Member of the Order of Canada

• Awarded on: October 5, 2006
• Invested on: October 26, 2007

Joan Stebbins has established the Southern Alberta Art Gallery as one of Canada's leading contemporary art institutions. Now curator, she joined the Gallery's ranks in 1979, and has since nurtured its growth in a variety of roles. She has sought out emerging, often cutting-edge artists and curated exhibitions of their work. For the past three decades, she has had a catalytic effect, generating interest in, and acceptance of, contemporary art in a generally traditional cultural environment. Artists and the community at large have benefited from her commitment to the creation of an environment that fosters accessible art.