Barbara Cole
Barbara Cole is a Canadian curator, artist, educator, and curatorial consultant in public art. She is the founder of Other Sights for Artists' Projects and principal of Cole Projects.
Background
Cole was born in Hamilton, Ontario. She received a Diploma in Visual Arts from Sheridan College, and a Diploma in Visual Arts from the Alberta College of Art. In 1982, she received her MFA from the California College of Arts and Crafts.Cole taught at Emily Carr University of Art and Design from 1984 to 1999, and worked as a consultant to the City of Vancouver's Public Art Program from 1999 to 2004. In 2005 she formed Cole Projects, a public art consulting firm, and founded Other Sights for Artists' Projects, a non-profit arts organization. From 2017 to 2023, Cole was the Curator of Outdoor Art for the Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery at the University of British Columbia.
In 2007, Cole was awarded the Mayor's Arts Award for her contributions to public art in Vancouver, British Columbia.
In 2013, she was a curatorial resident at in Berlin, Germany.