Shauna Levy
Canadian Shauna Levy is president and CEO of Toronto’s Design Exchange.
Born in Montreal and raised in Toronto, Levy received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Toronto in political science and French. She then moved to Paris, where her appreciation for the power of human-centred design and its influence on everyday life developed.
Levy is the former vice president of MMPI Canada and co-founded IDS Toronto in 1998, which grew into one of North America’s largest contemporary design fairs. Levy is instrumental in building the city of Toronto’s reputation as an international design destination, bringing some of the world’s most creative design minds to Canada.
Through her leadership role at Canada’s Design Museum, Design Exchange, Levy celebrates and promotes design, culture and art. She has curated exhibitions featuring both Canadian and international designers, secured travelling exhibits from prestigious international cultural institutions, and developed educational design experiences for all ages.
Levy’s most ambitious project yet, EDIT - Expo for Design, Innovation and Technology, in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme, was a 10-day design festival held within a 150,000 square foot former Unilever soap factory that demonstrated how design can make the world a better place. Over 35,000 visitors attended EDIT, an immersive experience of installations, workshops, interactive exhibits, and speakers’ programmes.
