About Glenbow

Community-Centred Approaches

We strive to create a welcoming space that fosters a sense of belonging for all, while honouring the Indigenous lands we operate on through engagement and ongoing work to decolonize museum practices. We look to our communities for guidance in developing our services, and we believe in giving back by ensuring accessibility to art, objects, and belongings.

Risk-Taking & Innovation

We challenge the status quo, embrace risks, and welcome failure as a path to growth. We foster creativity to deliver innovative experiences. We encourage our team to take new paths to continue developing internal cultures of innovation.

Fun & Playfulness

We value the spirit of fun and recognize that it means different things to different people. We strive to create experiences where everyone can enjoy and explore the playful side of art.

Collaboration

We work collaboratively and value the opinions, thoughts, and ideas of others within our Glenbow teams, other organizations, and the communities we serve.

Being a Relative

Courage & Active Participation

We take action to lay new paths to understanding and dismantling colonial systems, recognizing this work requires strength, care, and courage. We imagine new ways of being and question historic museum practices created by dominant voices. This requires courage to forge new paths and acknowledge historic wrongdoings.

Learning & Unlearning

Glenbow was founded in an era when museum ambitions were inseparable from a Eurocentric, colonialist worldview. We acknowledge our historical context and complexities and commit to adopting best practices that actively address colonialism in our work. We are dedicated to challenging and reimagining how museums operate. Throughout this journey, we will remain transparent, inviting open dialogue and encouraging conversations with our visitors and the broader public to continue learning.

Ethical Stewardship

We honour the rights and interests of the communities whose belongings we steward. By engaging with these communities, we ensure culturally appropriate best practices in our operations and programming. We are committed to ethical stewardship in resource sharing, donor relations, and the care of collections.

Quality

We strive to provide the best quality of care, experiences, and programs. Our values guide us in upholding the highest standards of excellence and care.

Integrity

We hold ourselves accountable to the community and to each other. We seek to make responsible decisions and understand the impacts those decisions have for our communities through active engagement and continued reflection.