Gibson's Collections Manager & Smyth Indigenous Collections Curator, Sydney Laiss.

Curatorial Portraits: Reading the 1980s and 90s launches on Sunday April 12, 2026, at 2PM with an informal roundtable discussion and reception that offers available participants an opportunity to speak about their "self-portraits." 


Curator Biographies, Bibliographies, and CVs

Bill Jeffries

Daina Augaitis

Glenn Alteen

Hank Bull

Helga Pakassar

Henry Tsang

Ian Thom

Jo-Anne Birnie-Danzker

Karen Henry

Karen Love

Keith Wallace

Laiwan

Liane Davison

Lorna Brown

Paul Wong

Sara Diamond

Shengtian Zheng

Zainub Verjee


This project is a celebration of the 2025 Governor General's Awards in Visual and Media Arts laureate, Daina Augaitis, presented and supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, in collaboration and supported by the National Gallery of Canada, and the MacKenzie Art Gallery. 

Ce projet célèbre la lauréate du Prix du Gouverneur général en arts visuels et en arts médiatiques 2025, Daina Augaitis, présenté et soutenu par le Conseil des arts du Canada, avec la collaboration et soutien du Musée des beaux-arts du Canada, et de la Mackenzie Art Gallery. 

Organized by Daina Augaitis with Katja Canini, National Gallery of Canada; Kimberly Phillips and Julia Lamare, Marianne and Edward Gibson Art Museum; and Nicolle Nugent, MacKenzie Art Gallery. 


Related Programs

  • TalkCuratorial PortraitsRoundtable & Reception

Contributors

  • Glenn Alteen
  • Daina Augaitis
  • Greg Bellerby
  • Jo-Anne Birnie-Danzker
  • Lorna Brown
  • Hank Bull
  • Liane Davison
  • Sara Diamond
  • Karen Henry
  • Bill Jeffries
  • Laiwan
  • Karen Love
  • Helga Pakasaar
  • Shengtian Zheng
  • Ian Thom
  • Henry Tsang
  • Zainub Verjee
  • Keith Wallace
  • Scott Watson
  • Paul Wong

Supporters

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National Gallery of Canada
Mackenzie Art Gallery





Images (18)

A wooden table displays a stack of several books with varied cover designs and colors, including titles like "THE SHORT CENTURY" and an abstract black-and-white design. Other items, such as a dark blue book are also visible in the background.
A group of three women are engaged in conversation indoors. One woman, smiling, has long blonde hair and is wearing a black outfit with a red shawl. The other two women, seen from the back, have curly hair and are wearing dark clothing. A television screen is visible in the background.
A group of six people stands in a contemporary space with large windows. They are engaged in conversation, with some facing each other and others looking at a table filled with books and boxes. The setting features a wooden bookshelf in the background, displaying various books. A sign labeled "Curatorial Portraits" is visible on the wall beside the bookshelf. The atmosphere is casual and collaborative.
Three individuals are gathered around a wooden table filled with a variety of colorful books. One person, seen from behind, is inspecting a book, while another, wearing a black jacket, gestures as he speaks. A third individual, in a black hoodie, listens attentively. In the background, there is a television mounted on the wall. The setting appears to be a modern, well-lit room.
A group of people are engaged in conversation and examining books at a wooden table in a modern interior space. The background features a large window with views of a landscaped area outside, and a wall with neatly arranged bookshelves. On the table, various colorful books are displayed alongside pink labels. The atmosphere is casual and collaborative, with individuals of diverse appearances.
Two women are standing at a table filled with books. One woman, with long hair and wearing glasses, is looking closely at a book she is holding, while the other woman, with short white hair and colorful attire, is observing her. In the background, there are additional people and a large photograph hanging on the wall depicting someone throwing objects from a window. The setting has light-colored walls and wooden accents.
Two women are engaged in conversation in a modern indoor setting. One woman, wearing a gray cap and a red scarf, is holding a notebook while examining it closely. She has a patterned bag slung over her shoulder. The other woman, with curly hair and glasses, stands nearby holding a stack of books. A table in front of them is covered with various books and notebooks, and large windows show a blurred outdoor view with trees.
A group of sixteen people poses for a photo in a well-lit room featuring shelves filled with books. The individuals, a mix of genders and ages, are dressed in various styles, some with glasses and distinctive hairstyles. In the foreground, there are several boxes and books on a wooden table, suggesting a scholarly or artistic gathering.
Two individuals are engaged in conversation indoors. The person on the left, a man with curly hair and glasses, is looking thoughtful while touching his chin. He is dressed in a black hoodie and carries a blue bag. The person on the right, a woman with long gray hair and round glasses, is speaking animatedly while gesturing with her hands. She is wearing a dark blazer over a patterned top. The background shows a large window and hints of greenery outside.
A group of people are engaged in conversation inside a modern room with large windows. In the foreground, a table is covered with various books and materials. Two individuals are standing beside the table, while another person is partially visible, bending over the table. The scene conveys a relaxed setting focused on discussion and exploration of books.
Two women are speaking at an event in an art gallery. One woman, with curly gray hair and glasses, is holding a paper and appears to be addressing the audience, while the other woman, with short gray hair and glasses, stands nearby, listening. The background features art on the walls and a wooden sculpture. An audience is visible, mostly seen from behind.
A group of people is seated in a modern indoor space with wooden beams and a blue wall featuring artistic tree designs. In the foreground, attendees sit facing a panel of speakers, some of whom are wearing colorful clothing. A woman stands to the right, holding notes and addressing the audience. The room has large windows allowing natural light, and various artworks are displayed on the walls.
A group of four individuals is seated in a modern, brightly lit room. One person, dressed in a blue beanie and a jacket, is speaking animatedly while holding a piece of paper. Another person is holding a microphone and a cup, while a woman in a patterned outfit and a black jacket listens. The setting includes a small round table with cups and books, and artwork hangs on the wall behind them. There are also plants and a vibrant flower in the foreground.
A discussion panel featuring a man wearing glasses and a black shirt speaking animatedly, while a smiling woman with long, light-colored hair in a red shawl sits beside him, holding a microphone. In the background, there are abstract wooden wall sculptures, and several audience members are partially visible in the foreground, attentively listening.
An elderly man with glasses is seated in a light-colored chair, gesturing with his hands as he speaks. He is wearing a black turtleneck and a red scarf. Next to him, a woman in a red sweater is holding a microphone, while another person, out of focus, is sitting to his left. The background features a blue wall with wooden wall art.
A group of four people sits in a discussion setting. The focus is on a woman with curly gray hair and glasses, gesturing as she speaks. Next to her is a man in a black shirt holding a microphone. In the background, there is a woman in a red shawl and another woman with light brown hair, both listening attentively. The backdrop features wooden artwork and a blue wall.
Three individuals are seated in a well-lit room. On the left, a man wearing a blue beanie and an athletic jacket is holding a pen and looking attentively. In the middle, a woman dressed in a black blazer and white blouse is smiling as she holds a notepad and gestures with her other hand. On the right, an older man in a checkered shirt is seated with a thoughtful expression. There are modern chairs and a table in front of them, with cups and snacks visible. A window in the background lets in natural light.
A group of people sits in a circular arrangement within a modern art gallery. They are engaged in discussion, with one person animatedly speaking at the center. The background features a large wall installation of wooden trees and animals, while the seating includes various chairs and small tables. Some participants appear to be taking notes or listening attentively, and there are several printed materials and a bouquet of flowers on a table. The room is brightly lit with a white ceiling and light wooden flooring.

Glenn Alteen is a curator and writer and founding Program Director of grunt. He was cofounder of LIVE Performance Biennial (1999, 2001, 2003, 2005). His writing was recently published in The Place of Objects: The John David Lawrence Collection (VAG 2025), Other Places - Reflections on Media Art in Canada (MANO 2019), Wordless - The Performance of Rebecca Belmore (grunt 2019), Unceded Territories Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun (MOA 2016) Making Always War (Stride Gallery, 2015), Access All Areas (grunt, 2008), and Caught in the Act (YYZ Books, 2006).  

Alteen has been involved in archival projects as a producer of websites including Medicine (2008), Beat Nation (2009) grunt gallery, Ruins in Process -Vancouver Art in the 60’s (2009) grunt and the Belkin Gallery at UBC, Activating The Archive 2011, Taking Advantage – The Mainstreeters Redux 2014. 

As program director of grunt gallery Alteen was active in creating sustainable administration practices through the purchase of a facility (1995) and the creation of the Glenn Alteen Legacy Fund (2006), an endowment held by the Vancouver Foundation and the Blue Cabin Residency Program (2019). 

In 2018 Alteen was awarded Governor General’s Award for Outstanding Contribution to Contemporary Visual and Media Practice.

Daina Augaitis is Chief Curator Emerita at the Vancouver Art Gallery where she was the Chief Curator/Associate Director from 1996-2017 when she oversaw the exhibiting, collecting, publishing and interpreting activities of the museum that were produced collaboratively with a remarkable group of colleagues. In 2019-2020 she served as the institution’s Interim Director. Throughout, she held a strong belief in creating programs that positioned the local—including historical and contemporary Indigenous art—within an international context, particularly art from Asia. She was formerly Curator at Walter Phillips Gallery and Director of Visual Arts at the Banff Centre where she curated many exhibitions that extended beyond the limits of the gallery, commissioned artworks, and oversaw artist residencies. Prior to that, she held positions at Western Front (Vancouver), London Regional Art Gallery, Franklin Furnace (New York) and Convertible Showroom (Vancouver). Her exhibitions have toured nationally and internationally, and she has edited and contributed to numerous catalogues and anthologies. She has been recognized with a Governor General’s Outstanding Contribution Award in Visual and Media Art (2025), Alvin Balkind Curator’s Prize (2023), and Hnatyshyn Foundation Award for Curatorial Excellence in Contemporary Art (2014). She is grateful to live and work on the unceded lands of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.  

Jo-Anne Birnie-Danzker is a curator, scholar and former Director and CEO of the 21st and 22nd Biennale of Sydney. During her tenure as Director of Vancouver Art Gallery, Museum Villa Stuck Munich and Frye Art Museum Seattle, Birnie-Danzkercommissioned and conceived - alone and in curatorial collectives with artists, poets, scholars and citizen curators – numerous exhibitions on the history and present of the modern. Large-scale exhibitions included Shanghai Modern: 1919 – 1945 (cocurated with Ken Lum and Zheng Shengtian); Art of Tomorrow (cocurated with Brigitte Salmen and Karole Vail for Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York); and The Short Century: Independence and Liberation Movements in Africa 1945–1994, curated by Okwui Enwezor (for which Birnie-Danzker served as Exhibition Director) which toured to Gropius Bau Berlin, MCA Chicago and MoMA PS1 New York.  In 2021-23, she served as Advisor to the 34th and 35th Ljubljana Biennial and, in 2021, Visiting Scholar to the School of Philosophy, Fudan University Shanghai, where she led a Masterclass on Curatorial Practice. In 2025, Birnie-Danzker served as curator advisor for the monumental reinterpretation of Shanghai Modern at China Art Museum Shanghai (curator: Xiang Liping), and was nominated with Inuk artist, poet and curator, Taqralik Partridge, and Inuit Art Quarterly, for a National Magazine Award for their collaborative visual essay Qikiqtaaluk ᕿᑭᖅᑖᓗᒃ Baffin Island 1913–14. 

Lorna Brown is a Vancouver-based artist, curator, writer, and editor. She is a founding member of Other Sights for Artists’ Projects; was the Director/Curator of Artspeak Gallery from 1999 to 2004, and was Acting Director/Curator at the Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery at UBC. Brown has taught at SFU and Emily Carr University where she received an honorary doctorate of letters in 2015. Awards include the VIVA Award (1996). Her work is in the collections of the Belkin, SFU, the National Gallery of Canada, the BC Arts Council, the Surrey Art Gallery and the Canada Council Art Bank.

Since the early 1970s, artist-run centres in Canada have encouraged the emergence of hybrid practices that blur the roles of artist, curator, critic, historian, administrator and technician. Formed in this context, Hank Bull’s curatorial work has unfolded across an intersecting range of media. He has produced projects in the visual arts, music, radio, performance art, video and telecommunications. These have been supported by and integrated with critical discouse, arts administration, advocacy and the creation of new spaces for art that strive to include viewers and audience in the creative process and the construction of meaning. This work is inherently collaborative. It is a conscious curatorial intention for Bull that there be a certain confusion between his personal artistic practice and a given curatorial project. His own work may occasionally be included, or he may collaborate with another artist or group on the production of a new work, destabilizing the notion of individual authorship. As an arts administrator, he has created early career positions for other curators, including Daina Augaitis, Zainub Verjee, Sadira Rodrigues, Joni Low, Alice Ming Wai Jim, Makiko Hara and Debra Zhou. He has also offered first public exhibition opportunities for curators such as Steven Tong, Daina Warren, Liz Park and Amy Cheng. 

Liane Davison has curated over 100 exhibitions on contemporary art practice from digital media through to lawn ornaments. She began curating in 1986 as Adjunct Curator of Contemporary Art at the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria before joining the Surrey Art Gallery in 1990 as its Curator and then served as its Director from 2008-2018. Her writing has been published in over 30 catalogues and her work supporting digital art and artists has been recognized internationally. In 1998 she initiated the Surrey Art Gallery’s TechLab, a unique venue dedicated to supporting the production and presentation of digital art forms, as well as artist’s residencies and exhibitions that showcased the engagement between ceramics, fibre and technology. In 2008 she also established an ongoing exhibition program of audio art. In 2010 she established in Surrey’s one of Canada’s largest permanent outdoor non-commercial projection venue, UrbanScreen, for interactive digital art. 

Dr. Sara Diamond, Order of Canada, Order of Ontario is President Emerita, OCAD University, where she guided the institution through its transition to a university from 2005 – 2020, and now is University Research Chair. A computer scientist, historian, artist, curator and designer, Diamond holds deep interest in the relationships of human practices, diverse cultures, and technologies. She researches media arts history, cultural analytics, visualization, foresight, and urban planning. Relevant projects are the Canadian Cultural Data Catalogue https://www.culturaldata.ca/ and Crossing Fonds https://crossingfonds.com/ a collaborative digital platform for archives. She is a co-Director of the international Abundant Intelligences: Expanding Artificial Intelligence through Indigenous Knowledge Systems network. Diamond was a media artist through the 1980s and 2000s, including a retrospective at the National Gallery of Canada in 1992 and a curator at VIVO https://archive.vivomediaarts.com/sara-diamond/.  Diamond founded the Banff New Media Institute, an interdisciplinary science, new media and industry laboratory and thinktank which seeded many research projects and digital companies. She curated new media exhibitions at Banff’s Walter Phillips Gallery and in international venues. She is Chair of the Baycrest Academy for Research and Education and the Toronto Arts Foundation boards. Recognition includesDoctor of Science, honoris causa, Simon Fraser University, and Humber College; Exceptional Woman of Excellence Women’s Economic Forum; Advancement of Diversity in STEM; two Digital Pioneer awards and Bell Canada Award for Video Art.  

Karen Henry began curating in 1983 when she was invited to work on programming for Video Inn (now VIVO). Video was a new and open field of art and social documentary. This foundational period culminated in the exhibition Luminous Sites: Ten Video Installations (1986), in collaboration with Daina Augaitis. After a time of immersion in video, performance and artist-run culture as Director of the Western Front (1987-1991), she became Director/Curator of the Burnaby Art Gallery (1991-1997) and produced a survey exhibition, in collaboration with Brice MacNeil, of Glenn Lewis’s photography and performance-based practices. Her exhibitions at Burnaby focussed on the garden, the collection and contemporary art by women artists. She subsequently worked with Marian Penner Bancroft (1999) and Allyson Clay (2002) on significant exhibitions of their work. As Adjunct Curator at Presentation House Gallery (now Polygon)(1999-2002), she produced several photo and media-based exhibitions including War Zones (1999), the first of two collaborative shows with friend and mentor Karen Love. Collaboration as a way of working and support of the work of women artists are two significant threads in a practice based in media, photography and performance art. She has often addressed relationships between performance and photography in her writing. She worked as an independent curator and public art consultant from 1996-2010 and as a public art planner at the City of Vancouver from 2011-2025, helping to produce over 40 public art projects.  

After seven years of teaching Bill Jeffries switched to art in 1976, initially at Camosun College, then doing a B.F.A. at UBC, & later an M.A. at SFU. In 1983 he opened the Coburg Gallery, then the only private photo gallery in Vancouver. From 1988 to 1991 he was Director & Curator of the Contemporary Art Gallery;followed by six years working on environmental projects, then a 3-year stint at the Vancouver Art Gallery as Head of Museum Services and as a Registrar.  He was Director & Curator at Presentation House Gallery from 2001 to 2005, subsequently Director/Curator of the galleries at Simon Fraser University until late 2012.  In 2015 – 2016 he was Director/Curator of North Vancouver’s Gordon & Marion Smith Foundation & its Gallery.

Karen Love is an independent curator and writer whose early training included summer student work as a research assistant for Dennis Reid, a senior curator at the National Gallery of Canada, and as visual art consultant at the Canada Council Art Bank, Ottawa. She was director/curator of Presentation House Gallery, North Vancouver, from 1983 to 2001. Her 90+ curatorial and publication projects include War Zones, co-organized with Karen Henry (1999); Facing History: Portraits from Vancouver (2001); Weathervane, Oakville Galleries, Ottawa Art Gallery, Museum London (2006); Memory Palace: Three Artists in the Library, Vancouver Public Library (2008–11); and many solo exhibitions with publications, including those for Marlene Creates, Wyn Geleynse, Jamelie Hassan, Geoffrey James, Arnaud Maggs, Joey Morgan, Jan Peacock, and Mark Ruwedel. Love worked at the Vancouver Art Gallery in various capacities including manager of curatorial affairs and director of institutional gifts, from 2006 to 2020. In 2023-2024 she co-curated, with Linda Chinfen, an exhibition of photographs by Diane Evans for The Polygon Gallery in North Vancouver, followed by work as contributing editor of the 2026 book Diane Evans: Photographs 1976 to 2023, for which she wrote an in-depth illustrated and annotated chronology.

Helga Pakasaar is an independent contemporary art curator based in Vancouver. She was Audain Chief Curator at the Polygon Gallery in North Vancouver from 2017 to 2023, and was a curator at the former Presentation House Gallery from 2003 to 2017. She held curatorial positions at the Art Gallery of Windsor from 1995 to 2001 and Walter Phillips Gallery, Banff from 1987 to 1990. Since the 1980s, she has been an independent curator, art consultant, researcher, editor, and writer. She has produced many exhibitions and publications on Canadian and international artists, site-responsive commissions, performances, public programs, and outdoor artworks. Her interest in photography, moving pictures, media art, and image culture, and their histories, focuses on current developments, often in dialogue with historical works. With a strong interest in socially-engaged, interdisciplinary practices, her exhibitions and related initiatives with local and international artists respond to global cultural discourses. Many of her projects have involved research in little-known archives and collections and have brought into focus Westcoast art histories. Her writing has been published widely and she contributes to visual art organizations in various capacities. She holds a Bachelor of Arts (1983) in Contemporary Art History from UBC and was the recipient of the Alvin Balkind Curatorial Achievement Award in 2013.

Shengtian Zheng is an artist, scholar, and curator based in Vancouver. Before 1990, he worked at the China Academy of Art as Professor and Chair of the Oil Painting Department. He was a visiting professor at the University of Minnesota and San Diego State University, Secretary of the Annie Wong Art Foundation, Founding Board Director of Vancouver International Centre for Contemporary Asian Art, and the Adjunct Director of the Institute of Asian Art at the Vancouver Art Gallery. Currently, he is the Managing Editor of Yishu: Journal of Contemporary Chinese Art, a trustee of Asia Art Archive in America and a Research Fellow at Simon Fraser University. Zheng has organized and curated numerous exhibitions and events, and has frequently contributed to periodicals and catalogues. In 2013, Zheng Shengtian: Selected Writing on Art was published in four volumes by China Academy Press. His latest publications include Sino-Mexican Art and Cultural Exchanges in the Twentieth Century and a Chinese version. In 2011 he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award for curatorial work by the Vancouver Biennale. In 2013 He received an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from Emily Carr University of Art + Design. In 2025 he was given The King Charles III Coronation Medal for his contribution to the community. 

Ian M. Thom graduated from the University of British Columbia with an MA in Art History.   He worked at the Vancouver Art Gallery, as a cataloguer and then registrar, before leaving for the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria.  There he worked as Registrar, Curator and then Chief Curator.  He then moved to the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, where he served as the first Curator of Collections.  Following this he moved to the Vancouver Art Gallery, where he served as Senior Curator for some thirty years.  He was awarded the Order of Canada in 2009.  

Henry Tsang is a visual, media artist and occasional curator whose research practice delves into the spatial politics of history, cultural translation, community and food, and the oft-times fraught relationships between mobility, values and desires within, between and across specific places. His projects take the form of gallery exhibitions, pop-up street food offerings, 360 video walking tours, curated dinners, and ephemeral and permanent public artworks. They employ a variety of media, including video, photography, interactive media, convivial events and language, with a particular focus on Chinook Jargon, the historic trade language of the west coast. He is the author of "White Riot: The 1907 Anti-Asian Riots in Vancouver," which received the 2024 City of Vancouver Book Award and the Dr. Edgar Wickberg Prize for the Best Book on Chinese Canadian History.  

Henry has worked with Vancouver’s Chinese Cultural Centre and artist-run centres to produce curatorial projects such as Self Not Whole: Cultural Identity and Chinese-Canadian Artists in Vancouver (1991) and Racy Sexy: Race, Culture & Sexuality (1993); and City at the End of Time: Hong Kong 1997 (1997). He is a past recipient of the VIVA Award and is an Associate Dean at Emily Carr University of Art & Design in Vancouver, Canada. 

Dr. Zainub Verjee, CM, RCA, is an artist, curator, programmer, cultural critic, scholar, and public intellectual whose career spans more than four decades at the intersection of art, policy, and social change. Rooted in Fluxus thought, her practice moves across artistic production, writing, institution-building, and civic intervention, refusing neat divisions among them. She has helped shape cultural policy and public discourse in Canada, widening art’s place in public life. 

Verjee was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada in 2023 and elected to the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts in 2025. In 2020, she received the Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Arts for Outstanding Contribution. Her work has been recognized through multiple honorary doctorates, including one from Simon Fraser University. 

Co-founder of In Visible Colours in 1989 and Executive Director of Western Front from 1991 to 1999, Verjee has been recognized as a McLaughlin College Fellow and Senior Fellow of Massey College. Her artwork has been exhibitedinternationally, including at MoMA, the Venice Biennale, Asian Triennial Manchester, and the Centre d’Art Contemporain de Basse-Normandie, and is held in private and public collections, including the Vancouver Art Gallery, the Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery, and Glenbow Museum. 

Keith Wallace has been a curator of contemporary art since 1979. From 1991 to 2001, he was Curator, then Director/Curator, at the Contemporary Art Gallery, Vancouver. For seven years between 2005 and 2015, he was Associate Director/Curator at the Morris & Helen Belkin Art Gallery, University of British Columbia. Wallace has contributed to numerous publications, among them Vancouver Anthology (1991), Whispered Art History: Twenty Years at the Western Front (1993), Utopian Territories: New Art from Cuba (1997), Action–Camera: Beijing Performance Photography (2009), Jayce Salloum: history of the present (2009), Sunil Gupta: Queer (2011), The Spaces Between: Contemporary Art from Havana (2014), Anna Wong: Traveller on Two Roads (2018), and Mary Sui Yee Wong: What Makes an Artist (2024). In 2004, he was lead organizer of InFest: International Artist Run-Culture, a conference in Vancouver that included 250 participants from 25 countries. Since 2004, Wallace has on and off served as Editor-in-Chief of Yishu: Journal of Contemporary Chinese Art published by Art & Collection Group Ltd., Taipei. 

Paul Wong is a pioneering artist known for his innovative work in visual and media art. With a career spanning over five decades, Wong has continuously pushed the boundaries of interdisciplinary storytelling, working outside mainstream conventions making art for site-specific spaces and screens of all sizes working in film, video, sound, photography, installation, printmaking, performance and writing. He is an award winning artist and curator and founder of several artist-run groups, and organizing events, festivals, conferences and public interventions since the 1970s. Wong has produced projects throughout North America, Europe and Asia. 

He is the Artistic Director of On Main Gallery and currently the curator of Enemy Alien: Tamio Wakayama Retrospective and book launching Oct 3, 2025 Vancouver Art Gallery. He was the UBC Art History and Visual Arts (AHVA) Artist in Residence in 2024/2025.  

Wong received the 2005 Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Art, Best Canadian Film or Video at the 2008 Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival. 2016 Audain Prize for Lifetime Achievement in Visual Arts. In 2023 he received the Outstanding Artist Award from the Federation of Gay Games, and an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from Emily Car University of Art and Design (ECUAD). He received the 2024 Toronto Reel Asian Fire Horse Award.