Young curator looks to focus on historical side of gallery

“That’s helped in warm welcomes I received and I’m continuing to receive from this community. I’ve seen so many familiar faces, which is just wonderful to walk back into,” she said.

With a Master’s degree from a university in the Netherlands and a Bachelor of Arts in art history from University of Saskatchewan, Campbell is ready to take on more responsibilities.

“There’s always more to learn and I always believe we need to continue expanding our minds and always taking in new information; we can never be closed off. I’ve definitely been fortunate in my studies to have had experiences in both Canada and abroad and I look forward expanding those in the future,” she said.

At the young age of 27, Campbell said she’s always had the goal of being a curator of a gallery and is grateful for what she’s accomplished so far in her career.

“I’ve worked hard, but at the same time I’ve had some great experiences that have allowed me to push through and attain some of these positions that are in the goals of my career path,” she said. “I mean I didn’t expect it to happen at this point, absolutely not, but I’m really fortunate that this position opened up here and they had enough confidence and faith to take me on.”

Thankfully, both Baker and Exner are just an email away, should she need guidance during the transition, Campbell said.

“I saw, during my time as assistant curator here, how they really engaged with the community. They got people really excited and they built a key foundation for having a group of core people who are involved with all that the gallery does,” she said, which is important to have that sense of community and friendship.

At the same, she added, she sees that sense of community and is excited to shape it into her own vision. Campbell said Baker and Exner had a focus on contemporary shows and she is hoping to also draw her passions into the gallery as well.

“My background, as most people here know, is art history, so I’m looking to build up and bring forth the historical side because that’s the real strength and I want to make people aware of it,” she said.

Going into the future she said she’s looking to build upon some of the improvements already made to gallery. The permanent collection is one of the best in the province, according to Campbell, and she aims to make more people aware of that.

“I want to bring that to the front. I want to hopefully create a travelling tour, which would get these images out to different communities and make people aware of the significant holdings we do have,” she said.

In addition, she wants to grow the Gallery’s community and reach out to people who don’t consider themselves artistic because, according to Campbell, you don’t have to be artistic to learn about yourself in a gallery.

She said art galleries are unique in this because it gives a person a chance to learn about their history, culture or identity introspectively or socially.

“What other kinds of spaces can you do that in? … I want to have a robust programming schedule that allows people these opportunities to come here and to engage with the arts because through that they’re engaging really with their sense of self.”

sstone@panow.com

On Twitter: @sarahstone84

by Sarah Stone

Young curator looks to focus on historical side of gallery

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