Emelie Chhangur

Emelie Chhangur is a leading voice for experimental curatorial practice in Canada, known for her process-based, social-engaged and participatory methodologies, the commissioning of complex artworks across all media, and the creation of long-term collaborative projects performatively staged within and outside of gallery contexts. Dedicated to questioning the social and civic role of the public institutions of art, Chhangur has developed a curatorially-engaged approach to working across cultural, aesthetic, and social differences through a practice she calls “in-reach.” From 2003-2020 she worked at AGYU, where she led the reorientation of the gallery as a civic, community-facing space driven by intersectional collaboration and founded its artist residency program. 

Chhangur has curated over 150 exhibitions and special projects, produced over 25 publications, and won over 30 awards in curating, public programming, education, and writing, as well as in 2019, OAAG’s inaugural BIPOC Changemaker Award and in 2020, the Hnatyshyn Foundation Award for Curatorial Excellence. She is currently Director/Curator of Agnes Etherington Art Centre, where she collaborates with the architectural practice of KPMB to envision new museum architectures through a community-engaged design process for Agnes Reimagined.