Committee member bios

Zainub Verjee is an accomplished leader in the art and culture sector who has shaped culture policy at all levels of governments and contributed to building of cultural institutions and organizations in Canada and internationally over four decades. She defies an easy classification: community organizer; artist and critic; prolific writer and speaker; institution builder; reformer and change agent; educator and mentor; and public policy and legislation developer.

Zainub was at the forefront of cultural politics in Canada during the1980s and 1990s as a writer, critic, curator, contemporary artist and public intellectual. A trailblazer, she was directly instrumental in the founding of In Visible Colours; B.C.Arts Council; Vancouver Asian Heritage Month; and the Racial Equity Office in Canada Council for the Arts. Zainub has developed policy initiatives, advanced vital interests of artists, and created spaces and access for artists across different disciplines in Canada.

She is currently the Executive Director of the Ontario Association of Art Galleries.