Staff

Vanessa Black
Curator/Director (she/her)

Vanessa Black has worked at the Seymour Art Gallery since 2013 and was formerly the Gallery Assistant. In the past, Vanessa has volunteered teaching art to children though the Vancouver School Board, and volunteered with the Contemporary Art Society of Vancouver as a programming co-chair. Vanessa is an interdisciplinary artist with a focus in painting and received her Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from Emily Carr University of Art + Design in 2010.

Alessandra Sian
Gallery Assistant (she/her)

Alessandra Sian is a visual artist based in Vancouver, B.C. Her works are largely inspired by her Filipino background, her love for textiles, and an interest in languages and translation. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of British Columbia.

Janice Howell
Bookkeeper (she/her)

Janice is a qualified Bookkeeper, Corporate Secretary and a Trusts & Estates Practitioner. She lived and worked in Bermuda for 30 years as the Executive Assistant to the President of the Bank of Bermuda Limited.  She is also an experienced Stage Manager and enjoys working with First Impressions Theatre in Deep Cove.  Janice loves living in North Vancouver and delights in walking the trails with her very large dog, Virgil.

Board of Directors

Svetlana Bardos
Board President (she/her)

Svetlana Bardos’ original background is in restoration of historical structures in Europe and she holds an MS degree in Civil Engineering. She has always been passionate about visual arts and literature, and her primary interest is textile art. She collaborated with and designed costumes for various theatre groups for a period of about 15 years. After the completion of the Textile Art Program at Capilano University, she got deeply interested in puppet design, fabric design and creating one-of-a kind pieces of clothing. She enjoys experimenting with unusual materials and combines them with hand printed materials and found objects. Since the inception of the North Shore Theatre for Children in 2004 (Svetlana is one of the founders), she has been designing and creating puppets and costumes for all of the productions as well as writing lyrics and short poems. She loves the ambiance of Deep Cove and feels thrilled to be a part of the Seymour Art Gallery team.

Erian Baxter
Vice President (she/her)

Erian Baxter is a co-owner of Deep Cove Canoe and Kayak and Deep Cove Outdoors, with Bob Putnam and Ingrid Baxter. She lives in Deep Cove with her artist husband, Kevin Dubois and their three kids, who are also creative in many ways. Prior to being in the kayaking industry, Erian founded and ran The Block Clothing Store and Cappuccino bar on Cordova Street in Vancouver for 15 years, from 1984-1999, and is proud that The Block is still there now and has been  for over 30 years. Erian’s upbringing immersed her in the art world from the beginning – her parents Ingrid and Iain Baxter collaborated on the conceptual art project, N.E. Thing Co from 1966 -1978 – so Erian has been hanging around art galleries from her early days.

Sarah Cavanaugh
Member at Large (she/her)

Sarah holds 15+ years of experience in arts administration with a focus on curatorial, exhibition design and installation, presentation, planning, and education. She particularly relishes collaboration and relationship-based work. Her current role in Arts, Culture, and Engagement at the Vancouver Park Board centers community-engaged artistic practice; artists and community working, researching, and building art together. An avid gallery-goer, Sarah respects the role that the arts can play in deepening our conversations by encouraging us to learn about the experiences of others, and also to reflect on and share our own stories. 

Jodi Heinhorst
Gallery Shop Chair (she/her)

Jodi Heinhorst, BS (U of Illinois, Textiles/Marketing). Jodi is a jewellery artist with a career background in publishing sales and marketing, acquisitions, and editorial.

David Hudson
Treasurer (he/him)

David Hudson hails from Leeds, England where he qualified as a Chartered Accountant with KPMG before emigrating to Canada, he has worked in public practice with Ernst & Young and Deloitte’s in Vancouver before branching out on his own. David has run his own chartered accounting practice in Deep Cove since 1992. He acted as treasurer for Parkgate Community Services Society for 6 years from 2004. 

Janet Wang
Curatorial Chair (she/her)

Janet Wang is a visual artist and educator working within a traditional painting practice, integrated with sculptural installation practices and digital media. A second-generation settler of Chinese heritage, she is based in Vancouver, Canada, the unceded territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of British Columbia and her Master of Arts in Studio Practice from the University of Leeds in England.