Vancouver Art Gallery appoints Jillian Christmas as inaugural poet-in-residence
Award-winning Afro-Caribbean-Canadian multidisciplinary artist has previously worked with the Vancouver Writers Fest and Verses Festival of Words
Jillian Christmas. Photo by K. Ho Photography
THE VANCOUVER ART GALLERY has just announced queer Afro-Caribbean-Canadian multidisciplinary artist Jillian Christmas as its first-ever poet-in-residence.
The acclaimed poet, writer, educator, activist, and curator is set to work alongside the gallery’s Department of Public Engagement & Learning in her new role, which will entail extending gallery programming and elevating conversations with the public.
“We are honoured and excited to welcome Jillian Christmas as the gallery’s first poet-in-residence,” says Anthony Kiendl, the Vancouver Art Gallery’s CEO and executive director, in a press statement today. “Her unique approach and interpretation of art through the lens of poetry will inspire vibrant conversations and engagement, adding a new layer of depth and understanding to our exhibits and enhancing our shared understanding of what an art gallery can be.”
Christmas became the first Canadian finalist of the Women of the World Poetry Slam in 2015 with the presentation of her slam poem “Black Feminist”, which was later published in her debut collection, The Gospel of Breaking, in 2020. She has previously assumed roles with the Vancouver Writers Fest as spoken-word curator, and with the Verses Festival of Words as artistic director.
The Gospel of Breaking by Jillian Christmas.
Christmas’s work often draws upon themes of family, heritage, and identity. She received the League of Canadian Poets’s Sheri-D Wilson Golden Beret Award for spoken-word poetry in 2021, along with the Dayne Ogilvie Prize for LGBTQ2S+ Canadian writers.
Her residency at the Vancouver Art Gallery, called Toward Delight, will see Christmas undertake thoughtful public engagement as she creates space for community reflection, conversation, and imagination. Her work will enhance the meaning of the gallery’s pieces while uplifting the visitors who get to witness them.
“Poetry has always been a conduit for shared understanding and a mirror reflecting our collective experiences,” says the artist in a release. “In this space, I look forward to engaging with gallery exhibits and visitors to drive meaningful reflections and conversations and harness the power of words to illuminate, to question, and to celebrate.”
Christmas will host a program at the gallery titled “A Day of Delight” on February 16. Her residency began on November 1, 2023, and will continue through to this spring.
More details are at www.vanartgallery.bc.ca.
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