July 26, 2026
It's been several months since we last shared an update. In that time, the TRUCK Board and staff have continued working steadily behind the scenes to rebuild the organizational foundations that will support TRUCK moving into the future.
Much of this work isn't particularly visible, so we wanted to take the opportunity to outline some of the things going on behind the scenes. Since our last update in March, we've made progress in several areas:
Financial and Organizational Stability
In early May, we completed a Trust Exam with the Canada Revenue Agency, successfully meeting the requirements of the review. This review of our payroll accounts was used to determine our remaining source deductions debt to the CRA. Following the exam, all of our penalties, and all of the interest on our penalties, were forgiven by the CRA. Our remaining debt was substantially reduced. We are in the process of repaying this debt in a single instalment, effectively ensuring that our outstanding responsibilities to the CRA are fulfilled. This marks an important milestone as we continue rebuilding the organization's administrative and financial systems. Now that the source deduction debt has been resolved, and the emergency fund has been repaid, we have a much more solid grasp of our financials and we are finally confident and optimistic about the organization’s financial future.
The Board has also submitted the first of several required reports and action plans to both the Alberta Foundation for the Arts and the Canada Council for the Arts as part of the requirements of our ongoing Fair Notice and Concerned Status processes. These reports outline the work being undertaken to strengthen governance, financial oversight, organizational sustainability, and getting TRUCK open again to the public.
Addressing the Physical Gallery Space
We have begun the hands-on work of cleaning, sorting, organizing, and inventorying the gallery's physical space, which has not been properly done for years, and reviewing storage areas, common areas, records, access documents, and organizing systems that will better support future staff and programming.
Governance
At our Annual General Meeting on June 30th, members approved a number of updates to TRUCK's Bylaws. These revisions modernize language and communications methods and clarify the roles and responsibilities of the Board and staff. They also introduce new provisions related to conflict of interest, standards of conduct, and membership to help strengthen transparency and accountability moving forward.
The Governance Committee has also continued reviewing and revising TRUCK’s policies and procedures, with the goal of creating clear and functional governance documents that reflect current best practices and will provide practical foundations for gallery operations.
Staffing
Since our last update, Interim Director Sharon Kahanoff has departed TRUCK to pursue a new opportunity with our neighbours Ghost River Theatre. We thank Sharon for her contributions during this major period of transition and wish her all the best in her new role. Over the coming months, we will be looking toward hiring a new Director of TRUCK. Please keep your eyes open for the job posting.
Community Outreach and Looking Ahead
As we move into the next phase of this work, our attention is increasingly turning toward thinking about the future of the organization.
We continue to believe that rebuilding TRUCK is about more than reopening our doors and getting back to “business as usual.” This is an opportunity to reflect on the role an artist-run centre can play in Calgary – and in Canada – today and in the years ahead. We remain committed to developing programming thoughtfully, rebuilding relationships with artists and community members, and creating an organization that is responsive, sustainable, and artist-centred.
Now that we have a much better understanding of our financial position, we want to begin opening our doors to collaborative programming. We are interested in partnering with community organizations who can make use of TRUCK’s space, resources, knowledge, and other facilities. At this time, this work must proceed slowly and with care, but we are committed to getting people back into TRUCK and to returning to the outward-facing work of engaging with our communities. If you’re interested in working with TRUCK please reach out and let’s see what we can do together.
Towards this end, we would like to host a public event in early September where the community can gather at TRUCK to eat food, meet with the board and staff, and engage with other members of the community in a space that has been closed for too long.
Everything we’re doing is in the service of helping TRUCK return as a more accountable, sustainable, and supportive organization. We know this work has taken time, and we remain deeply grateful for the patience, generosity, and encouragement we have received from artists, members, funders, and the broader community.
We look forward to sharing more updates in the months ahead. And, as ever, we welcome conversations and questions and can be reached at boardofdirectors@truck.ca.
Signed,
Diane Din Ebongue, Secretary
Brady Fullerton, Treasurer
Teresa Tam, President
Shauna Thompson, Vice President
Justin Seiji Waddell
The Board of Directors, TRUCK Contemporary Art (Second Story Art Society)
Update from TRUCK's Board of Directors
March 19, 2026
About a month ago, we shared a public statement acknowledging the harm that artists and other members of our community experienced in relation to TRUCK over recent years, as well as the significant challenges the organization itself has faced during that time. We also shared our commitment to operating with transparency and accountability through the work we need to do in addressing the harms of the past and establishing more robust governance, operational, and ethical practices to support and protect TRUCK’s communities moving forward. We want to continue that commitment by providing an update on the work currently underway.
Since that message, the new Board has met for our second board meeting, and two working committees – the Governance/HR Committee and the Community Committee – have begun meeting regularly. Much of our focus right now (alongside that of staff and our bookkeeper) is on carefully reviewing and reconciling the foundational operations of the organization. This work is slow and detailed, but it is necessary if we want to move forward responsibly.
Some of the areas we are currently working through include:
Establishing financial oversight and reconciling the business of the organization
We are reviewing past budgets and expenditures to develop a clear understanding of the organization’s financial position. A particular priority in this process is confirming that TRUCK’s previous commitments to artists and others who contributed their time and labour to the organization have been properly honoured – including financial compensation. Additionally, we are ensuring that financial reporting, including our obligations to the CRA, are up-to-date, paid, and accurate.
Community engagement
Together with the Community Committee, we are discussing thoughtful and respectful ways of reconnecting with our communities. We recognize that rebuilding trust will take time, and we want to approach these conversations carefully, in non-extractive and reciprocal ways.
Conversations with funders
We have begun discussions with our funders about the organization’s current position, with the intention of gathering information about funders’ expectations for our core operations, ensuring that all project accounts and commitments are properly resolved and in good order, as well as trying to establish realistic timelines for responsibly returning to programming.
Governance and organizational structure
The Governance/HR Committee has started reviewing foundational documents – including bylaws, policies and procedures, and contracts – to identify what needs revision or rebuilding to support a healthy and accountable organization moving forward and in the long term.
At this stage, much of our work involves developing an informed and accurate understanding of the internal situation at TRUCK, building consensus with each other, and rebuilding systems that should support both TRUCK as an organization and, most importantly, the people who work within and alongside TRUCK. Because of this, progress may not always be immediately visible from the outside. However, while we feel an urgency to act quickly, we also recognize that taking these steps is essential to ensuring that TRUCK can operate responsibly and sustainably in the future.
We appreciate the care, patience, feedback, and engagement from our membership, peers, artists, and community members and remain committed to sharing updates as this work continues. As always, we welcome conversations and questions and can be reached at boardofdirectors@truck.ca.
Signed,
Diane Din Ebongue
Brady Fullerton, Treasurer
Kiera Russell, Secretary
Teresa Tam, President
Shauna Thompson, Vice President
Justin Seiji Waddell
The Board of Directors, TRUCK Contemporary Art (Second Story Art Society)
Update from TRUCK's Board of Directors
Statement from TRUCK Contemporary Art’s New Board of Directors
February 16, 2026
TRUCK Contemporary Art (Second Story Art Society) has been a vital part of Calgary’s artist-run culture for decades. As the newly formed Board of Directors, we are writing to address the significant challenges the organization has recently faced and to share our commitments:
Over the past several years, TRUCK has gone through a period of serious mismanagement that resulted in inconsistent programming, multiple funders flagging areas of concern and the need for remediation1, the loss of CRA charitable status, and the near collapse of the Society. Most importantly, artists and communities have been harmed. We want to clearly acknowledge that this period caused real pain, frustration, confusion, and loss of trust and we take those impacts seriously.
While we did not oversee this period, we recognize that the organization itself holds responsibility for how it failed its membership and communities. As the incoming board, we are committed to approaching this moment with accountability, transparency, humility, and action.
Our intention is to undertake work at TRUCK in a way that is artist-centred and grounded in honest and respectful communication. This includes listening to those who were affected, analysing what went wrong, and putting in place governance, operational, and ethical practices that ensure the organization consistently prioritizes accountability, responsibility, sustainability, and meaningfully demonstrates the value we hold for our relationships with the land and the people of the Treaty 7 region. As a new Board, we met together for the first time on Tuesday, February 10, 2026. In our first board meeting, we asked the previous three remaining board members to step down from their positions, effective immediately, which they did.2 We also established Governance and Community Outreach Committees to focus our next steps on the necessary internal and external work that will be done.
Collectively, we believe in the importance of artist-run culture, in Calgary and beyond, and in the history of this organization as a site for experimentation, artist support, and community connection. Re-establishing trust will take time and sustained effort. We are committed to doing this work thoughtfully and in dialogue with our membership and broader communities.
We are grateful to the people and organizations who continue to care deeply about TRUCK and we welcome ongoing conversation and questions as we move forward. The new Board of Directors can be reached at boardofdirectors@truck.ca
Signed,
Diane Din Ebongue
Brady Fullerton, Treasurer
Kiera Russell, Secretary
Teresa Tam, President
Shauna Thompson, Vice President
Justin Seiji Waddell
The Board of Directors, TRUCK Contemporary Art (Second Story Art Society)
1 This includes TRUCK being cited on the following: Canada Council for the Arts - Concerned Status; Alberta Foundation for the Arts - Fair Notice.
2 It is important to note that late last year the previous Board of Directors dismissed TRUCK’s previous Executive Director.
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TRUCK Contemporary Art is a non-profit artist-run gallery.
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