#126 Failing Up

March 21, 2016

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CANADALAND

#126 Failing Up

Jeff Melanson was the Canadian arts & culture institution’s golden boy, a “rock star arts administrator,” feted by the press and given prestigious positions at Canada’s top art institutions. Then he made a mess during his tenure at the Banff Centre, and has since been accused by his estranged wife of all sorts of professional misconduct. What is happening at these institutions, and do we reward failure in Canada? David Silcox was the Globe & Mail’s art critic, president of Sotheby’s Canada, Arts Officer of the Canada Council, and author of several books about Canadian art. CORRECTION: Jesse misstates that Marsha Lederman’s profile of Melanson ran in 2012, when in fact it ran in 2014.

Jeff Melanson was the Canadian arts & culture institution’s golden boy, a “rock star arts administrator,” feted by the press and given prestigious positions at Canada’s top art institutions. Then he made a mess during his tenure at the Banff Centre, and has since been accused by his estranged wife of all sorts of professional misconduct. What is happening at these institutions, and do we reward failure in Canada?

David Silcox was the Globe & Mail’s art critic, president of Sotheby’s Canada, Arts Officer of the Canada Council, and author of several books about Canadian art.

CORRECTION: Jesse misstates that Marsha Lederman’s profile of Melanson ran in 2012, when in fact it ran in 2014.

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