Vancouver Art Gallery Names Eva Respini and Sirish Rao Permanent Co-Chief Executives
On 28 September, the board of the Vancouver Art Gallery announced Eva Respini and Sirish Rao as co-chief executives, officially establishing a shared leadership that commenced in March 2025. They took over from Anthony Kiendl, who departed after a five-year tenure to head the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver. Kiendl's exit followed the abandonment of an expensive construction project, leading to a C$60m deficit and approximately 30 job cuts. Jon Stovell, the board chair, highlighted that the new leaders have improved financial stability and enhanced community relationships. Respini, who joined in August 2023, previously worked at the Institute of Contemporary Art Boston, while Rao, who started in January 2023, has promoted initiatives such as the PaRx prescription program and the Centre for Global Asias.
Key facts
- The Vancouver Art Gallery board announced Eva Respini and Sirish Rao as co-chief executives on 28 September
- The dual leadership model had been in place as a temporary measure since March 2025
- Former chief executive Anthony Kiendl stepped down after a five-year term and later led the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver
- The gallery had spent C$60m ($42m) on a cancelled building project initiated by predecessor Kathleen Bartels
- A large deficit led to the layoff of around 30 employees
- Respini continues as chief curator and previously worked at the Institute of Contemporary Art Boston and the Museum of Modern Art in New York
- Respini's acquisitions include works by Nan Goldin and Stephen Shore and 122 works from the Brigitte and Henning Freybe collection
- Rao also serves as executive director and introduced the BC Parks Foundation's PaRx prescription programme
Entities
Artists
- Eva Respini
- Sirish Rao
- Anthony Kiendl
- Kathleen Bartels
- Jon Stovell
- Firelei Baez
- Nan Goldin
- Stephen Shore
- Brigitte Freybe
- Henning Freybe
Institutions
- Vancouver Art Gallery
- Museum of Contemporary Art Denver
- Institute of Contemporary Art Boston
- Museum of Modern Art
- Tara Books
- Indian Summer Festival
- BC Parks Foundation
- Centre for Global Asias
- Vancouver Art Gallery Association
- Vancouver Art Gallery Association Board of Trustees
- Governance and People Committee
Locations
- Vancouver
- Canada
- Denver
- United States
- Boston
- New York
- Chennai
- India