Fellows of the CMA

Presented by CMA Fellows, Robin Inglis (chair) and Victoria Dickenson

Being named a Fellow of the CMA is the highest honour that the Association can bestow upon a member. The first Fellows were named fifty-three years ago in 1969. Dr. McMaster is the 79th member to be so honoured.

Gerald McMaster

Dr. McMaster is Plains Cree from the Red Pheasant Cree Nation and a citizen of the Siksika Nation. He currently holds the Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Visual Culture and Curatorial Practice and is Director of Wapatah Centre for Indigenous Visual Knowledge at OCAD University in Toronto.

He was engaged in 1981 as Curator of Contemporary Indian Art at the then Canadian Museum of Civilization (CMC), where he was responsible for the development of the First Peoples Hall. This experience prepared him for his work on inaugural exhibitions and programmes for the National Museum of the American Indian at the Smithsonian. Returning to Canada in 2005, he worked until 2012 as Curator, Canadian Art at the Art Gallery of Ontario, again undertaking a major project, the re-installation of the Gallery’s Canadian wing, which acknowledged the long history of Indigenous art in Canada. After leaving the AGO in 2012, he continued to work as an independent curator and advisor to museums in Australia, Europe, and North America, and most recently as Adjunct Curator at the Remai Modern in Saskatoon. He has also represented Canada as the Canadian Commissioner to the XLVI 1995 Biennale in Venice, and to the 18th Biennale of Sydney in 2012.

Gerald’s grounded and thoughtful observations, shared with his colleagues in meetings, conferences, and through his writing and exemplary exhibitions, have changed the way the museum community collects, preserves, and exhibits the works of Indigenous artists. Nika Collison has written how Gerald’s “incredible, tireless work … has enlightened, benefitted and inspired us all. It is beyond wonderful to see your hard vision, hard work and scholarship, and the way in which you do this work, honoured.”