Bernie Riordon has been hired to work with the New Brunswick Museum's Board and serve in the role of Transitional CEO. (Submitted by NB Museum)
A familiar face from the art community in the Maritimes has been tapped to lead the New Brunswick Museum in a transitional capacity.
Bernie Riordon has been named transitional CEO for the NB Museum and will be working with its board and the Department of Tourism, Heritage and Culture to maintain its collection and also look to address some of the museum’s long-standing facilities issues.
Riordon, born in Bathurst, is already well-known across Canada as a former director of the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia and most recently led the Beaverbrook Art Gallery and its expansion in Fredericton.
The New Brunswick Museum’s last full-time CEO, Bill Hicks, announced his retirement from the role in January. In his consideration of the job, Riordon says he saw an opportunity to move the museum forward.
“Being this long in the museum world, it’s in my DNA,” said Riordon in an interview. “I just can’t stop being involved in museums and when this opportunity came forward, I saw a need of course to move this museum forward and with the great traditions it has, great collections and great staff, I thought the opportunity was a good one and it will be the last chapter in my book,” he added.
Riordon was given the Order of Canada in 2002 and has authored more than 50 books and publications on art in both New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.
He was announced to the post on Tuesday by the province and Tourism, Heritage and Culture Minister Tammy Scott-Wallace, fittingly the same day as International Museums Day.
Space And Facilities Issues
Currently, the New Brunswick Museum is operating between its two main facilities: its Collections and Research Centre at 277 Douglas Ave. in Saint John, which is owned by the province; and the Exhibition Centre at Market Square in Saint John, which is leased from the private sector.
Space restraints also see the museum factoring in temporary off-site storage for its remaining collection, something Riordon says he’ll be helping find a long-term solution for.
“Primarily to solve the facilities issue, there are problems with the facility that need to be fixed,” said Riordon.
In order to do that, and in addition to working with the museum’s board, Riordon says he’ll also be responsible for leading a major national capital campaign and look for support from various levels of government and the private sector to raise money to address the long term space needs for the museum’s facilities.
While Riordon didn’t elaborate with any specifics, he noted the premier and Scott-Wallace were supportive in getting to some sort of solution for future space for the museum where its collections could be housed in one setting.
A push for a new facility seemed to be paying off for the museum into late 2018, with momentum building from long-time community discussion around such a project over two decades.
The conversation stalled after the Higgs government pulled $50-million in funding for at the time was a new combined New Brunswick Museum space proposed for the Saint John waterfront, a move that frustrated the museum’s board of directors who claimed they were not consulted before the funding promise was dropped.
Already slowed by COVID-19 restrictions, the museum’s Market Square Exhibition in uptown Saint John has long seen issues with roof leaks and water damage, the last of which closed the museum to the public for a stretch last fall to clean up and repair following heavy rainfall over the October Thanksgiving long weekend.
