Download the 2024 Annual Report

Director’s Report

As I report on The Polygon Gallery’s accomplishments in 2024, I’m proud to see the organization continuing to mature as a catalyst for contemporary art and as a cultural hub for North Vancouver and the broader community. The Gallery’s mission to challenge how we see the world is consequential, as is its growing reputation as a destination and engine for culture in British Columbia and internationally. Credit for this is due to the Gallery’s incredible staff, together with its Board of Directors, volunteers, and a group of tremendously generous supporters who provide resources and advocacy that allow us to thrive.

Exhibitions and Programming
In 2024, The Polygon Gallery presented ten exhibitions featuring local and international artists, beginning with Dani Gal: Historical Records. This epic collection of commercial LPs tracing the history of the past century opened with a standing room only musical performance by Gal.

A host of programs followed in March, including the fourth iteration of Response, an annual exhibition and film screening of works produced by emerging Indigenous artists after months of creation. We’re honoured that the Response program
continues to build significant mentorship and exhibition opportunities for young artists.

We initiated a new program, Speaking Pictures, inviting Indigenous elders to speak about one or more photographic images in the context of both historical and familial memory. The program will occur throughout the year on equinoxes and solstices and was launched with a presentation by Sḵwx ̱wú7mesh artist Xwalacktun.

Capping the busy month, Karice Mitchell produced a billboard for The Polygon’s south facing window art space, which faces out to the Spirit Trail. This project was originally proposed for the Del Grauer billboard, and we were proud to install it as part of the Capture Festival, facing back to downtown Vancouver.

In April, Velvet Terrorism: Pussy Riot’s Russia opened, an exhibition featuring the cacophonous documentation of agitprop performance and protest actions by this infamous group of Russian artists and activists. The opening was one of the largest in the Gallery’s history, with over 2,000 attendees, together with a public talk that drew over 600 people.

In the summer the Gallery mounted American artist Martine Gutierrez’s first major Canadian solo exhibition, ANTI-ICON: APOKALYPSIS. The installation elegantly configured a series of self-portraits that challenge the ways in which legendary female or feminized figures have been depicted throughout history. The opening featured an impromptu performance by Gutierrez and a group of friends and collaborators. To close the exhibition in September, the Gallery hosted an energetic and memorable performance cum fashion show titled P.L.U.R.O.M.A., organized by Vancouver artist Katayoon Yousefbigloo together with a team of artists from the artist-run space Liquidation World.

In May we launched the sixth BAF Commission, featuring a pair of interrelated sculptures by the Canadian Tau Lewis. It was a privilege for the Gallery to support a major outdoor commission and a milestone for this rising Canadian artist. Lewis’s profusion of flower vines enveloping the exterior of the Gallery extended from an elaborate installation centred on a skirted figure inside the Denna Homes Gallery.

Also in May, Sydney Frances Pascal, an artist featured in the 2024 Whitney Biennial, presented a new work in the Della and Stuart McLaughlin Gallery.

In September, the Gallery was honoured to announce a gift from Jed and Sarah Lind, of a major endowment in honour of their father Phil Lind, in support of the newly renamed Lind Biennial. Established in 2016, the Philip B. Lind Emerging Artist Prize has been awarded annually to an emerging BC-based artist working in mediums of photography, film, or video. With the support of Jed and Sarah, the new Lind Biennial enlarges the prize to $25,000, now one of the largest for an emerging artist in Canada. 2024’s exhibition showcased Mena El Shazly, Karice Mitchell, Dion Smith-Dokkie, Parumveer Walia, and Casey Wei, five artists selected by a jury of arts professionals including Grace Deveney, David C. and Sarajean Ruttenberg Associate Curator of Photography and Media, Art Institute of Chicago; BC artist Brian Jungen, winner of 2002 Sobey Art Award and 2010 Gershon Iskowitz Prize; and Aram Moyashedi, Interim Chief Curator at The Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, and curator-in-residence at Museo Tamayo Arte Contemporáneo, Mexico City.

Finally, I’d like to acknowledge the evolution of the Gallery’s robust public programming, both in relation to our exhibitions as well as to the Gallery’s many communities. We saw growth in ongoing programs such as Kids First, Gallery School and Chester Fields as well the response to our popular Collage Parties and Deckchair Cinema, which returned in the summer and drew between 200 and 500 people each week. The Gallery hosted artist talks and film screenings as well as curated evenings such as Moon Gate in honour of Asian Heritage Month and Altar in celebration of the Day of the Dead. It was tremendously energizing to see the engagement of new audiences to these programs, and I congratulate our team on their successes.

Financial Highlights
Early in the year, the Gallery provided an update to City of North Vancouver Council on the Gallery’s post-pandemic recovery and current programming, together with the results of a visitor survey conducted over the summer of 2023. The survey showcased the tremendous economic impact of the Gallery on North Vancouver and the North Shore, and the tangible benefits the Gallery’s visitors provide its surrounding neighbourhood and community. A large percentage of the Gallery’s visitors were from beyond the North Shore, including over 25,000 visits to North Vancouver specifically for our programming.

On October 10, the Gallery held its fourth annual Mayor’s Gala, with net proceeds on the evening exceeding $300,000. The event has become a success story that contributes significantly to the Gallery not only as a fundraiser, but through relationships and community building.

Of note in 2024 was the growth The Polygon’s Endowment fund, bolstered by the donation from the Lind family, as well as a major investment from the Audain Foundation in support of the Audain Chief Curator. Buttressing this success is the Gallery’s eligibility for matching funds from the Federal Department of Canadian Heritage through the Endowment Incentive program, and with funds received in 2025, the Gallery’s endowment now stands at almost $5M, a resource that now contributes significant annual returns.

Like many cultural institutions, the Gallery faced challenges in 2024 that have persisted and grown, including escalating production costs for our exhibitions and programming, coupled with an economy under stress, and in which individuals are expressing caution with their spending commitments. Within this ecology, the Gallery saw significant growth in our fundraising and retail operations, particularly the ground floor retail shop, and I’m tremendously proud of the efforts of our team to realize this growth.

Acknowledgements
In 2024 we welcomed Catherine Dangerfield to The Polygon Board of Directors, and I want to express thanks to her and the entire Board for their contributions over the past year. I’m especially appreciative for the support and advocacy of Board Chair Kevin Hisko.

The Polygon has an exceptional staff. I’m grateful for the work of Associate Director Jessica Bouchard, and for her leadership of a team that has built an unparallelled base of support for the Gallery. My thanks to Faye Bednarczyk, Director of Sales and Corporate Partnerships; Carie Helm, Manager, Individual Giving and Membership; Andrea Jensen, Senior Development Manager; Chris MacKay, Head of Guest Services and Retail Operations; Marie Ng, Retail Buyer; Aesha Young, Guest Services Supervisor; and Rhonda Schultz, Office Coordinator, together with the entire Guest Services team.

The financial health of the Gallery is overseen with tremendous commitment by Molly O’Callaghan, Director of Finance, with support by the Gallery’s Board Treasurer Richard Mew.

2024 was the first full year of Monika Szewczyk’s work as Audain Chief Curator and she led a year of exceptional programming produced with a stellar curatorial team: Elliott Ramsey, Curator; Jen Sungshine, Outreach Curator; Serena Steel, Assistant Curator; Joelle Johnston, Indigenous Liaison; Jana Ghimire, Curatorial Assistant; Katrina Abad, Education Associate; and Jonathan Wells, Curatorial Associate for Books and Tours. Our programming work was supported diligently by Michael Mann, Marketing Manager and Ryan Smith, Graphic Designer.

In 2024 we restructured the Gallery’s production team, which is now led by Nomi Stricker, Director of Operations and Exhibitions. Heartfelt thanks to Nomi and Alex Haythorne, Head of Production; Geoff Gowe, Facilities Manager; Amandine Mineo, Registrar; Yeonoo Park, Lead Fabricator; and Branton Olfert, Production and Facilities Assistant. I’m grateful for the excellence of their work.

In closing, I want to express very deep gratitude to the members and supporters of The Polygon Gallery, for their belief in the mission of organization, for enabling our ambition, and for grounding us in values that define The Polygon, to be Curious, Bold, and Generous.

Reid Shier
Executive Director
The Polygon Gallery

Banner Image: Akeem Nermo.