Scott McLeod
IKT Board Application
What specific skills, expertise, or perspectives do you believe you would bring to the IKT Board?
As a curator, my entire career has been spent in the non-profit, charitable, arts and cultural sector, so I understand very well the joys – and the challenges – of governing arts organizations. As the director and curator of Prefix Institute of Contemporary Art in Toronto, I’ve had to wear many hats, including those of strategic planner, fund developer, financial manager, and marketer and promoter. I recognize that IKT, as a member-driven organization, relies on membership dues as its primary revenue stream. Accordingly, the financial sustainability of our organization is inextricably linked to the ongoing maintenance of our membership base. Therefore, the importance of maintaining solid relationships with past, present and future members can’t be overstated. As the longstanding publisher of an art magazine, I’m well acquainted with the systems and structures for maintaining a subscriber base, which may be easily transferred to a membership base.
Since our membership is made up of both institutional and independent curators, I believe that it’s important to recognize that the needs of institutional and independent curators are not necessarily or always the same. How, then, do we ensure that our programmes and services cater to our current membership? How do we define our identity as an organization, and distinguish ourselves from other similar organizations? And how do we effectively communicate our identity to prospective new members?
At this critical juncture wherein IKT is emerging from the aftermath of the pandemic with its concomitant disruptions to our standard norms and procedures, I see not a liability but a golden opportunity. As in many other organizations, sectors and countries, we may question the way we have done things in the past and ask how we might do better in the future. As we begin to describe ourselves as a global organization, one which is committed to equity and inclusion, we may take proactive steps to ensure that this is not mere rhetoric but is reflected in the reality of our organization. In the words of a past board member, we could “grow political teeth,” and in so doing, we could find ourselves at the forefront of the discourse that is driving the curating of contemporary art today.
Having recently marked (with little fanfare) our fiftieth anniversary, it’s time to articulate the current vision for our organization and to invite past members to rejoin us in the celebration of this vision, while we expand the scope of our reach and influence in order to welcome more new members.
What motivated you to apply for a position on the IKT Board, and what do you hope to achieve or contribute if selected?
This year marks my twentieth as an IKT member, and so I’ve taken this moment to reflect upon my past experience within the organization.
Having attended more congresses than not, having availed myself of our broad network of professional peers throughout the world, and having developed many collegial relationships and friendships, I’m highly conscious of the fact that I’ve been the beneficiary of the efforts of many other members who’ve come before me and have created for me what has always been a satisfying, rewarding and enriching experience. In the past, I’ve often had the desire to contribute to IKT at a deeper level, but quite simply, as a Canadian curator resident in Toronto, it wasn’t previously viable to attend quarterly meetings in Europe. With the advent of virtual meetings, this has now changed.
Were I elected to the board, I would be the first curator, resident in Canada, to serve in this capacity in the organization’s fifty-year history. While my professional network is global, I’m especially close to my colleagues in North, Central and South America, and, as such, I’m well positioned to expand membership in the Americas.
I’ve chosen to run for the board knowing that I’m fully able to commit my time, energy and enthusiasm to IKT at this time. Thank you for your kind consideration of my candidacy. It would be an honour to serve you.