Tarah Hogue to be Indigenous Adviser at the Vancouver Art Gallery

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Tara Hogue (photo by Rachel Topham)

The Vancouver Art Gallery has appointed Tarah Hogue to a new role as Indigenous adviser.

Hogue was recently appointed to a new full-time position as Indigenous curator at the Remai Modern in Saskatoon, to begin when she completes a three-year term as the inaugural senior curatorial fellow of Indigenous art at the Vancouver Art Gallery on Sept. 5. 

But she will continue with the Vancouver gallery in an advisory role, working with its Indigenous relations working group  to develop and implement Indigenous initiatives, as well as staff training and education. She will also offer guidance in hiring and community relations.

Daina Augaitis, the gallery’s interim director, praised Hogue for advancing the institution's commitment to Indigenous art and deepening its relationships with the individuals and communities that produce it.

“After the successful completion of this first Indigenous curatorial fellowship, the gallery is determining how to best continue supporting Indigenous curators in the organization, including reviewing the fellowship as an avenue for mentoring early career curators,” says Augaitis.

During the fellowship, Hogue produced exhibitions, publications, public programs and enhanced the gallery’s permanent collection by putting forward works by artists such as Shuvinai Ashoona, Gabrielle L’Hirondelle Hill, Peter Morin and Krista Belle Stewart.

She has supported many Indigenous artists and artists of colour through her curatorial work and has prioritized relationships with Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh artists, speakers, advisors and consultants.

Her exhibitions at the gallery include Ayumi Goto and Peter Morin: how do you carry the land?; The Metamorphosis, co-curated with Bruce Grenville and Emmy Lee Wall; Transits and Returns, organized in collaboration with the Institute of Modern Art in Brisbane and co-curated with Sarah Biscarra Dilley, Freja Carmichael, Léuli Eshrāghi and Lana Lopesi; and most recently, lineages and land bases, drawn primarily from the gallery’s collection and on view until Aug. 30.

“Now is a pivotal moment for the Vancouver Art Gallery,” said Hogue. “As the community calls upon the institution to be more accountable and equitable, Indigenous participation is essential. I know the gallery and new CEO and gallery director Anthony Kiendl are committed to this work and look forward to many new initiatives and opportunities as we begin a new chapter. The relationships I’ve formed while living on these territories have been deeply nourishing. I want to continue and grow the good work that has already occurred at the gallery so that Indigenous cultural workers and communities can flourish in their relationships to this place.”

Source: Vancouver Art Gallery