Latitude 53 Contemporary Visual Culture

We're ready!

Fri, 24 May 2013 18:09:00 -0600

We’re putting the finishing touches on our Main Space show by Megan Dickie right now—hanging some signage, clearing out all of our install hardware.

Join us from 7 for our artist talk and first ever opening reception in the new space!

The invitation for i see you pan, opening tonight in the...

Fri, 24 May 2013 12:30:21 -0600

The invitation for i see you pan, opening tonight in the Community Gallery.

Expanding Horizons – VUE Weekly

Thu, 23 May 2013 15:30:21 -0600

Expanding Horizons – VUE Weekly:

Vue Weekly’s Agnieszka Matejko talked to our Executive Director Todd Janes about our big move:

TJ: It’s taken a lot of work to get into this space. It’s been empowering to have the support of the community and volunteers. It shows that we are an important artistic and cultural fixture in the city, that we’ve done good work. In some ways we are being rewarded for that work by the support. It’s heartening and I want to acknowledge that.

As well as talking about the move itself, Todd reveals some of our plans for curatorial projects and the future of our gallery spaces. Check it out.

Come and see our new space tomorrow night—Megan Dickie gives an artist talk at 7, followed by our first opening reception at 8!

I attended Marilyn Arsem’s performance at Latitude 53 last...

Thu, 23 May 2013 14:51:07 -0600

I attended Marilyn Arsem’s performance at Latitude 53 last Sunday. It was, as Todd mentioned in my ear, a sort of christening of the new space. That had a ghostly tone to it, as the space was deathly quiet as viewer’s watched Marilyn perform. A chair with dirt on it. Marilyn Arsem manipulating fabric.

Digital Collage of drawings and a photograph.

Akimbo - Hit List - Megan Dickie, Artist

Thu, 23 May 2013 14:17:42 -0600

Akimbo - Hit List - Megan Dickie, Artist:

Megan Dickie foreshadows her artist talk tomorrow at 7 in her Hit List for Akimbo.

Resophonic City includes both ambient sounds in the gallery, and...

Thu, 23 May 2013 12:30:22 -0600

Resophonic City includes both ambient sounds in the gallery, and specially-pressed records of sounds from Edmonton and Milan. Come in and give it a listen—and join us for the opening reception Friday evening!

Alongside our Main Space and ProjEx Room shows, we have a new...

Wed, 22 May 2013 16:12:00 -0600

Jonathan Sherrer

Renée Perrot

Alongside our Main Space and ProjEx Room shows, we have a new Community Gallery show opening this week: i see you pan, curated by Brad Necyk showcases video art from the University of Alberta’s drawing & intermedia department—students, recent alumni, and staff.

Our community gallery programming is made possible in part by sponsorship from Capital Power. Join us Friday for our first opening reception!

Some more snapshots for Marilyn Arsem’s performance here...

Tue, 21 May 2013 13:56:42 -0600

Some more snapshots for Marilyn Arsem’s performance here on Sunday. Thanks to everyone who came out to see it—we’ll next be hosting Toronto-based artist Paul Couillard on June 5.

Marilyn Arsem performing in our Main Space. Come visit us and...

Sun, 19 May 2013 15:08:34 -0600

Marilyn Arsem performing in our Main Space.

Come visit us and see her this afternoon!

Our first events!

Fri, 17 May 2013 15:30:00 -0600

It’s incredibly exciting to be at work in the new building—every day we are closer to the incredible gallery spaces being fully realised.

We hope that you’ll join us for our first events. This weekend we have a performance by Boston artist Marilyn Arsem on Sunday from 2–6. We’re really proud to be working with the KULE Institute for Advanced Study at the University of Alberta to bring this great artist to Edmonton for the first time.

Then—the big one—next Friday, May 24, we’ll be hosting our first opening reception. Thanks in part to the support of Emery Jamieson, LLP, we’ll be setting up a show of Victoria-based artist Megan Dickie’s playful interactive sculptures, Flips Folly, in the Main Space. If you enjoyed the interactive works last year, like Sergio Serrano and Alexander Stewart’s The Flood, which included a very popular ball-pit in the ProjEx Room, you’ll very likely love her work too. She’ll be giving an artist’s talk at 7:00 pm, followed by a reception at 8 for members and guests. Also opening is Resophonic City, which is already up in the ProjEx Room.

As always, you can find out more about our shows at latitude53.org.

Kyle and Tyler take a break from reenacting Robyn music videos...

Fri, 17 May 2013 14:00:27 -0600

Kyle and Tyler take a break from reenacting Robyn music videos in our big Main Space gallery to do the floor treatment. Megan Dickie’s interactive sculptures are waiting in shipping crates to be installed!

Alberta Primetime - Art, Ethics, and Bad Taste

Fri, 17 May 2013 13:36:00 -0600

Alberta Primetime - Art, Ethics, and Bad Taste:

Our executive director Todd Janes joined Natalie Loveless from the University of Alberta (who helped organize the performance by Marilyn Arsem this sunday at the gallery) on Alberta Primetime this week—discussing the scandal at ACAD over Gord Ferguson and one of his students.

An ACAD student’s performance art piece in which a live chicken was beheaded sparked outrage and disgust across Alberta. Was the student wrong to kill an animal for art? Should art be bound by ethical considerations? Where should Albertaâs artists draw the line?

We’re joined in the studio by Natalie Loveless, from the University of Alberta, and Todd Janes, from Latitude 53.

Happily, while they were in the studio for this interview, ACAD was preparing to announce Ferguson’s reinstatement.

We’ve been amazed with the reception to our Patio construction...

Thu, 16 May 2013 16:05:16 -0600

We’ve been amazed with the reception to our Patio construction fundraising campaign—not even halfway through, and we’ve already passed $3000. Here’s an update from Tyler about what we’ll be able to do if we reach $6000—from levelling the entrance area just beside the patio, to providing for our kitchen and bar, to making sure the patio deck is inviting and beautiful, we’re excited for the next stage of the process. Thank you!

Meanwhile, we’re making plans to start the deck construction soon. Mark your calendar for the first Patio on June 13!

Help us out by continuing to support the patio’s development.

2o13.o5.14 ~ long live the new flesh | Edmonton Journal

Thu, 16 May 2013 14:00:17 -0600

2o13.o5.14 ~ long live the new flesh | Edmonton Journal:

Opening tomorrow night at SNAP and Saturday at dc³, here’s a preview of “Encoding Identities” from the University of Alberta Art and Design Graduate Student Association, by the Edmonton Journal’s Fish Griwkowsky. The shows are part of the ADGSA’s annual symposium—last year we hosted the exhibition component, Unstable Natures—and includes artists from the U of A and other schools.

WHY ILLUSTRATE?

Thu, 16 May 2013 11:29:26 -0600

I asked some of my students at GURU to stop working for a moment and ask themselves why they were pursuing illustration now that they’ve been in the thick of it for a few months. Tough question. Why illustrate? What’s the point in doing this? Who am I? Why? Huh?

Above, we can see the result of the their brainstorming. We can also see that being an illustrator does not guarantee clean handwriting. Some notable quotes:

“Because it takes a hell of a lot of courage not to have your creativity stripped by the tyranny of the status quo.”

“To poke fun at the world.”

“Love.”

“To make people angry.”

“Why not?”

and of course: “Excuses to draw cats.”

This is of course only the tip of a very large iceberg. What do you think? Why should we illustrate? It’s part of that larger question that has no answer: “why art?”.

Two large sheets of newsprint, scrawled on by the hands of students. Sharpies. Crayolas. Permaopqaue markers.

CONTEMPORARY ACADEMIA: FEMINIST FIGURE GIRL AND EMBODYING ART HISTORY

Tue, 14 May 2013 16:33:00 -0600

CONTEMPORARY ACADEMIA: FEMINIST FIGURE GIRL AND EMBODYING ART HISTORY:

prairieseen:

Although it was included in yesterday’s Media Mondays, I would like to share (again) my most recent article for The Wanderer.

PrairieSeen’s Tori McNish’s latest article for The Wanderer is about local Art Historian and performative researcher Lianne McTavish.

Build Latitude 53's New Patio

Tue, 14 May 2013 14:21:16 -0600

Build Latitude 53's New Patio:

Thanks to your amazing generosity, we’ve already passed our initial goal for our patio-construction funding drive—and we’re working on an update to let you know exactly how our plans are going. Thanks for continuing to donate, and we’re looking forward to seeing you all for the first patio in June!

The Alberta College Conservatory of Music let us know about an...

Fri, 10 May 2013 16:09:08 -0600

The Alberta College Conservatory of Music let us know about an event tomorrow that combines performances by pianist Peter Krejcar with photography by Diana Duzbayeva, who’s been working with students and teachers at the Conservatory as subjects over the past few years.

You can see this inter-media project Saturday night—with the photography exhibition opening at 6:30 at Muttart Hall at Alberta College (10050 MacDonald Drive) and music by Bach, Chopin and Liszt from 7:30.

With this summer weather it feels like it must be time for the...

Fri, 10 May 2013 15:04:46 -0600

With this summer weather it feels like it must be time for the Patio season again already—we’re not quite there yet, although our plans are coming together and our fundraising campaign is off to a great start. But this weekend we’ve invited our volunteers from the past year to come and take a look, and have a drink in the new space. We’re excited to share this new beginning with such amazing, generous people!

If you’re a member you might have already seen the details...

Thu, 09 May 2013 15:50:00 -0600

If you’re a member you might have already seen the details of our upcoming shows in print or in your email box—but we’ve just updated our website with all the details—including an essay on Megan Dickie’s work by Christine Walde.