School of Art Gallery welcomes Derek Dunlop as new Director/Curator

Derek Dunlop joins the Gallery with an established career as an artist, curator, educator, and art historian. His interdisciplinary practice and research bring an engaged, wide-ranging approach to the position, supporting the Gallery’s commitment to research-driven exhibitions, artistic inquiry, and meaningful public engagement. 

Reflecting on his appointment, Dunlop points to the Gallery’s unique position within both the School of Art and the broader university. “I was drawn to the School of Art Gallery because of its position at the intersection of studio practice, art history, and critical theory within a major research university,” he says. “That combination creates the conditions for programming that is intellectually rigorous while remaining closely connected to making, teaching, and public conversation.” 

Established in 1965 as Gallery One One One, the School of Art Gallery has a long history of supporting contemporary and historical art through exhibitions, collections, and research. Since 2012, it has occupied the threshold of ARTlab, spanning 3,200 square feet across the ground floor and serving as the literal foundation for the School of Art’s studios, classrooms, and lecture halls above. With three exhibition spaces, a significant permanent collection focused on Manitoban, Canadian, and Indigenous art, and the FitzGerald Study Centre Collection devoted to Lionel LeMoine FitzGerald and his contemporaries, the Gallery places exhibition practice at the core of teaching and learning. 

Dunlop completed his PhD in Art History at the University of Toronto, where his dissertation examined how contemporary ecological and artistic practices in settler-colonial North America continue to be shaped by the aesthetic legacies of Romanticism. His scholarly and creative work engages questions of place, abstraction, identity, and material process—interests that align closely with the Gallery’s research and collection development. 

Based in Winnipeg, Dunlop has contributed to the city’s unique arts ecosystem through leadership roles in artist-run culture, working across programming, operations, and curatorial development. His artwork has been exhibited in Canada and the United States, including at the Drawing Center (New York), the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Center (Los Angeles), Artspeak (Vancouver), Martha Street Studio (Winnipeg), and the Art Gallery of Southwestern Manitoba (Brandon). 

“My background across artist-run centres, academic research, teaching, and administration has shaped my commitment to collaborative work grounded in place,” he explains. “I have a long-standing interest in local art history and in developing exhibitions that showcase the permanent collection in ways that connect past and present generations of artists, while also supporting emerging artists and curators.” 

A dedicated educator, Dunlop has taught art history at the School of Art and recently led a graduate-level Curatorial Practicum at the University of Winnipeg. This experience continues to inform his approach to the Gallery as an active site of learning. “As part of a research university, the Gallery can support teaching directly,” he says. “It can function as an extension of the classroom and studio, and as a space for learning through encounter and dialogue.” 

Looking ahead, Dunlop envisions the School of Art Gallery as both a welcoming public space and a platform for critical engagement. “I want the Gallery to feel welcoming, where people are comfortable spending time and can see themselves reflected in its programs and spaces,” he says. “That sense of openness is essential to meaningful engagement.” 

His curatorial vision emphasizes exhibitions that place local artistic practices in conversation with broader art-historical and contemporary frameworks, while recognizing the multiple artistic genealogies shaping creative work in Manitoba. “In a moment that feels uncertain, there is real value in historicizing the local scene,” Dunlop reflects. “It allows us to think about how artistic practices respond to different contemporary conditions, and how those responses continue to evolve.”   

Collaboration will be central to the Gallery’s next chapter. “I’m excited about the potential for collaboration across the University and with artists and cultural workers throughout Manitoba, and beyond,” he says. “This includes working with other galleries, artist-run centres, Indigenous cultural spaces, and museums.” 

Please join us in welcoming Derek Dunlop as he begins his role as Director/Curator of the School of Art Gallery at the University of Manitoba. We look forward to the leadership, insight, and the collaborative spirit he will bring to this next chapter.