Submitted by Terry Woodruff
The board, staff and volunteers of gallery 2 are pleased to announce our new curator/director, Tim van Wijk, who will be joining us in early September.
Ted Fogg, our curator, is taking his well-deserved retirement with visions of fishing trips dancing in his head. I am returning to retirement with visions of serious time spent in my own studio and I will continue to volunteer with the Grand Forks Art Gallery Society, I’m sure.
Tim is an arts and culture professional coming to us from a ten-year stint in Calgary and reports he is happy to be returning to his Kootenay roots. He has been working in art galleries and museums since 2000 as an artist, gallery technician, and most recently facility manager for Fort Calgary the past 10 years.
While at the Fort, Tim worked in exhibit production, project management, and operations. Gallery operations and programming require realistic budgeting, monitoring, and adaptability to be sustainable in the long term, all wrapped into the vision and mandate to promote arts and culture and raise the level of awareness in the community. I have no doubt Tim is up for the job, and I am excited for the next chapter of the gallery.
Working with the crew at gallery 2 and the Visitor’s Centre over the last two years has been one of the best times I have had. This job called on every other experience and learning I have had to date; from hospitality to a banking career to an art practice. What a great way to enforce my firm belief in life-long learning and the value of life experiences both big and small.
One of my favourite parts of my work here has been the conversations with visitors and gallery patrons from all over the world. They are continually expressing their delight and surprise at finding this jewel of a gallery and heritage centre on their travels.
This past week I spoke with a retired civil engineer from Oregon who expressed his admiration for ‘one of the best reuses of a heritage building he had seen’ and the foresight our city has shown in supporting arts and culture in this venue. Another couple travelling from their home in Calgary, rerouted due to fire activity, were ‘blown away at the unexpected high-end gallery experience’ as well as the beauty of our valley.
Who wouldn’t love a job when every day someone compliments the work and effort everyone involved puts in to bring the vision of the Grand Forks Art Gallery Society to life.