Monday, October 16, 2017
Forest City Gallery is pleased to announce Matthew Kyba as its new Gallery Director. Kyba’s curatorial interests centre on experimental programming, as well as fostering collaborative and critical dialogue between artists and communities. This ethos is seen in Kyba’s most recent work as a co-founder of Toronto’s Bunker 2, a nomadic contemporary art space that emphasizes artistic agency by supporting creative autonomy and experimental research. Kyba is well-versed in artist-run culture, beginning his career as a volunteer for Kingston’s Modern Fuel Artist Run Centre and becoming its New Media Workspace Coordinator in 2012. In this position, Kyba oversaw Modern Fuel’s High Octane Video Residency and the highly attended Square Pegs V Festival. His interest in new media and video practice has continued into a recent curatorial partnership with Toronto’s Charles Street Video. Here, Kyba developed programming for an extensive CSV retrospective project, and oversaw exhibition planning for a travelling CSV exhibition. Kyba will be stepping down from his Managerial role at Toronto’s Loop Gallery where, alongside extensive administrative work, he developed outreach programs to expand Loop’s membership base.
The Board of Forest City Gallery (FCG) is excited by the prospect of partnering with Kyba at this stage of his professional career. Responding to the rich history of artistic production in the Southern Ontario region, FCG is committed to extending the discourse between established and experimental art forms. FCG represents artists of all disciplines and career levels, and focuses on fostering emergent artists and practices. With his impressive curatorial and administrative experience, his enthusiasm for critical artist-run programming, and his connections to Toronto’s most experimental arts communities, Kyba’s hire represents an exciting new phase for both FCG and London’s arts community. For his part, Kyba cites FCG’s “tremendous success in facilitating cultural programming, enriching artistic autonomy, and exemplifying the experimental spirit of non-profit gallery institutions” as a draw to both the gallery and the region. One of the oldest artist-run organizations in Canada, FCG is founded on artistic autonomy and committed to programming exhibitions and events that reflect and address recent developments in cultural production. Having benefitted from five years of stability and growth under the passionate direction of Jenna Faye Powell, FCG looks forward to continuing its mandate to foster and support contemporary art amongst local, regional, and international arts communities.
For more information: Ruth Skinner Forest City Gallery, Board President board@forestcitygallery.com