The OAG seeks artists and community builders interested in joining our Board of Directors. 

Join our team of dedicated and ambitious Board members, staff and volunteers – experience the legacy and shape the future of visual arts and culture in the region.

The Ottawa Art Gallery is Ottawa’s Home for the Arts

The Ottawa Art Gallery is a place for the curious to explore, support and experience Ottawa-Gatineau’s rich artistic heritage – building a hub for creative conversations and connections.

At the OAG, our job is to connect you with the art and artists of our time and place. Although our gallery is closed for the foreseeable future because of COVID-19 we will continue our mission online. We will re-open in the future and as we continue to build for the future we are seeking new candidates to join our Board of Directors.

The OAG is an independent, not-for-profit, charitable organization governed by a volunteer board of directors. Founded in 1988 by a group of local artists and community leaders, the OAG received designation as Ottawa’s municipal art gallery in 1992. Over time, the OAG has built a significant permanent collection that now numbers more than 1,100 works including paintings, sculpture, graphic arts, photographs and new media.

The Ottawa Art Gallery is a significant cultural destination in Ottawa. In the last two years, we welcomed over 700,000 visitors, engaged 100,000 participants in our public programming, expanded our outreach to diverse communities and built new partnerships with cultural and business organizations in the Ottawa-Gatineau region.

Join us as we continue to build an important, relevant and responsive public institution.

As a leader in our community, the OAG presents the art of our time and place in a space built for art and people, rooted in our locale, a cultural meeting place where people can explore and reflect on diversity and social change through a spectrum of visual arts practice.

If you have an interest in the arts, a capacity for strategic thinking and a passion for public engagement, we encourage you to apply to join the OAG team.

Learn more about the OAG and the kind of Board members we are seeking by visiting our website at oaggao.ca/board-directors. If you think that you could contribute to the OAG and are inspired by our vision for the arts, we encourage you to apply by submitting an expression of interest (max. 500 words) outlining your understanding of what the OAG is trying to achieve and how your experience can help us in our evolution as well as a brief biography (max 250 words).

The deadline for applications is Friday, May 1st 2020 at 5pm and should be submitted as a pdf to zmacneil@oaggao.ca. Please direct questions to Zoë MacNeil via email at zmacneil@oaggao.ca with the subject line: OAG Board of Directors

The Ottawa Art Gallery thanks all applicants for their interest in the position but only those applicants selected for an interview with be contacted.

What you need to know:

OAG Vision, Mandate and Strategic Priorities

Ottawa Art Gallery’s Vision and Mandate

Creating the City of Ottawa’s foremost centre for visual arts and culture

Ottawa Art Gallery’s mandate is to be the most vital visual arts institution in Ottawa. As a leader in the community, it presents new ideas and provides a cultural meeting place that actively promotes relationships and exchanges between artists and the various, diverse facets of our community. Ottawa Art Gallery explores and reflects on diversity and social change through a spectrum of visual arts practice, focused on but not exclusive to the region in a national and international context.

The Ottawa Art Gallery is seeking Directors who possess some or all of the following qualities:

• A desire to help build and sustain an important public institution
•  A knowledge and passion for the visual arts and the role of a municipal art gallery
• A desire to engage with the region’s communities
• A commitment to supporting the realization of OAG’s vision, mandate and strategic priorities
• A willingness to lead and support the OAG’s fundraising efforts
• Experience in managing organizations or on boards of directors
• An understanding of the inherent risks in non-profit organizations
• The ability/willingness to commit time, energy, and resources to fully participate in all board meetings (6 per year) special (as required) and annual general meetings (1 annually) and to engage as committee members
• A commitment to representing the Board at OAG meetings and events hosted at the OAG and within the community
• A receptiveness  to diverse experiences, opinions and perspectives
• A collegial demeanor  and an ability to work as part of a team
• Demonstration of  high ethical standards and integrity
• The ability to read and understand financial statements and the organization’s financial performance, including the ability to assess the financial impact (whether internal or external) of a decision or circumstance.
• The ability to see the big picture, to ask relevant and probing questions at the strategic level, to challenge management’s assumptions when needed, and to differentiate between governance and management responsibilities.

In particular, the Board is seeking a new member to fill the role of Treasurer.

The Treasurer will serve as Chair of the Financial Stewardship & Revenue Generation Committee and is responsible for reviewing financial results and making recommendations to the board regarding financial decisions and policies.