Jeffrey Spalding C.M, R.C.A.
Leading Canadian curator and artist Jeffrey Spalding has been appointed Consulting Editor at Galleries West magazine. The new role will allow him to continue his longstanding contribution as a columnist with the magazine, which covers the visual arts across Western Canada, while acting in a broader advisory capacity.
In announcing today’s appointment, Publisher Tom Tait noted Spalding’s contributions to both the magazine and the wider art world, where Spalding is a familiar and respected name.
“Jeffrey has been both a long-time supporter of our magazine project and an art mentor to me personally,” Tait said. “We've appreciated his regular ‘Opinion’ column and occasional articles over the years and I felt it was appropriate to recognize his broader contribution and publicly underline his continuing association with the magazine from his new position as Senior Curator at the Beaverbrook Art Gallery in Fredericton.”
Editor Portia Priegert welcomed the appointment. "Jeffrey is a veritable fountain of ideas and a great resource for us," she said.
Spalding, who was appointed Senior Curator at the Beaverbrook Art Gallery earlier this year, expressed pleasure at maintaining his connection with Western Canada, where his art is widely shown and represented. “The artists, art museums and galleries of the West are truly outstanding,” he said. “Galleries West is a very significant contributor to the health of the cultural landscape. It celebrates, explores, critiques and promotes these achievements far afield. Without the strong, vibrant advocacy of Galleries West our best exhibitions and artworks would be under-appreciated.”
Spalding has served as Director at major art museums, including the Glenbow Museum, the University of Lethbridge Art Gallery, the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia and the Appleton Museum of Art, Florida, and as Artistic Director of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Calgary. He is a member of the Order of Canada, a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, past-president of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts, and Adjunct Professor at the University of Calgary.
Galleries West magazine is active online at www.gallerieswest.ca and publishes its print edition in January, May and September. It was launched in 2002 to provide a Western Canadian perspective on the visual arts.