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Director’s Report

I’m proud to share the accomplishments of The Polygon Gallery in 2022: the strides our organization has made in building an inclusive culture for its staff, and the mandate we have forged with a twinned commitment to generosity and criticality for our audiences. In the aftermath of several challenging years, 2022 was a time of tremendous maturation during which The Polygon’s profile and impact continued to crystallize, reflecting the dedication and passion of our hard-working staff and our expand- ing community of supporters—including the Gallery’s Board of Directors, to whom I owe deep thanks.

The Polygon’s work in 2022 is reflected in a renewed Strategic Plan for 2023–2025, which was developed over the year and reflects input from both staff and board. The process was shep- herded by Pauline Hadley-Beauregard and Karen Nishi and was guided by Ta7talíya Nahanee and her company Nahanee Creative, who helped to initiate and ground our work, and who acted as witness during our inaugural sessions. I’m grateful to each of them for their dedication, and for the significant contributions of my colleagues Jessica Bouchard, Molly O’Callaghan, and Faye Bednarczyk, as well as for the input of the Strategic Planning Committee, including Kevin Shoemaker, Liz Magor, Dee Dhaliwal, Kathleen Butt, and Lindsay Bailey.

The new Strategic Plan revises and focuses The Gallery’s mandate to speak succinctly of the organization’s DNA—built through a long, storied history as Presentation House Gallery—while pointing to the vision, potential, and growing agency of the Gallery as a major public cultural facility for the region:

Grounded in photography, The Polygon Gallery creates space to challenge how we see the world.

Supporting the mandate, the Strategic Plan also simplifies and strengthens three core values: The Polygon strives to be Curious, Bold, and Generous, in all that we do. These values personify the culture of The Polygon, both internally for our staff and volunteers, and publicly for all those who are enriched by the Gallery’s programming. These values are in turn supported by three main pillars of the new plan:

• to nurture a generous culture where everyone feels welcome

• to prioritize bold, unexpected programming, and

• to open doors for conversations with new and existing audiences.

It is gratifying to reflect on the work and culture of The Polygon Gallery through these three pillars over the past five years, and to articulate them now as the foundation of our plan to lead the organization forward.

These pillars were strongly reflected in 2022’s exhibition program and in our public outreach, which included a richer and more consistent array of films, talks, lectures, and perfor- mances, and that are outlined in detail on pages 26 to 33. I’m grateful for the incredible work of Curator Elliott Ramsey, for his leadership in helping to shape this program, and
for shouldering new responsibilities over the year, as well the efforts of our inaugural TD Curatorial Fellow Oluwasayo (Sayo) Taiwo Olowo-Ake, who led the amazing growth of the Gallery’s public programs. My thanks to Marketing Manager Michael Mann for initiating the popular outdoor movie nights, Deckchair Cinema, and to Jana Ghimire, who capably shepherded our youth programs, including Chester Fields and Kids First. I want to express deep gratitude to Nicole Brabant, through whose commitment and care our Response program has grown immeasurably, and for her mentorship of Serena Steel, who takes on leading the program in 2023. We were also delighted to announce Joelle Johnston as the Gallery’s first Indigenous Liaison and Community Outreach Coordinator late in the year, and look forward to the work she will be steering for the Gallery.

The 2022 Lind Prize was the seventh iteration of the prize, which is awarded annually to an emerging BC–based artist working in the mediums of film, photography, or video. I express very sincere congratulations to winner Simranpreet Anand; to runners-up Aaron Leon and Katayoon Yousefbigloo; and to shortlisted artists Wei Chen, Sidney Gordon, Natasha Katedralis, and Jake Kimble. My thanks, too, to the Lind Prize jury: Emmy Lee Wall, Richard Hill, and Samuel Roy-Bois.

All the exhibitions and programs at the Gallery are supported by an amazing installation team, and I want to express my appreciation and best wishes to Paul Kuranko (who left The Polygon at the end of the year), Nomi Stricker, and Brock Mayer. I also want to express my deep gratitude to Diane Evans for the quiet leadership she has provided The Polygon and Presentation House Gallery for over thirty-five years.

I’m very grateful to everyone at The Polygon for supporting my work in 2022 as Curator of Stan Douglas’s representation of Canada at the Venice Biennale of Art. It was a career high- light to assist Stan in realizing such an ambitious accomplishment, and to see it received with such critical acclaim. I’m indebted to the staff of The National Gallery of Canada, who commissioned Stan’s work, and want to express deep thanks and congratulations to Stan for his collegiality, support, and inspirational vision.

Having entered the year cautiously, with prevailing uncertainty and a dynamic economic climate, The Polygon ended 2022 in a very strong financial position. Over the year, we were privileged to see numerous fundraising successes and robust earned revenues that surpassed projections, and we ended the year with a sizable surplus. While a large portion of the surplus was owing to Capital Campaign pledge payments—which were used to pay down the Gallery’s loan balance—the Gallery was still positioned to set aside funds at the end of the year for an internally restricted capital reserve fund, which will be added to annually.

2022 is the first year the Gallery’s operating budget exceeded $5 million.I want to thank Molly O’Callaghan for her leadership overseeing The Polygon’s finances this past year, and Kathleen Butt for her final year of oversight of the Finance Committee.

I also want to express my thanks to Jessica Bouchard and her entire team, including Faye Bednarczyk, Andrea Jensen, and Carie Helm, for their extraordinary work in 2022, and for an unparalleled fundraising and membership program. My thanks to Jessica Walker for her work in leading a venue rental program that brought in more than double the anticipated budget during the year, and to Asia Harvey, who oversaw the growth and maturity of our retail program. We
are also gifted with a talented guest services team, and I want to thank them all, as well as Rhonda Schultz and Grace Le, for their work in leading such a generous and welcoming culture at the Gallery.

The prudence, professionalism, and ambition of The Polygon’s team are to be fully commended as we work toward our goals in 2023.

Reid Shier Director