Liliane Lê, Vice-President of Public Affairs and Marketing at the National Gallery of Canada (Ottawa, Canada) 

Fluently bilingual, Liliane has 20+ years of experience the cultural industries in Canada. Prior to joining the National Gallery of Canada in 2022, she worked for several cultural federal institutions including CBC/Radio-Canada, Telefilm Canada and Canadian Heritage. Key areas of expertise include public affairs, reputation and brand management, audience development and governance.

Originally from Montreal, Liliane holds a Bachelor of Social Sciences from uOttawa (1997) and certificates in European Studies from Sciences Po Grenoble (1994) and in Business Strategy and Financial Performance from INSEAD (2021). She currently serves on the Board of Directors of Ottawa Tourism and served on the board of the uOttawa Alumni Association (2011-2017).

Steven Loft, Vice-President – Indigenous Ways and Decolonization at the National Gallery of Canada

Steven is Kanien'kehá:ka (Mohawk) of the Six Nations of the Grand River with Jewish heritage. Before joining the National Gallery of Canada (NGC), he was Director of Strategic Initiatives for Indigenous Arts and Culture and formerly Director of the Arts and Cultures of First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples program with the Canada Council for the Arts. Loft also held leadership, curatorial and artistic director positions at the NGC, the Urban Shaman Gallery (Winnipeg), ImagineNative Festival (Toronto), Art Gallery of Hamilton and the Native Indian/Inuit Photographers’ Association (Hamilton).

In 2010, Loft was named Trudeau National Visiting Fellow at Ryerson University. He has curated group and solo exhibitions across Canada and internationally; written extensively for catalogues and arts publications, and lectured widely in Canada and internationally.

From Strategic Commitment to Contested Reality: Establishing an  Indigenous and Decolonization Department at the National Gallery

While the world was at crossroads, the National Gallery of Canada (NGC) took to the opportunity to respond to societal changes. As a national platform for Indigenous and Canadian visual artists, the NGC recognized the need to increase its spaces to underrepresented voices within its collections and programs. A key commitment of the 2021 Strategic Plan was the creation of the Indigenous Ways and Decolonization department.

Initially, the strategic plan was well received by a younger and more diverse public. However, following a change in leadership, some of our stakeholders including donors, government, members and former and current employees, began to actively campaign against the direction the NGC was taking. Mainstream media and cultural critics got involved.

The Gallery “didn’t care about art” any longer. What created this misunderstanding with stakeholders? This case study will try to unravel some of the issues behind the launch and implementation of the NGC’s 2021-2026 Strategic plan.