BIO

Matthew Teitelbaum
Director and CEO
Art Gallery of Ontario

Matthew Teitelbaum joined the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) in 1993 as Chief Curator and in 1998, became its fifth Director and CEO, with a vision to transform the Gallery into an imaginative centre that fully reflects and enhances its surrounding community. During this time, the Gallery’s holdings have grown, its audience broadened, and its global reputation strengthened. Under Teitelbaum’s leadership, the AGO completed a $306 million transformation in 2008, realized by Toronto-born architect Frank Gehry. Transformation AGO, supported by both the community and the leadership gift of Ken Thomson and his family, resulted in increased and interconnected art viewing space and more than 3,000 works added to the Gallery’s permanent collection. With new galleries for contemporary, historical European and Canadian art developed, the AGO continues to cultivate new strategies to engage its diverse and growing audiences. The Weston Family Learning Centre, a hub for community creativity and learning, opened in 2011 and serves as a gathering place for hands-on and online exploration of the creative process.  Both projects were developed to reflect the AGO’s mission by connecting people with art in new and innovative ways and emphasizing creativity and the imagination. Prior to joining the AGO, Teitelbaum held curatorial positions with the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston; the Mendel Art Gallery, Saskatoon and the London Regional Art Gallery in London, Ontario. Born in Toronto, he holds an honours bachelor of arts in Canadian history from Carleton University, a master of philosophy in modern European painting and sculpture from the Courtauld Institute of Art, and an honorary Doctor of Laws from Queen’s University. He has taught at Harvard, York University and the University of Western Ontario, and has lectured internationally. In 2006, Teitelbaum received the honour of Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres by the French government for his ongoing commitment and contributions to the arts. In 2008 he received the RCA medal from the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts for his outstanding contribution to the development of the visual arts in Canada. In addition, in 2009 he was awarded the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art (MOCCA) Award for arts leadership, as well as the Canadian Centre for Diversity’s Human Relations Award.Teitelbaum is actively involved in national, North American and international visual arts organizations and is a past president of the Association of Art Museum Directors. He is also a member of the Canadian Art Museum Directors’ Organization and The Bizot Group of International Directors. He and his wife Susan have two sons.