The ACT Art Gallery has a new curator.
Courtney Miller was named gallery manager and curator of the community gallery, an appointment announced by the Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows Arts Council and the ACT Arts Centre on April 6.
“I’m thrilled to be appointed to this role! I am excited to dream up and plan exhibitions to be enjoyed by our patrons and visitors in the coming months and years,” said Miller, who is not new to the art gallery.
Miller previously joined the team at the ACT in 2014 and served as gallery assistant for four years before heading to Ontario College of Art and Design, OCAD, University in Toronto to get her Master of Fine Arts in Criticism and Curatorial Practices.
Before that she received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Visual Arts from the University of the Fraser Valley.
Both of Miller’s parents were artists and, she said, that led to a creative upbringing. She was born and raised in Mission and is a citizen of Metis Nation, B.C..
Her published art writing includes exhibition reviews in Ar(n)t Write, C Magazine, and Peripheral Review.
Most recently she was museum manager for the Mission Museum.
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Miller says she brings a familiarity of the Maple Ridge area to her new role at the gallery.
“I hope to respond to the creative needs of the community, but also introduce fresh perspectives and new ideas through exhibitions at The ACT,” she said, noting that she hopes to create more opportunities for young and emerging artists and have more frequent exhibitions of contemporary Indigenous art by finding new ways to reach and engage community groups.
Miller is also looking forward to expanding exhibitions and related programming now that the pandemic is in a new phase.
“We will still see adapted events, but we’re also excited to safely welcome patrons back in the building more often.”
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