In her final year as Carleton University Art Gallery (CUAG) director, things haven’t been slowing down for Diana Nemiroff.
She was named one of the recipients for the 2012 Governor General Award in Visual and Media Arts — one of the most prestigious art award in Canada.
The awards were announced Feb. 28, but Nemiroff said she had known about her win since October. The award comes right on the heels of Nemiroff’s lifetime achievement award from the Ontario Association of Art Galleries in October.
“Playfully, I ask myself if this is a sign that I’m about to disappear or something,” said Nemiroff, who will be retiring this June. “It’s very nice to go out on a high note.”
Governor General David Johnston will present Nemiroff and other award recipients $25,000 and a special medallion March 28 at Rideau Hall.
Other winners this year include visual artist Jana Sterbak, whose work appeared in the National Gallery of Canada (NGC) thanks to Nemiroff.
Nemiroff worked as the contemporary curator there from 1990 to 2005. Her work at the NGC built her reputation as a “star curator.” There, she introduced several exhibitions that stirred up their share of controversy.
One of those exhibitions was Sterbak’s Vanitas: Flesh Dress for an Albino Anorectic. One of the dresses in the exhibition was made entirely of meat, which is perhaps what inspired Lady Gaga’s attire at the 2010 MTV Movie Awards. Nemiroff said she valued the provocative nature of the piece and still does.
“When things are new, they can often seem very unsettling and even disturbing,” Nemiroff said. “If you’re too careful about not making a mistake, you’re likely to miss out on the works that in the longer term turn out to be the most meaningful.”
If a curator is too cautious, they don’t have the nerve to make important choices, Nemiroff said.
CUAG curator Sandra Dyck said she recalls Nemiroff telling her that art was her religion. Since coming to the gallery in 2005, Nemiroff has helped put the gallery on more stable footing and digitized the gallery’s entire 27, 000-piece collection. She’s also an adjunct professor at both Carleton and the University of Ottawa and has been published extensively.
Dyck said anyone can be inspired by Nemiroff’s passion and dedication.
“Whatever field you’re in, whether it be history or psychology or engineering or computer science or whatever, you have to love it,” Dyck said. “I think when you love it, you do well in it. I think [Nemiroff] really truly loves it from the depth of her soul and being.”
