Longtime WAG CEO departs to start consulting firm

After 17 years at the helm of the Winnipeg Art Gallery, Stephen Borys is stepping into a new field: consulting.

The longtime director and chief executive officer oversaw the creation of Qaumajuq, the 40,000-square-foot addition to the WAG that houses the largest public collection of contemporary Inuit art.

He and his team drew more than $135 million in donated money and artwork, and sponsorships, in less than two decades.

“I’ve also seen so many museum directors and CEOs leave from one institution and work in the consulting field,” Borys said Sunday. “I used to… wonder why, but now I see it as a very natural transition.”

This summer, he decided, it’s his turn. He believes he’s the longest serving current museum director in Canada.

“After building Qaumajuq and after rethinking the model for the new museum, business plans and engaging with community and true equity work, I guess I felt compelled to want to do more — to give back, and to help other organizations,” Borys said.

“It’s going a little deeper, a little broader.”

He marked his last day at 300 Memorial Blvd. on Thursday.

However, working with WAG-Qaumajuq remains a future option, Borys said. He’s not ruling it out as he transitions to the consulting world, and his new firm, Civic Muse.

“After building Qaumajuq and after rethinking the model for the new museum, business plans and engaging with community and true equity work, I guess I felt compelled to want to do more… to give back, and to help other organizations.”– Stephen Borys

Museums, galleries, community centres, post-secondaries — Borys plans to work with a variety of institutions on purpose-driven leadership and planning.

He expects to curate teams for each project Civic Muse oversees. Education design, building projects, art collection development, museum management and capital campaigns are among the areas Civic Muse aims to tackle.

Its website launched Sunday. Borys said he’s already had conversations about future projects; however, nothing is firm yet. He’ll continue teaching at both the University of Winnipeg and University of Manitoba while consulting.

Leaving WAG-Qaumajuq is “bittersweet,” he said.

“The WAG right now is in a wonderful place. If there was ever a time to leave when the organization is in a very good place, it would be now.

“If you think of the purpose of the WAG, I’m using art for positive change in the community, and that is one thing I will always hold dear.”

Museums and galleries are being called upon for more than the enjoyment of art, Borys said. They’re spaces of engagement, learning and belonging — and he’s hoping to further that by leading projects improving accessibility, inclusion and equity.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s calls to action for museums was a guidepost for WAG-Qaumajuq, Borys noted.

“Under his leadership, WAG-Qaumajuq has become a model of diversity and inclusion.”– Aynsley Cockshott, WAG board chair

“Under his leadership, WAG-Qaumajuq has become a model of diversity and inclusion,” Aynsley Cockshott, the institution’s board chair, said in a news release. “He played an instrumental role in shaping the artistic vision.”

The board is now searching for Borys’s replacement. Bill Elliott, WAG-Qaumajuq’s deputy director and chief financial officer, has taken an interim leadership position.

Elliott has spent more than 15 years with the organization.

Cockshott, in the release, expressed gratitude for Borys’s leadership and “valuable contributions.”

The gallery’s former chief executive received the Order of Manitoba in 2020 and the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum and Diamond Jubilee medals in 2022 and 2012.

He’s been on a swath of boards and, in February, was appointed to the Canadian Cultural Property Export Review Board. His role includes promoting systemic change to structures and processes that have been historically marginalizing.

Borys also plans to hold quarterly arts and culture gatherings at Civic Muse’s location, 240 Tache Ave.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com