Daina Augaitis

Daina Augaitis
Born	(1953-03-10)March 10, 1953
Nationality	Canadian
Education	BES in Honours Geography from theUniversity of Waterloo,Ontario; Curatorial Studies,Emily Carr University of Art and Design,Vancouver, British Columbia; BFA in the Studio Program atNova Scotia College of Art and Design,Halifax
Known for	curator of contemporary art
Awards	Hnatyshyn Prize

Daina Augaitisis a Canadian curator whose work focuses oncontemporary art.From 1996 to 2017, she was the chief curator and associate director of theVancouver Art Galleryin British Columbia.

Career

Augaitis received a BES in Honours Geography from theUniversity of Waterloo,Ontario; then took Curatorial Studies atEmily Carr University of Art and Design,Vancouver, British Columbia and a BFA in the Studio Program atNova Scotia College of Art and Design,Halifax.In the early 1980s, she worked at the Franklin Furnace in New York (1982); the Convertible Showroom, Vancouver (1984-1986); and theWestern Front Societyin Vancouver (1983-1986) where in 1986 she co-curatedLuminous Sites,a Vancouver-wide project of Canadian video installations. While at TheBanff Centre for the Arts,Banff (1986-1995) she activated the Walter Phillips Gallery's publishing program, producing books such asSound by ArtistsandRadio Rethink,curated art projects and exhibitions and organized residencies for visual artists and curators.From 1996 to 2017, she worked at the Vancouver Art Gallery as Chief Curator/ Associate Director,then, whenKathleen Bartelsleft, served as Interim Director until a new director was appointed in 2020.She is today Chief Curator Emerita at the Vancouver Art Gallery and an Independent Curator.

She created exhibitions showcasing the work of Canadian artists includingRebecca Belmore,Douglas Coupland,Stan Douglas,Brian Jungen,Ian Wallace,Paul Wong,Ben Reevesand international artistsAntoni Muntadas,Song DongandYang Fudong.In 2014, her exhibitionDouglas Coupland: everywhere is anywhere is anything is everythingpresented the firstretrospectiveof Coupland's visual art. She was awarded theHnatyshyn Foundation Visual Arts Awardin 2014 for curatorial excellence in contemporary art, with that exhibition garnering special mention.Augaitis' 2012 retrospectiveMuntadas: Entre/Betweenwas exhibited at theMuseo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía,theGulbenkian Museum,andJeu de Paume.Augaitis has been a proponent of First Nations art at the Vancouver Art Gallery, organizing exhibitions of both contemporary and historic First Nations art, includingRaven Travelling: two centuries of Haida art(2006) andEdenshaw (2012).Her catalogues and essays on these exhibitions have made significant contributions to the scholarship on Canadian indigenous art.She also contributed to the growth of the collection.

Awards

• Emily Award,Emily Carr University of Art and Design,2000.
• Hnatyshyn Foundation Visual Arts Awards,2014.
• Alvin Balkind Curator's Prize, 2023;

Selected bibliography

• Douglas, Stan, and Daina Augaitis. 2002.Journey into fear.Vancouver: Vancouver Art Gallery.
• Jungen, Brian, and Daina Augaitis. 2005.Brian Jungen.Vancouver, B.C.: Vancouver Art Gallery.
• Augaitis, Daina. 2006.Raven travelling: two centuries of Haida art.Vancouver: Vancouver Art Gallery.
• Augaitis, Daina, and Kathleen Ritter. 2008.Rebecca Belmore: rising to the occasion.Vancouver: Vancouver Art Gallery.
• Muntadas, and Daina Augaitis. 2011.Muntadas: entre = [Muntadas]: between.Madrid: Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía.
• Wallace, Ian, Daina Augaitis, and Grant Arnold. 2012.Ian Wallace: at the intersection of painting and photography.London: Black Dog Pub.
• Augaitis, Daina, Douglas Coupland, Sara Doris, Bjarke Ingels, and Hans Ulrich Obrist. 2014.Douglas Coupland:everywhere is anywhere is anything is everything; exhibition schedule: Vancouver Art Gallery, May 31 to September 1, 2014; Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art, Toronto, January 30 - April 18, 2015;Royal Ontario Museum,ROM Contemporary Culture, Toronto, January 30 - April 26, 2015.London: Black Dog Publishing.