Visual Arts Nova Scotia is pleased to announce their new Executive Director: Benny Welter-Nolan.  After a lengthy search, the VANS Board of Directors has hired Benny, who will start as the ED in July.

Benny Welter-Nolan is a professional artist and administrator based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, the unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq people. Of settler ancestry, they were raised in Peterborough, Ontario, territory of the Mississauga Ojibway of Curve Lake First Nation (Treaty 20 and Williams treaties).

After receiving their BFA from NSCAD University in 2011, Benny worked at Visual Arts Nova Scotia as the Programming Coordinator until 2015. They have since worked as the Administrative Coordinator at Saint Mary’s University Art Gallery and the Centre for Craft Nova Scotia. They are currently a co-director of Hermes Artist-Cooperative and has served on the boards of NSCAD University, Eyelevel Gallery, and the Halifax Crafters Society. Benny’s work has been shown at Eyelevel Gallery, the Peterborough Art Gallery, the Anna Leonowens Gallery, Hermes, White Rabbit Open Air Artist Residency, the Centre for Art Tapes and has been supported by grants from Arts Nova Scotia and the Canada Council for the Arts.

In addition to a new Executive Director, VANS also welcomes three new Board Members: Olivia Ball, Julian Covey and Frankie Macaulay. For more information on the Board of Directors, please visit the VANS website.