WAG-Qaumajuq appoints first Indigenous director and CEO

WAG-Qaumajuq has appointed its first Indigenous director and CEO.

John Mahli Lawa’ Hampton has been selected to take the helm of Canada’s oldest civic art gallery, WAG-Qaumajuq announced Thursday. 

A citizen of the Chickasaw Nation in Oklahoma, Hampton — who most recently served as executive director and CEO of the MacKenzie Art Gallery in Regina — was appointed following a national and international search.

Bill Elliott, WAG-Qaumajuq’s deputy director and chief financial officer, has been serving in the role on an interim basis after longtime director and CEO Stephen Borys departed the gallery in 2025 after 17 years.

Hampton will begin in the role on Dec. 10.