MacKenzie Art Gallery Appoints John Hampton as CEO

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John G. Hampton (photo by Don Hall)

John G. Hampton has been appointed executive director and CEO of the MacKenzie Art Gallery in Regina, after filling the role on an interim basis since August.

“We are particularly happy to see the MacKenzie follow its groundbreaking path in Indigenous curation," says artist Sherry Farrell-Racette, a search committee member.

"It was, as you know, the first public gallery to hire an Indigenous head curator – and now, we make history again by hiring the first Indigenous executive director and CEO of a public art gallery in Canada.” 

In Hampton's two years as the MacKenzie's head curator, he implemented programs centred around radical diversity, cultural health and transformation.

Hampton, who said he was “humbled and incredibly proud" to lead the gallery's team, noted that he grew up in Regina and the MacKenzie helped shape some of his earliest understandings about the role of art and culture.

"The MacKenzie has an exciting future ahead of it, and I intend to bring a spirit of interdependence, innovation, trust, wonder and respect as we celebrate the deep art history of this land in tandem with the most innovative practices and conversations happening in Canada and beyond," he says. 

Hampton holds a Masters of visual studies from the University of Toronto, and a BA in visual arts from the University of Regina. He is a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation, the United States and Canada. 

He has worked as executive director of the Art Gallery of Southwestern Manitoba in Brandon, the artistic director of Trinity Square Video in Toronto, and curator at Neutral Ground, an artist-run centre in Regina. 

He holds an adjunct curator appointment at the Art Museum at the University of Toronto, and an adjunct professorship at the University of Regina. He also serves as co-chair of the Indigenous Curatorial Collective, which provides professional development opportunities to Aboriginal peoples in Canada.  

Source: MacKenzie Art Gallery