Notice Board

Art NOW featuring Dr. Anne Dymond

March 11 | 12pm | University Recital Hall
Free admission, all are welcome!

From a Communist Doctor to Madonna's Cone Bra: Museums and Cultural Diplomacy in Troubled Times:
Why, in the middle of the Cold War, would the Canadian government create a museum at the birthplace of the relatively unknown Canadian communist Norman Bethune? Why would a Montreal art gallery develop and tour exhibitions of French fashion designer Jean Paul Gaultier? Dr. Anne Dymond explores the mobilization of Canada’s art and museums for political purposes, starting with Canada’s engagement with China in the early 1970s. Her lively presentation of fascinating objects reveals how in troubled times, art and museums can act as bridges that connect us across challenging divides.

About the Speaker:
Anne Dymond (PhD, Queen's) is Chair of the Department of Art and has worked at the University of Lethbridge since 2000. A dedicated teacher, she has been a Board of Governors Teaching Chair and currently serves on the University's Board of Governors. Her book Diversity Counts: Gender, Race, and Representation in Canadian Art Galleries is the first large-scale quantitative assessment of gender and ethnicity in Canadian art galleries and was described as “a path-breaking study and an invaluable contribution to our understanding of the contemporary art scene in Canada”. In 2024, she was a Distinguished Woman Scholar at the University of Victoria. An editor at Canada’s preeminent art history journal, RACAR, she was recently awarded for her service to the Universities Art Association of Canada.  Her ongoing work supporting the University's refugee program, WUSC, garnered her both the University’s Senate Volunteer Award and the YWCA Woman of Distinction Award.