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) 

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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.