Persona

Zepp, Norman

Norman Zepp was raised on a farm near Yorkton, Saskatchewan, and earned his BA from the University of Saskatchewan. While at university, Zepp met his partner Judith Varga; and he bought his first piece of Inuit art. Zepp switched his major from Education to Art History; and went on to earn an MA in Art History from Carleton University, under the supervision of George Swinton, who remained a lifelong friend of Zepp and Varga. After earning his graduate degree, Zepp was curator of exhibitions at the Mackenzie Art Gallery in Regina, and director of the Thunder Bay National Exhibition Centre and Centre for Indian Art. In 1988, he was appointed curator of Inuit art for the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO), where he remained until 1994. During that time, Zepp was instrumental in building the AGO Inuit collection, including helping to facilitate several major donations, including the Williamson and the Sarick collections. Following the AGO, Zepp worked in Vancouver prior to returning to Saskatoon. He remains one of Canada’s foremost experts on Inuit art.