TORONTO, June 3, 2003 -- Philip Monk has been appointed as Director and Curator of the Art Gallery of York University (AGYU). A respected curator, prolific writer and member of Toronto’s art community, Mr. Monk has served as curator of the Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery at Harbourfront Centre in Toronto for the past nine years.
"Philip Monk will be a tremendous asset to York University’s art gallery and to the university," said Sheila Embleton, York's vice-president academic. "His renowned leadership in contemporary art and widespread influence within the art community in Toronto and internationally will help make the Gallery a prime venue for artistic expression and dialogue in the region."
Prior to his tenure at the Power Plant, Mr. Monk served as curator of contemporary Canadian art at the Art Gallery of Ontario from 1985 to 1993. While at the Power Plant, he was responsible for forging close links with the Toronto art community through innovative exhibitions of alternative histories of the arts in Toronto. Notable exhibitions have included Beauty #2, Picturing the Toronto Art Community: the Queen Street Years, and Substitute City. Mr. Monk also enhanced the Power Plant’s international reputation with such exhibitions as The American Trip, Mike Kelley and Paul McCarthy, Double-Cross: The Hollywood Films of Douglas Gordon.
"I am delighted to have the opportunity to reinvent myself as the director of the AGYU, an impressive gallery with enormous potential." said Mr. Monk. "I want to bring the AGYU downtown and downtown to AGYU by revitalizing the association with the Toronto art community and to create partnerships within the York University community."
The Art Gallery of York University features some of the best contemporary art produced in Canada and internationally. An indispensable academic resource for students at the university, the AGYU is an important cultural centre in Toronto. Since 1989 the Art Gallery of York University has worked with a number of artists whose first exhibitions in Canada took place at the gallery, and has played a crucial role in promoting Canadian art abroad. Mr. Monk will assume his new role at the AGYU in August.
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For further information, please contact:
| Ken Turriff |
| Media Relations |
| York University |
| 416-736-2100, ext. 22086 |
| kturriff@yorku.ca |
YU/055/03
