Laura Jane Ritchie has been hired as the new curator for the Kelowna Art Gallery.
As curator, Ritchie will be responsible for art gallery exhibitions, accompanying publications and all permanent collection activities.
“I am delighted to have Laura join the Kelowna Art Gallery team,” said Kelowna Art Gallery executive director Nataley Nagy.
“She brings a tremendous amount of energy and experience to the position. We look forward to working with her to bring a diverse range of historical and contemporary exhibitions to Kelowna audiences in the coming years.”
Before moving to Kelowna, Ritchie was the head of exhibitions and collections management for the Art Gallery of Alberta, where her curatorial projects focused on showcasing Canadian historical works from the permanent collection.
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Among the exhibits she curated were the PoP Show: Dazzled by the Everyday; The Edge: The Abstract and Avant-Garde in Canada; The Looking Glass; Undaunted: Canadian Women Painters of the 19th Century; and William Townsend: Painting Alberta, Details of Canada.
Previously, she curated the traveling exhibition Four Turns of a Key: Metalworks by Elma Jonston McKay.
Originally from New Brunswick, Ritchie holds an MA in Art History from Western University. She has worked in collections and exhibitions management and visual arts administration with art organizations including Beaverbrook Art Gallery, the New Brunswick Crafts Council, the New Brunswick Arts Board, Museum London, the Tom Thomson Memorial Art Gallery and the Commonwealth Association of Museums.
She is a fellow of the Getty Leadership Institute’s NextGen, Executive Education for the Next Generation of Museum Leaders.
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“The Kelowna Art Gallery is setting a great example of how museums and galleries consider and engage their surroundings, and I am privileged to be a part of that,” said Ritchie.
A meet-and-greet to officially welcome Ritchie to her new job will be held Thursday, Aug. 16, beginning at 6 p.m. at the art gallery, 1315 Water St.
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