The Contemporary Art Gallery announces the appointment of Matthew Hyland as Executive Director
Matthew Hyland. Image courtesy of Laura Findlay
Following a global search process, the Contemporary Art Gallery (CAG) is pleased to announce the appointment of Matthew Hyland as our new Executive Director, effective March 16, 2020. Matthew is currently Director/Curator at Oakville Galleries in Ontario. He will succeed former Executive Director Nigel Prince, who led CAG for nine years, prior to his move in September 2019 to lead Artes Mundi in the UK.
Throughout his career, Matthew has demonstrated a commitment to artistic excellence, transformational leadership, and institution building. Having first joined Oakville Galleries in 2007 as Assistant Curator, Matthew was appointed to the director’s post in 2009. Over the past ten years, he has led the organization through a period of landmark strategic and artistic growth, one that reinvigorated Oakville Galleries’ artistic profile on the national and international stage while dramatically increasing its operating budget, significantly expanding the reach of its public and educational engagement, and attracting a broad range of new donors, funders and partners.
Matthew also brings a wealth of experience working closely with contemporary artists, executing ambitious solo projects at Oakville Galleries in recent years with Nadia Belerique, Valérie Blass, Sara Cwynar, Laurie Kang, Gabriel Kuri, Tau Lewis, Sojourner Truth Parsons, and Judith Scott, amongst others, realized in partnership with an impressive range of local, national and international partners. For the past several years, Matthew’s primary focus has been a soon-to-be-announced capital transformation for Oakville Galleries, one that will see its operations relocated into an iconic 30,000 square-foot heritage building in central Oakville.
“I’m thrilled to be joining CAG at such an auspicious moment in its institutional history,” Matthew said. “Leading the organization through this next, significant chapter of its development will be both a formidable task and an exciting one. I look forward to working closely with artists, audiences and CAG’s Board and staff team to imagine what comes next for the organization.”
“The CAG Board of Directors is delighted to welcome Matthew as the new Executive Director at this exciting moment,” said Jan Ballard, Vice President of the CAG Board of Directors. “Matthew brings visionary leadership and a deep commitment to contemporary art.”
Approaching its 50th anniversary in 2021, CAG is poised at an exciting moment in its evolution, and we are delighted that Matthew will join us at this critical time, to build on our successful legacy and continue to define a future-facing vision and direction for the organization that will ensure its wider growth and reach for generations to come.