THUNDER BAY — Sharon Godwin has always had a passion for art.
When she arrived in Thunder Bay after graduating from the University of Guelph, Godwin found herself at the Thunder Bay Art Gallery.
“Here’s a nice gallery in this new community and the staff were so kind and welcoming when I came in,” Godwin said.
“I decided that it would be a great place for me to volunteer at … and that’s pretty much the beginning of my story.”
After starting out as a volunteer in 1980, Godwin became the gallery director in 1989 and held that role until 2023.
She was recognized for her efforts on Dec. 3 as she received the Galleries Ontario lifetime achievement award during a ceremony in Toronto.
Godwin knew that she had been nominated for the honour but was unaware that she would be getting the accolade until the event itself.
“That was a little bit interesting,” Godwin said with a laugh.
“It’s quite an honour. When you work away on different things for so many years, you don’t think about these sorts of things. It’s an honour to be recognized and it’s been a privilege for me to be involved for so long with the Art Gallery.”
Godwin said that she’s grateful to witness the growth and development of so many artists from around the area during her time at the gallery.
“The artists and the contributions that they make are so important to society,” Godwin added.
“I’ve always felt that one of the gallery’s goals is to ensure accessibility so that people in the community, no matter what their age and background is, can have that same positive experience with the visual arts.”
Although she finished up in her role as executive director last year, Godwin is still involved with the gallery as a coordinator for their waterfront project.
Godwin’s honour was one of two for the Art Gallery in Toronto. They also won the public program award for the Anikoobijiganag: Thunder Bay Beading Symposium that ran at the gallery in February.
“The Thunder Bay Art Gallery was on the map that night for sure and we got a chance to show everyone else in the province what we’ve been doing up here,” Godwin said.
