In 2014, Ben joined the Program Advisory Committee for the collaborative Sheridan/University of Toronto Mississauga Art and Art History Program, and he served as the committee’s Chair from 2015 on. In addition to chairing the Program Advisory Committee meetings, he was a regular participant in both the UTM Blackwood Gallery's events and in the program’s Sheridan lunchtime artist and curator speaker series. Ben especially enjoyed getting to know our students by participating in critiques to discuss the students in-process artwork or by accompanying faculty and students on Toronto gallery visits.
Ben was the curator at the MacLaren Art Centre in Barrie, Ontario from 2010 to 2013. From 2002 to 2009, he was an assistant curator, contemporary art at the Art Gallery of Ontario. As a critic, he has contributed to Border Crossings, Canadian Art, C Magazine, Hunter and Cook and The Dance Current.
Photo Credit: Audrey Yip
Ben Portis, Chair of the Art and Art History Program Advisory Committee, speaking at the 23 November 2016 Art and Art History Awards Ceremony in the MiST Theatre, Communication, Culture and Technology Building, University of Toronto Mississauga