Vancouver Art Gallery announces departure of CEO Anthony Kiendl [Video]

The Vancouver Art Gallery (VAG) says it is parting ways with its CEO and executive director, Anthony Kiendl.

Its board of trustees made the announcement Tuesday, saying Kiendl is “leaving the Gallery to pursue other professional and personal interests.”

Kiendl had been with the VAG since August 2020 and helped the gallery navigate the COVID-19 pandemic.

VAG board chair Jon Stovell told CBC News he can’t share specific details of discussions with Kiendl, but that the gallery is shifting gears to a different version of its capital project — a new space for VAG being built at the corner of Cambie and West Georgia streets — and that Kiendl had other things he wanted to pursue.

“It just seemed like a suitable time to amicably go in different directions,” Stovell said.

He said the gallery is in no rush to find a replacement for Kiendl.

Its deputy director and director …