Helen Zenith

Helen Zenith is an artist, art dealer, and Director of Newzones Gallery of Contemporary Art. She owns Newzones in conjunction with her daughter, Tamar Zenith, in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Having received a BFA from the University of Calgary, Zenith became known as an abstract painter. During her artistic career, Zenith partook in the Triangle Residency Open Studio Program in New York City and exhibited widely in galleries and museums throughout North America and the United Kingdom. Actively involved in the visual arts scene in Calgary, she promoted the arts through writing, curation, and assembling various collections.

After her daughter, Tamar, graduated from McGill University with a Commerce Degree, the mother/daughter duo decided to turn Zenith’s studio space in Calgary’s Old Dominion Bridge Steel Factory into a gallery in 1992. Five years later, architect Peter Lawrence Wood was contracted to design a gallery space specifically to show contemporary art on 11th Avenue SW.

As an active participant in the visual arts in Canada, Zenith has sat on numerous art juries and visual arts boards. Additionally, she has been a guest lecturer at the Alberta College of Art and Design and the University of Calgary. Zenith is also a past member of the Chancellor’s Club (UofC) and President’s Circle (ACAD). Additionally, she has served on the Board of Directors for the Epcor Centre for Performing Arts, and presently serves on the board of Contemporary Calgary, the Canadian Friends of Israel Museum (Jerusalem, Israel), and the Arts Acquisition Committee for Bow Valley College.

To further support the visual arts in Calgary, Helen and Tamar Zenith created the “Newzones Gallery of Contemporary Art Fund”, Calgary Foundation; contributing annually to charities and individuals in the Calgary arts community.