Glenbow’s President & CEO Nicholas Bell was recently honoured with the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal. This commemorative medal serves to honour significant contributions and achievements of Albertans and was a way for Alberta to honour Her Majesty.
Nicholas had this to say:
“I was very surprised to receive a letter notifying me that I was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee medal. I’m still trying to process that—it was totally unexpected. I think it is exciting for the whole museum because it is recognition that what we’re doing here is being noticed by the community that we’re meant to serve.
At the same time, I don’t think I can accept this except on behalf of our entire team here at the museum because there are dozens of people around me that get out of bed every day trying to understand how we can reinvent the museum for the 21st century and serve one of the most diverse and vibrant cities in this country. And it’s thrilling and humbling to work alongside them to try and make that possible. So, thank you for your faith in us—we look forward to continuing to work with everyone who comes to the table and says they want to participate. And remember that we have a lot of work left ahead of us. And in the meantime, we are very grateful. Thank you.”
Nicholas joined Glenbow in 2019 after several years successfully spearheading major strategic changes at museums in the eastern United States. Originally from Vancouver, he is also an author and editor of over ten books on art, museums and contemporary culture.
Glenbow’s building, programming and approaches are all being transformed to reflect the needs of our community. We know our shared future will be brighter when we make arts and culture experiences accessible, sustainable and community focused.
The awarding of this medal highlights both Nicholas’s exceptional work, his leadership in bringing that vision to life at Glenbow, and his exceptional advancement of arts and culture experiences in Canada.
