Arts-council champion of public, Indigenous art retiring

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This article was published 22/05/2024 (861 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Carol A. Phillips, executive director of the Winnipeg Arts Council, will be retiring in September after nearly two decades at the organization’s helm.

“Carol has been a remarkable leader at the Winnipeg Arts Council. Her contributions to sustaining and growing the arts and cultural sector in Winnipeg have been extraordinary,” said Andrew McLaren, Winnipeg Arts Council board chairman, in a media release.

“The Winnipeg Arts Council has been very fortunate to have her steady hand at the helm for so many years. She has grown and developed the organization to a place where it is well-positioned to sustain and support the arts community in Winnipeg into the future. We celebrate her innumerable accomplishments and wish her nothing but the best for the future.”

A passionate champion of public and Indigenous art, Phillips led many initiatives cementing Winnipeg’s reputation as a cultural hub during her tenure at WAC, including the development of the International Cello Festival of Canada, Ticket to the Future Cultural Action Plan, and the commissioning of major public artworks by Indigenous artists for THIS PLACE in Air Canada Park as well as emptyful in Millennium Library Park, among many others.

Before joining the WAC in 2006, Phillips served as the director of the Winnipeg Art Gallery, the Norman MacKenzie Art Gallery in Regina, Plug In ICA and the Banff Centre for the Arts. She has been recognized with the Queen’s Jubilee Medal, the Senate 150 Medal and the Creative City Network’s Award of Excellence in Public Art.

The WAC says a recruitment process for a new executive director will be announced in the coming weeks.

fparts@freepress.mb.ca