Art, Institutions, and the Present Tense

Legendary museum director and curator David Ross, in conversation with accomplished curator, writer, and artist Emelie Chhangur, the current director of the Agnes Etherington Art Centre at Queen’s University. David and Emelie share a passion for their work and the fundamental importance of art in the human experience. Please join us for a night of food, drink, and conversation.

David Ross

Former director of the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, David Ross is an educator and singer/songwriter living in Beacon, New York. He currently teaches at The School of Visual Arts Manhattan and performs with the Breakneck Ridge Revue.

Emelie Chhangur

Emelie Chhangur has had a significant curatorial career at the Art Gallery of York University (AGYU) in Toronto, where she led the reorientation of AGYU to become a civic, community-facing, ethical space driven by social process and intersectional collaboration, as well as founded its residency program. Chhangur most recently served as AGYU’s Interim Director and Senior Curator.

Over the past twenty years, Chhangur has emerged as a leading voice for experimental curatorial practice in Canada and is celebrated nationally and internationally for her process-based, participatory approach to curating. She is also highly regarded for her commissioning of complex works across all media and the creation of long-term collaborative projects that are performatively staged within and outside the gallery context.