Photo: Kim Anderson
Outgoing Kamloops Art Gallery executive director Margaret Chrumka at the opening tour of Deanna Bowen: Black Drones in the Hive, October 2023.
After spending a dozen years with the Kamloops Art Gallery, executive director Margaret Chrumka is bidding farewell with the search for her replacement to begin shortly.
In a news release, the KAG board of trustees announced Chrumka would be leaving at the end of December to join the management team at the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria starting in January.
Over her twelve-year tenure, KAG says Chrumka has grown audience engagement and “cemented the gallery’s position in Canada’s visual arts ecosystem.”
During her first exhibition opening in September 2012, she said fewer than 40 attendees came out to the gallery.
“I’m honoured that our exhibition openings now see well over 300 arts enthusiasts and annual attendance has grown significantly year over year,” Chrumka said.
“The Gallery is a place of rigour and excellence, and the community shows up!”
KAG said attendance has quadrupled over Chrumka’s tenure, the biannual video art event Luminocity has seen tens of thousands of visitors and overall visits to the gallery have seen a 35 per cent increase in the last year alone.
“After a decade of effort, Margaret’s role on the Kamloops Centre for the Arts Society realized success with the city’s new arts centre poised to break ground,” KAG said in its release.
Chrumka is the vice president of the Canadian Art Museums Directors, on the Board of the Canadian Museums Association, a committee member with the BC Museums Association and has sat on various city-guided committees.
“Her vision and dedication have elevated the Gallery’s reputation locally and nationally, significantly growing community engagement and solidifying our position as a leader in the arts,” said KAG’s board of trustees.
“As we begin the search for a new Executive Director, we are committed to building on the strong foundation she has created.”
A hiring committee has been formed by the board of trustees and a national search for a new executive director will kick off in the coming weeks.