VIDEO: Medalta’s new executive director Whitford settling into her position

“We have pillars of heritage, community learning, and creativity and what I would like to do is really amplify the stories of the past that we are showcasing.”

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Elevating the great work that is already being done at Medalta is something Whitford is looking to do.

“We want tourists coming in here and I want people to be drawn to coming to Medalta,” Whitford said.

“I also would love to see Hatters come through the door, probably not everybody in the community has been here and so any opportunities that I can find whether that’s building connections in the community itself,” she added.

“Local businesses or other or people or events. Ways that we can work together to pique people’s interest to coming down here or even just starting to learn about us.”

Medalta will host four to five exhibits throughout the year, and a number of markets, while also hosting a variety of things in their event space.

“It’s such an amazing building and it’s such a unique space and I’m not sure if Medicine Hat recognizes or fully appreciates that we’ve got such a special place here,” Whitford said.

“Obviously I would love everybody to share in that excitement that I have for for this place and so I’m looking looking for opportunities to engage with the community to find out, what would bring them in the door.”

Whitford said she wants to ensure the historic clay district and Medalta building itself continues to thrive.

“The friends of Medalta society is 40 years old next year,” Whitford said.

“Any nonprofit that hits that kind of milestone it’s really a valuable time to say we’re going into a new chapter. Let’s ensure that this place continues again another 40 years.”

Whitford grew up in Medicine Hat and has a history of leadership experience in the arts, culture and heritage sector outside of the city.

“I did leave for university and followed a career in Arts management ultimately over the last couple of decades mainly in Toronto,” Whitford said.

“My family relocated here just under two years ago, actually just for the attraction of Medicine Hat being my family is here and we have our own young family. So we have sort of some personal reasons to come to town and you know being born and raised here, I’m deeply invested in contributing to this community,” she added.

“The Medalta position just really resonated with me when it came up in recent months. Medalta is committed to historic preservation, community building, culture and education amongst other things and so all of that really resonated deeply with me and it aligned very nicely with the career that I’ve had in executive leadership and in nonprofit organizations.”

Whitford said her original background is very much in the dance and performing arts side of things.

“I had gone to the arts management side of things and worked in running nonprofit organizations for the last number of years and so this was just like a really a perfect fit for me,” Whitford said.

A free to attend production demo day will show how pottery from the factory was produced in the past on Aug. 20 at 1 p.m. at Medalta.

The company’s former executive director Mike Onieu had resigned in January 2025.

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READ: Search underway for new executive director for Medalta (Apr. 9, 2025)

by Jesse Gill

VIDEO: Medalta’s new executive director Whitford settling into her position

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