WAG Announces Patricia E. Bovey as Director Emeritus

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The Winnipeg Art Gallery is pleased to announce the appointment of Patricia E. Bovey as Director Emeritus. As director from 1999 – 2004, she advanced the mandate of the WAG, presenting an exhibition program of regional, national, and international significance.

Bovey’s career at the Gallery began in 1970 with her ten years as Curator of Traditional Art. Later as director, Bovey supported the creation of new exhibition research, maintained a strong publication program, and in 2001, negotiated a Memorandum of Understanding between the WAG and the Minneapolis Institute of Art. She developed partnerships with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs resulting in international presentations of WAG exhibitions.

Administratively, Bovey worked to diversify the revenue base, increase the Gallery’s profile, and expand audiences. She strengthened programming through WAG Studio, and connected with English and French school programs, as well as the Manitoba School for the Deaf. Bovey led essential refurbishment that enabled the WAG to continue receiving national and international exhibitions. She developed and implemented a new strategic plan, and undertook a feasibility study to explore the development of the Inuit Art Centre.

“It is very fitting to appoint Patricia Bovey as Director Emeritus to the WAG,” comments Dr. Stephen Borys, WAG Director & CEO. “The honour is well-deserved for her arts and cultural work at the WAG, in Winnipeg, and across the country.”

Bovey is a past member of the Board of Trustees of the National Gallery of Canada. She served on the Board of the Canada Council for the Arts; the Federal Task Force on National and Regional Museums; and is a member of the Eckhardt-Gramatté Foundation. Bovey’s list of awards include; the Inaugural Award of Merit from the Association of Manitoba Museums (2013); Fellow Canadian Museums Association (2013); the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal (2002); YMCA/YWCA Women of Distinction Award for Arts and Culture, Winnipeg (2002); and the Canada 125 Medal (1992).“This is a real honour,” remarked Bovey of the designation. “I love the WAG dearly and it is an institution with which I have been connected in myriad ways for more than half its history!”Current Chair of the Board of Governors of the University of Manitoba, Bovey teaches 20th Century Canadian Art and Cultural Management at the University of Winnipeg. Her book Pat Martin Bates: Balancing on the Thread launched in Winnipeg on June 23, 2014. She is researching and writing Impacts and Turning Points: The Western Voice in Canadian Art.

Report courtesy Winnipeg Art Gallery.