EMBASSY CULTURAL HOUSE
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Melanie Townsend (1968 - 2018)

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"The Embassy Cultural House, 1983-1990". Exhibition catalogue. Curator, Robert McKaskell. Writers, Michael Baker, Robert McKaskell, Rebecca Diederichs. Editor, Melanie Townsend. Museum London, 2012.
​Melanie Townsend was born and raised in Windsor, Ontario. She graduated from the University of Western Ontario and continued her education at the University of Windsor, obtaining an M.A. in History. While pursuing her undergraduate studies, she had the opportunity to work as a Collections Assistant at the Museum Windsor, (formerly the Windsor Community Museum). Five years later, she joined the Art Gallery of Windsor as its Curatorial Assistant/Coordinator and went on to be a Curator at the Walter Phillips Gallery in Banff, Alberta. There, she became well-known within the national and international arts communities. In 2001, she partnered with the Plug Institute of Contemporary Art in Winnipeg for the 49th Venice Biennale, which showcased the works of Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller. Throughout her career, Townsend was an avid supporter of both the arts and her arts colleagues. She mentored emerging professionals, and university student interns, in each of her workplaces, encouraging them through her example of hard work, creativity, and a sense of humour. From early on, in Banff, she worked alongside indigenous curators, recognizing the need to collaborate with First Nations artists, colleagues, and students.  
 
Melanie returned to southwestern Ontario in 2004 to Museum London as Curator of Contemporary Art. The following year she became Head of Exhibitions and Collections. She held this position for 14 years where she developed popular and highly creative exhibitions that supported local history. Some of her best known exhibitions, at Museum London, include: Garry Neill Kennedy: Superstar Shadow (2006); Wyn Geleynse: A Man Trying to Explain Pictures (2006); Gardens of a Colonial Present: Ron Benner (2008); Jamelie Hassan: At the Far Edge of Words (2009); Kim Adams: One for the Road (2013); Kim Ondaatje (2013); and Colette Urban: Incognito (2014). She won several OAAG Awards, including Exhibition of the Year prizes, in 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2014, and 2015. Melanie Townsend wrote and edited widely within the field of museology and curatorial studies. She also led staff to develop award-winning exhibition catalogues that researched and celebrated the work of Jamelie Hassan, Jack Chambers, Jane Buyers, James Lahey, and many others.  
 
In 2013, Townsend, as editor, contributed a lively and informative foreword and introduction to the Embassy Cultural House catalogue and exhibit at Museum London, which was curated by her former colleague and mentor, Dr. Bob McKaskell. Her engaging style and warmth, as well as her love for local history, was evident in this project for Museum London.  
 
Sadly, Melanie Townsend passed away in December 2018, survived by her husband, Troy, and son Declan. To honour her passion and dedication to curatorial scholarship, her husband set up an award to assist students who demonstrate exceptional dedication to the fields of curation and museum studies.   

Selected published work



EDITORIAL TEAM

ONLINE FOUNDER
Tariq Hassan Gordon

COFOUNDERS & CURATORIAL ADVISORS 
 
Jamelie Hassan 
& Ron Benner

ADVISORY CIRCLE
Samer Abdelnour, Marnie Fleming, Wyn Geleynse, Fern Helfand, S F Ho, Lorraine Klaasen, Judith Rodger, Ruth Skinner, Mary Lou and Dan Smoke,  and Lucas Stenning 

COORDINATING EDITORS
Tariq Hassan Gordon & 
Olivia Mossuto

WEB DESIGN & SOCIAL MEDIA 
Tariq Hassan Gordon, Ira Kazi, Olivia Mossuto, Niloufar Salimi,  JoAnna Weil 

VIRTUAL TOUR
Andreas Buchwaldt

PRINT PUBLICATIONS
Blessy Augustine, Shelley Kopp, 
Olivia Mossuto

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS
Andreas Buchwaldt, Blessy Augustine, Anahí González, Ira Kazi, ​Shelley Kopp, Ashar Mobeen, Niloufar Salimi,  Jenna Rose Sands, JoAnna Weil & Michelle Wilson. 

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OUR STORY
Artists Jamelie Hassan and Ron Benner and jazz musician Eric Stach founded the Embassy Cultural House (1983-1990) located in the restaurant portion of the Embassy Hotel at 732 Dundas Street in East London. Other former members of the board were: Debrann Eastabrook, Henry Eastabrook, Sharron Forrest, Wyn Geleynse, Janice Gurney, Jean Hay (1929 - 2008), Doug Mitchell, Kim Moodie, Gerard Pas, Peter Rist, Wanda Sawicki, Jean Spence and Jennie White. In 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Embassy Cultural House was re-envisioned as a virtual artist-run space and website. 

This project is supported by the Ontario Arts Council and the London Arts Council through the City of London's Community Arts Investment Program.
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Thank you to our partners

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E M B A S S Y  C U L T U R A L  H O U S E . C A

​London, Ontario is on the traditional lands of the Anishinaabeg, Haudenosaunee, Lenape, Attawandaron and Huron-Wendat peoples, at the forks of Deshkan Ziibi (Antler River), an area subject to the Dish with One Spoon Wampum and other treaties.

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    • Past Programming >
      • Exhibitions 1983-1990 >
        • Index of Curators
        • Index of Photographers
        • Index of Visual Artists
      • Film 1983-1990
      • Music 1983-1990 >
        • Index of Musicians
      • Performances 1983-1990 >
        • Index of Performers
    • Embassy Hotel History
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