Canadian Art's Summer 2016 issue, on newsstands June 15.
CEO and publisher Jill Birch has advised the Canadian Art Foundation’s board of directors that she will be leaving the organization. Birch recently completed her PhD in relational leadership, and will be launching a leadership consultancy and writing a book based on her five years of research.
Birch made a number of contributions in her two years with the Canadian Art Foundation. After consulting with art enthusiasts across the country, she helped us renew our vision—to be the voice for visual arts in Canada. Birch was also energetic in pursuing partnerships, growing our digital audience and recruiting David Balzer as Canadian Art’s new editor-in-chief. Most important was Birch’s support for the incredible work of Canadian contemporary artists.
We thank Birch for her dedication, commitment and many contributions to the Canadian Art Foundation during her time as CEO. We wish her all the best in her exciting new endeavour.
Our confidence in Canadian Art’s editorial team is unwavering. Under Balzer’s leadership, the organization is poised to significantly increase its readership, achieving our goal of supporting, fostering and enriching the visual-art community in Canada. Equally strong is our commitment to the Canadian Art Foundation’s vision, to serve our audiences by being the voice for visual arts in Canada.
The board is looking forward to an exciting 21st annual Canadian Art Gala on September 22 and cross-Canada speaking engagements from internationally renowned artist Wolfgang Tillmans this fall.
We are committed to renewing our culture of philanthropy and will launch a fundraising campaign to ensure the long-term strength of the organization. Canadian Art on all its platforms—digital, print, public programming, education and outreach—is the most important independent source of journalism, ideas and points-of-view about visual art in this country. Driven by our committed team and supported by our readers and donors, it will continue to play a critical role in the Canadian cultural conversation.
