Curator and arts manager Jen Mizuik appointed director of Visual / Digital Arts

Banff, Alberta, January 23, 2014 -- An accomplished curator and arts centre manager with a focus on digital media and contemporary arts practice, Jen Mizuik has been appointed director, visual/digital arts at The Banff Centre, effective March 17, 2014.    

Mizuik brings over a decade of experience creating opportunities for visual artists to develop new work and build their careers, establishing industry relationships in technology and media to support innovations in artistic practice and exploring new ways to engage audiences in visual arts.  

"I am delighted to welcome Jen to The Banff Centre, with her tremendous experience and expertise in the visual arts, particularly where they converge with technology and new forms of practice,” says Carolyn Warren, vice president, arts at The Banff Centre. “The Centre has a long tradition of being at the leading edge of contemporary visual art in Canada and internationally, and I see Jen's appointment building on that tradition and leading us in bold new directions."  

As an advocate and supporter of digital media and contemporary arts practice, Mizuik is actively engaged in the global conversation about the future of contemporary arts practice and the changing expectations of arts audiences.  

As director, and previously as general manager, of Experimenta Media Arts in Melbourne, Australia, Mizuik has been instrumental in shaping that preeminent media arts organization’s activities, including strategic and creative planning, curation and the implementation of a range of artistic, public and educational programs. She has also built an impressive artistic and curatorial network across Asia during her time in Australia. And earlier in her career, at both the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art and the Art Gallery of Calgary, Mizuik honed her leadership, operational and financial management abilities.  

The Banff Centre’s focus on multidisciplinary programming is a natural fit for Mizuik as she has built her career supporting artists who push the creative possibilities of their practice by exploring new ways of collaborating and exchanging ideas, and by engaging artists and audiences through new technologies.   For Mizuik, the chance to return to Canada and join the team at The Banff Centre at such a time of inspiring and ambitious growth is the opportunity of a lifetime. “It will be a privilege to work at The Banff Centre and within Canada’s dynamic and vibrant visual arts sector,” she says. “It will be a privilege to bring my energy, experience, and contacts from Australia and Asia to foster new partnerships and exchanges for the Banff Centre.”

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