In honour of International Women’s Day, we wanted to highlight a few females in the Canadian art world who you should keep your eye on.  The visual arts have traditionally been an industry dominated by men, but more than ever before we find powerful ladies across the country in leading roles. Below are just a few young women whose names you should know as they have made, and continue to make, a strong impact in their field.
 
Jeanette Langmann
 

You can’t be seriously involved in the Canadian art market without being familiar with Jeanette Langmann. As the president of the Art Dealers Association of Canada, Jeanette divides her time between her gallery in Vancouver and her commitments to the Association in Toronto. She is also a board member of the Canadian Antique Dealers Association of Canada, an expert on CBC’s Canadian Antiques Roadshow and Vice-President of the South Granville Gallery Association. 
 
Jeanette has spent her life in the arts. She is the daughter of Uno Langmann, a respected authority on art and antiques in the Northwest and owner of Uno Langmann Limited. She is a second generation art dealer and appraiser at this gallery.
 
But don’t let all her accomplishments scare you off. Jeanette is one of the most warm and genuine people in the industry.
 
Christine Armstrong

 
As the Manager of Community Relations at Business for the Arts in Toronto, Christine Armstrong is one of the most well connected young women in the arts, and she’s not even a gallery owner, museum curator or artist! She approaches art from the outside in – and we love her for it!
 
Business for the Arts was founded in 1974 by a group of leading business CEOs in Canada to encourage strong relationships between business and the arts in order to strengthen our cultural institutions, support our artists and improve quality of life for all. Christine is busy building this relationship through the artScene, artsVest, artsPitch and boardLink programs.
 
If you are an art lover looking to get involved with the arts, Christine is your woman.
 
Powell MacDougall

 

Powell MacDougall is definitely a name to watch as her fresh approach to the gallery system offers a needed change. She founded p|m Gallery in 2004, which continues to showcase work by emerging and mid-career artists, allowing recognition on an international level through solid programming, exhibition exchanges, and participation in international art fairs.

p|m Gallery represents a diverse group of artists whose work in a variety of media set them apart from their contemporaries. Powell’s art fair programming is also well recognized: the gallery has developed a reputation for pushing the boundaries of conventional art fair offerings. We are especially excited about her upcoming exhibition of paintings by Amanda Reeves, who received an Honorable Mention in the RBC Canadian Painting Competition 2008.

Powell was also elected Secretary of the Art Dealers Association of Canada in 2010.
 
Rebecca Brewer

 
Vancouver-based artist Rebecca Brewer is the name on everyone’s lips after winning last year’s RBC Canadian Painting Competition and taking home $25,000 for her oil-on-panel work entitled Beuys painting. She is apparently using the money to move into a studio of Canadian ex-pats in Brooklyn’s Sunset Park.
 
Like so many winners of this prestigious award, Brewer is an Emily Carr University of Art + Design alumni. Currently an MFA student at New York’s Bard College, Rebecca divides her time between Brooklyn and Vancouver, where she was raised.
 
Though Rebecca is now most known for her paintings, she is actually a multidisciplinary. She exhibited her work in Vancouver in Reoccurence: Serial Motifs at Unit Pitt Projects in 2010, Take Your Time at SFU Gallery and in The Unreal at Gallery Atsui. She is mounting a new project at Exercise, a Vancouver artist project space, this spring – go check it out!