WAG-Qaumajuq Announces Nawang Tsomo Kinkar as TD Curatorial Fellow

Tsomo Kinkar joins the Gallery as part of a two-year agreement with TD Bank Group

Winnipeg, Manitoba, August 15, 2024: The Winnipeg Art Gallery (WAG)-Qaumajuq is pleased to welcome Nawang Tsomo Kinkar as the new TD Curatorial Fellow thanks to support from TD Bank Group, through the TD Ready Commitment. The two-year agreement creates space specifically for an emerging racialized curator to cultivate personal curatorial methodologies, and collaborate on exhibition development, collections research, programming, and community relationship-building.

Nawang Tsomo Kinkar is a curator, writer, and researcher of Tibetan descent. Born as part of the exile community in Kathmandu (Nepal), she is also an immigrant and settler from Toronto where she completed her undergraduate studies in Art History, English, and Book and Media Studies at the University of Toronto. She holds a Master of Arts in Photography Preservation and Collection Management from Toronto Metropolitan University and has worked on projects at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection (Venice), Canadian Centre for Architecture (Montreal), The Image Centre (Toronto), and the Royal Ontario Museum (Toronto). Kinkar recently completed a 12-month international program at the Museum of Modern Art (New York).

Kinkar wrote her master’s thesis during her residency at the Royal Ontario Museum on a collection of early 20th century British colonial photographs of the Indian Himalayan region and Tibet. Her research interests include histories of photography, contemporary art, displacement and diaspora studies, and global Indigenous movements. Her writing can be found in Herizons Magazine, Public Parking, Peripheral Review, and rarara.

Through a reciprocal mentorship model, Kinkar will engage and collaborate with artists, WAG-Qaumajuq staff, and other arts professionals. She will connect with local, national, and international communities to achieve a major curatorial project.

Quick Facts:

• WAG-Qaumajuq is pleased to welcome Nawang Tsomo Kinkar as the new TD Curatorial Fellow thanks to support from TD Bank Group through the TD Ready Commitment.
• The two-year agreement with TD Bank Group creates space specifically for an emerging, racialized curator to cultivate personal curatorial methodologies, and collaborate on exhibition development, collections research, programming, and community relationship-building.
• Kinkar is an emerging curator, writer, and researcher of Tibetan descent, who immigrated to Canada where she completed her undergraduate and Master degrees.
• Kinkar has worked with the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Canadian Centre for Architecture, The Image Centre, the Royal Ontario Museum, and most recently completed a 12-month international program at the Museum of Modern Art.
• Kinkar’s research interests include histories of photography, contemporary art, displacement and diaspora studies, and global Indigenous movements.

Quotes:

“We are thrilled to welcome Nawang Tsomo Kinkar as the TD Curatorial Fellow. This program aligns perfectly with our mission to use art for change. By supporting the growth and development of new talent, we are fostering a diverse and inclusive environment that encourages fresh ideas and community building. We are grateful to TD for making this position possible. It is an important step on our shared journey towards dismantling historically-endorsed systems of prejudice to ensure safe and welcoming spaces for everyone.”

— Stephen Borys, Director & CEO, WAG-Qaumajuq

“From all of us at TD, I’d like to congratulate Nawang on her appointment and can’t wait to see the incredible work she’ll share with the Winnipeg community over the course of her fellowship. Through the TD Ready Commitment, our corporate citizenship platform, we’re supporting programs focused on helping emerging artists and professionals facing barriers in the music, arts and culture sector.”

— Nicole Beaton, Vice President and Region Head, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Northern Ontario, TD Bank Group

“I am very excited to join WAG-Qaumajuq, an institution whose efforts towards Indigenizing the museum space is particularly noteworthy. I am grateful for the opportunity to learn and contribute to the Gallery in my new role as TD Curatorial Fellow. I am also looking forward to my first winter in Winnipeg!”

— Nawang Tsomo Kinkar, TD Curatorial Fellow at WAG-Qaumajuq

Support

We thank TD Bank Group, through the TD Ready Commitment for their support of this position.

Associated Links

TD Ready Commitment Gives $200,000 for Curatorial Fellowship at WAG-Qaumajuq
WAG-Qaumajuq journey towards equity, decolonization and reconciliation

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For more information or to arrange interviews, please contact:

Katryna Barske
Public Relations Officer
Winnipeg Art Gallery
204.789.1295
kbarske@wag.ca

About Winnipeg Art Gallery (WAG)-Qaumajuq
The Winnipeg Art Gallery (WAG)-Qaumajuq is a cultural advocate using art as a catalyst for change. The Gallery features an impressive collection of over 27,000 artworks spanning centuries, cultures, and media, including the largest public collection of contemporary Inuit art in the world. Each piece has its own story to tell. Sharing these stories with the world is at the core of WAG-Qaumajuq. This is an engaging, accessible space where visitors can experience art and learning in new ways. Principles of equity, care, trust, and responsibility guide the institution towards meaningful impact and transformation. To learn more, visit wag.ca.

The Toronto-Dominion Bank and its subsidiaries are collectively known as TD Bank Group (“TD” or the “Bank”). TD is the sixth largest bank in North America by assets and serves over 27.5 million customers in four key businesses operating in a number of locations in financial centres around the globe: Canadian Personal and Commercial Banking, including TD Canada Trust and TD Auto Finance Canada; U.S. Retail, including TD Bank, America’s Most Convenient Bank®, TD Auto Finance U.S., TD Wealth (U.S.), and an investment in The Charles Schwab Corporation; Wealth Management and Insurance, including TD Wealth (Canada), TD Direct Investing, and TD Insurance; and Wholesale Banking, including TD Securities and TD Cowen. TD also ranks among the world’s leading online financial services firms, with more than 16 million active online and mobile customers. TD had $1.96 trillion in assets on October 31, 2023. The Toronto-Dominion Bank trades under the symbol “TD” on the Toronto and New York Stock Exchanges.

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