A Message from the Vancouver Art Gallery Association Board
The Board of Trustees is pleased to announce the permanent appointment of Eva Respini and Sirish Rao as Co-CEOs, continuing the partnership they began when they stepped into these roles on an interim basis last year.
Over the past 18 months, Eva and Sirish have brought renewed energy and momentum to the Gallery. Together with staff, they have strengthened the organization, welcomed growing audiences back through our doors, placed the Gallery’s extraordinary permanent collection at the heart of our artistic program, expanded the ways we connect with our community and charted a renewed vision for the future—including for our new building.
Throughout this period, the Board has taken a thoughtful and rigorous approach to considering the Gallery’s long-term leadership. We looked closely at the organization’s progress and performance and sought input from staff, donors, artists, community leaders and trusted advisors. This process reinforced our confidence in Eva and Sirish, their partnership and the leadership model they have built together.
Eva and Sirish bring distinct but deeply complementary strengths to their leadership. As Co-CEO & Chief Curator, Eva brings an extraordinary international curatorial perspective and a deep commitment to artists and artistic excellence. As Co-CEO & Executive Director, Sirish brings a track record of building cultural organizations, forging ambitious partnerships and developing new models for how arts institutions can engage with their communities, while strengthening connections between Vancouver and the Asia-Pacific. Together, they share an ambition to make the Gallery more welcoming, relevant and connected, while strengthening the organization’s place nationally and internationally.
Their permanent appointment also marks an important next step in building the leadership team that will carry this vision forward. As part of this next chapter, longtime Gallery leaders Diana Freundl and Stephanie Rebick will join the Gallery’s executive leadership team. Diana oversees collections, research and public programming, while Stephanie leads exhibitions and publishing. They join Jasmine Bradley, who leads communications, brand, government relations and audience engagement; Jackie Graham, who leads philanthropy and fundraising; Grant Mosby, who oversees finance and operations; and Kulwinder Sall, who oversees people and organizational culture. This expanded team brings expertise from across the institution to advance the Gallery’s artistic and public mission and build a strong foundation for its future.
On behalf of the Board, I want to express our confidence in Eva and Sirish and our gratitude to the entire Gallery team. What has been accomplished over the past year has been a collective effort, and we are excited about what this team can build together in the years ahead.
Your support makes so much of what we do possible, and we look forward to welcoming you back to the Gallery soon.
With gratitude,
Jon Stovell
Chair of the Vancouver Art Gallery Association Board
Learn more about the appointment of the Gallery’s new co-leaders.
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