Bees, Bonnets, and Green Thumbs

This is the first post by Latitude 53’s new Writer In Residence, Carolyn Jervis. She’ll be writing critically about Latitude 53 programming, the community and more on a regular basis over the next six months. Read more about the Writer In Residence program.

Hello to those in orbit around Latitude 53’s online land. Hopefully over the six months of my tenure as writer-in-residence this blog can not only be a hub for my musings about goings-on in Edmonton’s scene, but also be an opportunity for collective critical thinking about our small but mighty art scene.

But before I get into what I’m hoping to accomplish with this position, let’s break the ice. Here are some words about who I am, in case you are curious:

Art was my kindergarten boyfriend. We met through a mutual friend, Diego Rivera.

One day in the library of my South Edmonton Catholic elementary school I came across the work of the Mexican communist muralist artist, and from the moment of that introduction, I was smitten. Over the years my love affair with art was enabled by my mother’s small collection of beloved art books, the taking of countless classes at the City Arts Centre, and visits to the Art Gallery of Alberta before it was the Art Gallery of Alberta.

Edmonton visual arts-focused institutions, programs, and individuals have shaped and encouraged this growing passion in my life, and these many forms of mentorship have given me the kick in the pants to get involved and to make my mark as well.

Under the innovative tutelage of Harry Ainlay High School art teacher Theron Lund, I got my first introduction to ideas of post modernism and the wild wonders of contemporary art. Studio classes at Grant MacEwan showed me that I can’t paint and that making art was not good for my continued mental health. The professors at the University of Alberta allowed me to mesh approaches to thinking critically about art through art history and women’s studies classes. The Works Art and Design festival’s internship program was the first time I was able to turn the tables and contribute to the art community. With the experience I gleaned through my work there, and through my own curatorial and volunteer work, I had the opportunity to intern at the Smithsonian’s modern and contemporary art museum in Washington, D.C., the Hirshhorn, this past year. Edmonton and its arts community members have shaped and fed my sincere passion for art, and have given me the opportunities to develop a skill set so I can now turn love and experience into being an active participant, educator, facilitator, and organizer.

But! As much as I paint this sunny picture of how I have benefited from being involved and supported by Edmonton’s art scene, we have a lot of work to do, people. With all of the great people I’ve met and talked to and worked with in Edmonton, I believe—really and truly—that we can keep making things better.

When I had tea with Todd to discuss the possibility of this position, he touched upon something that I think is a bee under the collective Edmonton arts community bonnet: how can we create, facilitate, and encourage critical thinking and writing about art in the city? If we all had a dollar for every time one of us has had a conversation about how art writing in Edmonton is either just mindlessly cheerleading every artist, arts initiative, and exhibition, or approaching visual arts in the city with hostile negativity… Well, what couldn’t we do with all that money, really?

And this brings me to what I really want to do through this blog over the next several months. I want to explore, collectively, why criticality is important and necessary to cultivate the best art and best art patrons. I want to take the time to consider get really excited and celebrate the successes, but also get down and dirty while considering the challenges. Think of my approach to this blog as an attempt to find the perfect fertilizer blend for our Edmonton art garden that will cultivate the existing good and also nourish the new seeds we plant here.

How can we do this constructively? This isn’t about negativity. I have no interest in complaining or enabling any Danny Downers or Negative Nancys in this space. Let’s create a dialogue and work on this discernment process together. What’s really important to me along this journey has nothing to do with reaching a concrete solution or coming up with didactic and wordy theory-laden diatribes. I want people to talk. To each other, and to me. Regardless of art knowledge, background, or age. About art. Right here.

So here’s the plan of action:

• I’m going to do blog writing in these parts at least three times every month about Edmonton and the epic search for critical thinking.
• I hope to talk to you, yes you, about your experiences and ideas. You can do this through commenting on my posts, or visiting me (I’ll post when I figure out when my office hours at Latitude will be).
• Have a particular bee under your particular bonnet? Email me. Let’s have coffee and talk.
• Is there some art or art institution you are confused about? Is there a kind of art you don’t “get”? Book a time to go see art with me. Really. I’d be more than happy to.

My sincere hope is that this project is one you can be excited about too. I want to know what I can do to inspire your participation. It doesn’t matter if you are a well-established and active member of the community, or if you are just art curious. You are invited.

I’m heading to the garden to get elbow deep in the mud. Are you coming?