Eva Respini and Sirish Rao have been confirmed as permanent co‑chief executive officers of the Vancouver Art Gallery, ending an 18‑month interim period. The joint appointment blends artistic direction with operational oversight, a structure more common in performing arts than in large visual‑arts institutions.

Respini arrives from a curatorial career that includes a senior role at the Museum of Modern Art, taking charge of artistic priorities and the stalled capital project for a new building. Rao brings a background in publishing and South‑Asian cultural initiatives, handling finance, operations and the gallery’s Art of Wellbeing Lab and Centre for Global Asias.

The dual‑CEO model allows the two leaders to overlap on fundraising and programming, blurring the traditional divide between artistic and executive directors. While still uncommon for Canadian galleries, similar arrangements are appearing elsewhere, signalling a shift toward more collaborative governance.

The gallery faces significant headwinds: attendance and revenue have hit a 15‑year low, prompting a 30 % staff reduction, and the ambitious courthouse‑tower redevelopment has been trimmed to a three‑storey building due to a $600 million price tag. Formline Architecture + Urbanism and KPMB are now tasked with a more modest, Canadian‑focused design.

Under the new leadership the collection is being made more publicly accessible, with the third floor dedicated to permanent works and the first floor hosting "That Green Ideal: Emily Carr and the Idea of Nature", the museum’s largest solo show of the B.C. painter in over twenty years. Plans are already afoot for an international tour of the Carr works, extending the gallery’s reach beyond Vancouver.

Both Respini and Rao see the institution as a forum for addressing today’s big questions, urging museums to become nimbler and more entrepreneurial. Their shared vision aims to stabilize the present while steering the gallery toward a sustainable future.

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