The Board of Directors of Oakville Galleries is pleased to announce Matthew Hyland has been named Director of the Galleries effective immediately.
 
“After almost a year of serving as the Interim Director, our Board is excited to announce that Matthew Hyland has been named our new Director. We look forward to continuing to build on our many recent accomplishments through Matthew’s leadership,” stated Tom Dutton, President of Oakville Galleries’ Board of Directors. “His superior organizational planning and human resource capabilities along with his enthusiasm for local and national art scenes will be incredible assets in his new position. These are important and exciting times for Oakville Galleries and Matthew will be a strong leader, guiding us towards a very bright future for the organization.”

In accepting his new position, Matthew commented, “I am thrilled to continue working with the Board and staff of Oakville Galleries in the capacity of Director. Oakville Galleries is an institution I am especially proud to lead; I look forward to what lies ahead for us as an organization.”

Born in Toronto and raised in Stratford, Ontario, Matthew earned a degree in Women’s Studies at York University and undertook graduate work in Cultural Studies at the University of Victoria. Matthew has held positions with the Canadian Filmmakers Distribution Centre, where he coordinated the acquisition of artists’ film and video; and the City of Toronto, where he led a broad-based slate of culture-based community development initiatives.

Matthew joined the staff at Oakville Galleries in 2006, most recently holding the position of Assistant Curator and Registrar.  Since February 2009, Matthew also served as the Galleries’ Interim Director. 

Matthew has curated such exhibitions as Mnemonic Devices and Deirdre Logue: Beyond Her Usual Limits (Oakville Galleries, 2008) and Life on Venus (Vtape, 2009). He will continue to actively contribute to the Galleries’ curatorial programming in his new position, including an upcoming survey of contemporary feminist work addressing the uncanny.

Matthew was nominated for the 2009 Lorenzo Bonaldi Art Prize, an award for international curators under 30.