Gilda Pontbriand

Arts advisor

Gilda studied visual arts in Mexico, Canada, and France.
She has received 24 national and international awards for her paintings, as well as 10 for photography and digital art.
Her work has been featured in more than 170 solo and group exhibitions in Canada, Japan, South Korea, the Netherlands, Ecuador, Mexico, and the United States.
Her artworks are held in private, public, and corporate collections across Canada, Mexico, Chile, Malaysia, France, Guatemala, El Salvador, Ecuador, Peru, Poland, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela, Israel, and the United States.
In 2005, she won First Prize in the international competition Imagine Don Quixote, which led to a sponsored cultural trip to La Mancha, Spain, by the Embassy of Spain.
In 2013, the Government of Mexico awarded her the Premio Ohtli in recognition of her exceptional voluntary work and contributions to Canadian society and international humanitarian causes.
She has donated more than 65 artworks and actively supported fundraising initiatives for organizations such as the Children’s Aid Foundation, Ottawa General Hospital, Doctors Without Borders, Team Canada Healing Hands, and numerous international relief efforts following natural disasters.
She was recognized by the Mayor of Ottawa with the Civic Appreciation Award for her outstanding voluntary contributions to both Latin American and Canadian communities.
As Arts Advisor to CHLAVM, Gilda provides strategic insight, artistic guidance, and community connection, strengthening the museum’s cultural reach and public engagement, particularly within national and governmental contexts.