For Kate

For Kate will provide a special window on the artistic vision and professional life of Kate Davis, former Director of the MacKenzie Art Gallery, who passed away on October 21, 2010 following a short illness. Through a selection of artworks acquired during her twelve-year tenure at the MacKenzie, a picture emerges of her many close relationships with artists and of the central place of contemporary art in her vision for public galleries.

In 1997, Kate became Director of the MacKenzie Art Gallery, and for the next twelve years she transformed the MacKenzie into one of the nation’s foremost centres for contemporary art. Her management placed emphasis on the concepts of excellence, accessibility, and sustainability. There were many milestones in Kate’s tenure. She led the field by hiring the first Aboriginal senior curator at any major public art gallery in Canada. Kate attracted world-class exhibitions to Regina such as theImpressionist Masterworks from the National Gallery of Canada, and Andy Warhol: Larger than Life from the Winnipeg Art Gallery and the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh. In 2008 Kate oversaw the production of Joe Fafard, co-organized by the National Gallery of Canada and the MacKenzie Art Gallery. Kate’s focus on making the Gallery accessible to non-traditional audiences fostered programs such as the Urban Outreach Program that continues to bring artist-led programs for youth into the inner-city and on to reserves. She truly “widened the circle” and thereby asserted the relevancy of the MacKenzie for all the people of Saskatchewan.

Donations in memory of Kate may be made to the MacKenzie Art Gallery Contemporary Art Acquisitions Fund by contacting Jessica at 584-4259.

A permanent collection exhibition organized by the MacKenzie Art Gallery with the support of the Canada Council for the Arts, the Saskatchewan Arts Board and the City of Regina Arts Advisory Committee.

Image: Wanda Koop. Sightline (Shoreline with Red Line), 2001, acrylic on canvas, 124.5 x 246.4 cm. Collection of the MacKenzie Art Gallery, gift of Wanda Koop.