Banff Centre appoints new director of Visual Arts and the Walter Phillips Gallery

The Banff Centre appoints new director of Visual Arts and the Walter Phillips Gallery

Anthony Kiendl, The Banff Centre’s newly appointed director, Visual Arts and director, Walter Phillips Gallery, will move the Centre’s arts programming in a vital new direction. "Media and Visual Arts is keenly anticipating Anthony’s arrival," says Sara Diamond, The Banff Centre’s director of New Media. "He brings to us an impeccable, witty, and dynamic history as a curator and writer. I’m confident that Anthony and our team will bring terrific vitality and vision to our Visual Arts programs, whether in the gallery, the creative residencies, or our curatorial institute."

An artist and writer, Kiendl comes to The Banff Centre from the Dunlop Art Gallery in Regina, where he was acting director/curator. Kiendl studied English at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks (BA 1991), and Studio Arts at Concordia University in Montreal. He was program coordinator of AKA Artist-Run Centre in Saskatoon from 1995 until September 1997, and since then has been the curator of the Dunlop Art Gallery. Since October he has filled the role of acting director/curator at the Dunlop. Kiendl is co-curator of the Candy Museum in Regina, and is currently conducting research for an exhibition entitled Big Rock Candy Mountain on the cultural meaning of candy.

Anthony Kiendl
Director, Visual Arts & Walter Phillips Gallery

His diverse exhibitions include Little Worlds (1998), an exploration of miniature environments; Fluffy (1999), a laboratory of cuteness; Beautiful Losers (1999), a meditation on pathos; and Space Camp 2000: Uncertainty, Speculative Fictions and Art (2000), a presentation of science fiction as disruption of rationalism. In the spring of 2001, Kiendl completed a three-month curatorial residency with the Walter Phillips Gallery. He has spoken at several Banff Centre events, has been a guest lecturer in the Centre’s Creative Residency program, and a featured speaker of the Banff New Media Institute.

Diamond says Kiendl’s history in developing imaginative think tanks and workshops, his experience as a Board member of several arts organizations, and his comprehensive knowledge of the field, will make him an important addition to The Banff Centre’s team of arts administrators. He starts at The Banff Centre on March 5, 2002.

All are welcome to a cocktail reception to celebrate Kiendl’s arrival on Friday, March 8 from 5:00-6:30 pm in the lobby of The Banff Centre’s Walter Phillips Gallery. RSVP Jennifer Woodbury, ph. 403.762.6302.

--30--

Contact:
Lachlan Mackintosh
Arts Marketing Officer
The Banff Centre
Ph. 403.762.6670;
E-mail:

The Banff Centre is Canada's only learning centre dedicated to the arts, leadership development, and mountain culture. Programs are designed to enrich professional practice beyond the realm of traditional education. The Centre's unique mountain setting and multidisciplinary environment foster a commitment to personal growth and lifelong learning.