Art gallery of mississauga
Staff
ANNA GULBINSKI – EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Anna completed 30 years of service as an executive manager and senior human resources professional with the Ontario Public Service and received an Ovation Award for her contribution to Transgender Policy Development. Anna has been extensively involved in the governance of numerous non profit, community, sports and Polish cultural organizations. A former dancer and later Director of the White Eagle Song and Dance Group, Secretary with the International Folk Arts Council and Committee member with the Polish Canadian Congress – Royal Ontario Museum Heritage Days and the Canada 150 Project. She is currently the Executive Director of the Mississauga Polish Days Festival at Celebration Square, Secretary for Polcham Canada, and President of the Erindale Lions Little League Baseball Association where she has been a Board member for almost 20 years. Anna previously served as School Council Chair (both Elementary and High School) for 16 years. Anna has lived in Mississauga for 32 years and is the proud mother of 2 sons.
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SHANNON ANDERSON – SENIOR CURATOR
Shannon Anderson comes to the Art Gallery of Mississauga with more than twenty years of professional experience in curating, writing, and collections management. In her independent curatorial practice, she has developed exhibitions for galleries across the country, including the Owens Art Gallery in Sackville, Musée d’art de Joliette, Oakville Galleries. Over the years, Shannon has worked with the AGM in various capacities, including as guest curator of the touring group exhibition (Da Bao) (Takeout), co-curated with Doug Lewis, and as a guest writer for the AGM publication Beyond the Pines.
Shannon has also written for various art publications, including Art Papers, Azure, Border Crossings, Canadian Art, C Magazine, Carousel, and EyeMazing Amsterdam, and she has provided editing and writing services to many galleries and arts organizations. For the past seven years, Shannon has also served as the Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital Art Council’s first Art Curator, where she has helped to establish a role for art in a healthcare setting. This has included the development of year-long group exhibitions of contemporary art throughout its public spaces, with works by Kim Adams, Douglas Coupland, Soheila Esfahani, Tazeen Qayyum, Denyse Thomasos, Jeff Thomas, Gu Xiong, and Xiaojing Yan, among many others.
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HELEN HARRIS – GALLERY OPERATIONS MANAGER
Helen is an experienced Gallery Operations Manager with a BA in Economics and a Certificate in Human Resources. For over six years she was an invaluable member of the team at the Mississauga Arts Council as the Events Producer and Membership Coordinator. While she was a stay-at-home mom raising her 3 children she also ran the family Landscape and Construction business for more than 30 years. As an enthusiastic volunteer she worked with Girl Guides of Canada as a leader and administrator for 19 years, volunteered with the School Council, at Church and with the hockey and soccer as team mom and team trainer. These experiences gave her opportunities to camp regularly and travel internationally. Helen has lived in Mississauga for 32 years.
JENNIFER POLO – COMMUNITY ACTIVATOR – EDUCATION PROGRAMS
Jennifer Polo is an experienced Arts Educator who has been creating art programs for children, adults, and seniors in schools and social service organizations across Toronto and Peel Region since 2003. As Lead Artist in the Royal Conservatory’s Living Through the Arts Program she participated in several research projects, including Smart Aging Study (2013) and Smart Kids (2012), which studied the impact of visual arts training on cognition and behavior. She was also instrumental in developing a pilot project for the Arts Rehab Project at Bridgepoint Health Centre (2016) to help seniors in their recovery. As Community Activator at Baycrest Geriatric Centre she brought together seniors and teenagers to create paintings that told stories about their lives in a program called Learning from Our Elders (2012). She has been a Gallery Guide at the Art Gallery of Ontario since 2018 where she encourages visitors to look mindfully at the artworks and wonder about the possible meanings intended by the artists. Her passion for art led her to pursue a graduate degree in Art History at York University (2020) where she worked with Dr. Anna Hudson to discover the ways in which Quebec artist Françoise Sullivan incorporated movement in her abstract painting. In her spare time Jennifer loves to paint, travel, visit galleries and walk in nature.
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CHRISTINA MOSS – COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR
Christina is an experienced professional with an extensive background in broadcasting. With over 15 years of experience in unscripted television, she has developed a deep understanding of the industry’s dynamics and storytelling techniques. Additionally, her 8+ years of dedicated work for non-profit organizations have given her a comprehensive understanding of their inner workings, including the grant process and programming. Christina thrives on her passion for creativity and problem-solving, constantly seeking innovative solutions to challenges. She takes great pleasure in actively supporting her community and making a positive impact through her work. Bringing creativity, art, and usefulness to those to encourage well-being and self-empowerment.
ZARAH KHAN – VOLUNTEER AND EVENTS COORDINATOR
Zarah has been with the Art Gallery since 2019. She is also a full-time Ph.D. student at the Women and Gender Studies Institute at the University of Toronto, where her research focuses on memory cultures, architecture, and cultural theory. She also holds a Master of Arts degree in Gender Studies and Feminist Research and Bachelor degrees in Art History, English Literature, and Cultural Studies. In the past, she has worked on archiving art work and personal memorabilia relating to the Air India Bombing of 1985. She has also worked in communications and marketing at York University’s English Language Institute where she helped manage the Institute’s transition to remote learning. Drawing on this diverse set of experiences, she most enjoys putting together events such as weekly film nights and working directly with student interns and volunteers to implement community based programming at the AGM.
COLEEN MARIANO – VOLUNTEER/EVENTS COORDINATOR
Coleen Mariano obtained an Honours Bachelor of Arts Degree at the University of Toronto and Sheridan College Advanced Diploma in Art and Art History. She also obtained an Art Fundamentals Certificate at Sheridan College. Coleen has previous volunteer experiences working with children and youth at the University of Toronto community action project and volunteered as a note-taker in Accessibility Services at the University of Toronto Mississauga. Her previous work experience was as a first- & second-year drawing teacher assistant at Sheridan College, including her prior curatorial experience as a public programmer in the Art & Art History Graduating Exhibition at the University of Toronto Mississauga. Coleen first held an internship position at the Art Gallery of Mississauga while working as a receptionist/visitor service at the Hazel:100 Years of Memories Exhibition. Currently, Coleen is working as the Art Gallery of Mississauga’s volunteer and events coordinator.
MUSHA NELUHENI – TD PROGRAMMING CURATOR
Musha Neluheni is an artist and curator from Johannesburg, South Africa. She held the position of Contemporary Curator and Acting Chief Curator at the Johannesburg Art Gallery. She was co-curator of the South African Pavilion of the 57th Venice Biennale. She served on the Standard Bank Art Committee and the Theme Panel for the South African Mint. Her exhibition There is Only Light, and Shadow won best curated show at the 2016 Turbine Art Fair. She holds a BFA from Rhodes University. She has written for several publications including online forum The Archival Platform.