Katie Belcher as incoming Director/Curator of Access Gallery

The Board of Directors is thrilled to announce Katie Belcher as incoming Director/Curator of Access Gallery! Currently based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Belcher will join Access full-time in October. In the interim, Belcher will work with the gallery and board part-time as she completes several exciting projects on the East Coast.

As Artistic Director of Eyelevel since 2013, Belcher has led the organization through a dramatic period of transition from brick and mortar gallery to spaceless programming, while concurrently embracing a commitment to risk-taking anchored in reflexive analysis about the purpose of the artist-run centre and Eyelevel’s mission, mandate and history. Access is especially excited to be stewarded by Belcher following a phase of considerable growth and rigour in artistic programming and publications under Kimberly Phillips’ direction. The board is grateful for Phillips’ many critical contributions to the organization. We look forward to Belcher building on this strong foundation, and to her exploring conditions of emergence through the lens of her curatorial interests and insight.

Of settler ancestry, Belcher grew up on unceded Algonquin territory outside of Ottawa, Ontario, and is currently based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq People. She is keen to learn about the geographic and cultural context of Access’ location in Chinatown, on the traditional, unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations. Belcher is thrilled to be stepping into a new coastal community, surrounded by rigorous creative and curatorial practices.

As she connects with Access’s core supporters and community, the board is confident that Belcher will further develop the gallery’s dynamic trajectory by generating artistic initiatives with exciting new reach and impact. Please join us in welcoming her to Access Gallery.