McMichael Canadian Art Collection Announces Appointment of New Executive Director and CEO, Dr. Victoria Dickenson
March 22, 2011 Kleinburg, ON – The McMichael Canadian Art Collection announced today that Victoria Dickenson, PhD, FCMA, has been appointed as its new Executive Director and CEO as well as President of the McMichael Canadian Art Foundation effective April 18, 2011.
Dr. Dickenson’s appointment was the culmination of an exhaustive search conducted in Canada, the U.S. and abroad to find candidates in the arts, culture, business or government arenas who had outstanding leadership skills.
“Dr. Dickenson is among Canada’s best known and most respected museum professionals,” said Upkar Arora, Chair of the McMichael Board of Trustees, and head of the Search Committee of eight. “Our search process identified her as the best candidate who had the requisite experience, passion and capabilities to build on the outstanding assets of the McMichael. Her previous work in gallery management, exhibition development and programming, fundraising, as well as her innovative thinking speaks for itself, and we are thrilled to have her take on this leadership role at the McMichael. She was our unanimous choice.”
Dickenson, a Canadian citizen and fluent in both French and English, is leaving her position as Chief Knowledge Officer at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg, Manitoba, to assume her new role at the McMichael. Dickenson has a distinguished curatorial and gallery-management career including serving as Executive Director at the prestigious McCord Museum of Canadian History in Montreal (1998-2009).
At the McCord she managed to increase the Museum’s operating revenues through a combination of grants, fundraising and self-generated revenues, working with all levels of government as well as the private sector. Under Dickenson’s leadership, the McCord was nominated and received numerous awards from the museum and information sectors in Canada and the U.S. Dickenson is an acknowledged leader in the application of information technology to museology and championed a multi-party project which became the foundation for the McCord’s global web presence that continues to attract over two million visits per year.
“My goal in coming to the McMichael,” said Dickenson, “is to make the institution stronger – locally, provincially, nationally and internationally – to reach our local communities, the tourists that come to the GTA and the visitors that we reach virtually, so that more people can experience for themselves what an outstanding institution the McMichael is and what an important part it plays in our Canadian history and heritage, today, tomorrow and for decades to come. The McMichael is blessed with such wonderful assets – the gift by Robert and Signe McMichael of the works of art and the stunning grounds, the dedicated and passionate employees and volunteers, an engaged Board of Trustees and the Foundation, and a committed and supportive Ministry of Tourism and Culture. I am confident we can channel these rich assets into a bold new vision for the gallery, and we can create an outstanding institution that not only speaks to Canadians, but also speaks to the world.”
ABOUT THE McMICHAEL CANADIAN ART COLLECTION
The McMichael Canadian Art Collection is an agency of the Government of Ontario and acknowledges the support of the Ministry of Tourism and Culture. It is the foremost venue in the country showcasing the Group of Seven and their contemporaries. In addition to touring exhibitions, its permanent collection consists of more than 5,700 artworks, including paintings by the Group of Seven and their contemporaries, First Nations and Inuit artists. The gallery is located on Islington Avenue, north of Major Mackenzie Drive in Kleinburg, and is open daily from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. For more information about the gallery, visit www.mcmichael.com.
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MEDIA CONTACTS
Stephen Weir
Publicist
Gallery: 905.893.1121 ext. 2529
Toronto Office: 416.489.5868
Cell: 416.801.3101
sweir@mcmichael.com
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