Emily Hope appointed Executive Director
The Kamloops Art Gallery is very pleased to announce the appointment of Emily Hope as our Executive Director. Emily brings extensive experience and passion for community building, arts education, and leadership to the position.
Emily has worked with the Kamloops Art Gallery for 13 years, serving as the Education and Public Programs Director from 2014 to 2024 and the Interim Executive Director since January 2025. Throughout her tenure, Emily has transformed education and community engagement at the Gallery, centring equity, accessibility, and the development of long-term community collaborations.
“After an extensive national search that attracted candidates from across the country, we ultimately found the right person was already leading from within,” said Richard Marken, Board President of the Kamloops Art Gallery. “Emily has shown exceptional dedication and steady leadership throughout her time as Interim Executive Director. Her deep understanding of the Gallery, her integrity, and her commitment to both our mission and our community make her the ideal choice to guide the Kamloops Art Gallery into its next chapter.”
Emily is an arts leader, educator, and artist of British-Lebanese settler ancestry. Since 2007, she has lived and worked in Secwepemcúl’ecw on the unceded territories of the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc. She is a volunteer board member with the Kamloops Centre for the Arts Society, Kamloops Museum and Archives Community Outreach Committee, and the newly formed Caribbean Society of Kamloops.
“I am honoured that the staff, Board, and community were so supportive of me in the interim role and thrilled to have been selected to continue as the permanent Executive Director,” said Emily. “The Kamloops Art Gallery team is truly remarkable, and it is a tremendous privilege to serve alongside them.”
“Art is for everybody,” said Emily. “This simple sentence is the foundation of my philosophy. It has fuelled my work as an arts educator and will continue to inform and guide my leadership as Executive Director.”
“In this period of social, political, and financial instability,” she continued, “we need art more than ever. Through art, we can develop understanding—of ourselves, each other, and of viewpoints that conflict with our own. We build social resilience and community. We learn how to have difficult conversations. The Kamloops Art Gallery plays a vital role in this ecosystem.”
Photo: John Diep