Some photos courtesy of McCauley Community on Facebook of artists Will Truchon, Barry Collier, and Steven Chung working on their ice sculptures on Saturday before Dancing Under the Winter Stars. See the full album
We had a great time out at the rink—thanks to everyone who came out and shared our hot chocolate and good times!
On Friday, Gig City published a preview of our two upcoming shows by Emanuel Licha and Nicole Rayburn, as well as an artist talk this Thursday at the Art Gallery of Alberta featuring local artist Dara Humniski in conversation with curator Catherine Crowston. We weren’t quite sure what to make of it. Aside from the headline, “Edmonton visual artists debut shows at Latitude 53, AGA” which gives rather the wrong impression of our two shows (Nicole Rayburn used to live here but is now based in Toronto, and Emanuel Licha hails from Montreal and works in France and internationally), the article mostly focuses on random sentences pulled from our press release, and presumably that of the AGA to try to make a point about how artists are bad at writing.
Well, while we were a bit puzzled, Dara Humniski was writing a response:
Well Ann, this is the second time you’ve taken a swipe at my credibility, so I feel inclined to comment. First by implying that a commission I received by putting forth an application to an open-call & juried selection committee had something to do with my partner (commissioned later for a different project by a different branch of the gallery), and now this causal implication that the meaning of my work is vapid or superficial.
Fluffy? Spacious? Thanks for continuing with the subtle jabs to emerging artists. I’m not sure what your agenda is with the visual art ‘coverage’ your supplying to gigcity. Shrugging your shoulders saying, “Welp! I don’t get it, Artists are pretty superficial aren’t they?” seems like a sloppy attempt at provocation to increase hits on your site, rather than thoughtful criticism or an interest in seeding a dialogue.
She goes on to talk more about her work and the role of ambiguity in her art—and to take author Ann Smart to task for her writing. You can find her full comment below the article.
Also not mentioned in the article: the time of Dara’s talk. It takes place Thursday at 6pm at the Art Gallery of Alberta, and admission is free.
Julian Forrest sends us the call for submissions for his current project, an exhibition at the Peter Robertson Gallery:
In June 2012, the University of Alberta will host the Third Canadian Obesity Student Meeting. The aim of the conference is to provide a venue for research dissemination, education, and professional development among students and new professionals in the area of obesity scholarship. In an effort to engage with the broader community and bring new voices to the table, curator Julian Forrest and the Peter Robertson Gallery are organizing an exhibition of contemporary art that will run concurrently with the obesity research conference.
Artists are asked to respond to issues ranging from the cyborg, the medicalization of the body, the obesogenic environment, the psychological complexity of obesity, body and boundaries or obesity and space, to positions on consumption and consumerism, or the “super-sized”. Artists are encouraged to bring perspectives to the subject that challenge, support, and ultimately broaden the dialogue surrounding obesity.
The deadline is January 31st. Read the full call at the Canadian Obesity Network.
Our friends over at Edmonton Arts Council’s public art office are looking for some last-minute help:
Please help!
We are in a last minute bind for one of our public art projects! An artist has designed a pattern to be painted on the interior acoustic panels for the newly renovated Hardisty Pool (opening late February/March), and we need the help of a craftsman to do a bit of work for us. Someone with basic production skills and an eye for detail.
Part A will be one full day of work transcribing stencils from a digital file to paper, here at the EAC offices.
Part B will be the assistance in applying/marking/taping the stencils. Part B will take approximately 3 hours / day, same start time during the day each day, for approx. 8 days (or roughly the last two weeks of January). This operation will take place in a industrial facility near the mill creek area, steel toed boots are required. Other safety gear will be provided (as well as all materials, tools,etc).This work will be paid with a flat daily rate. If you’re interested or know anyone who may be, please contact me as soon as possible.
Thank you!
Dara Humniski
Public Art Program Officer
edmonton arts council
dhumniski@edmontonarts.ca p: 780.424.2787 ext.236
f: 780-425-7620
If you’ve loved the way that Maria Whiteman’s photography traces the lines between art and science, take a look at this lecture this afternoon Monday at the Royal Alberta Museum:
Artist Jeanine Breaker has been awarded a series of UK research grants from the Leverhulme Trust, British Council, and Arts and Humanities Research Council, and is currently artist-in-residence at the British Geological Survey (BGS) funded by a Leverhulme Trust Research Fellowship and the National Environment Research Council….
…Breaker also created six short films to accompany her large-scale artworks. One film uses slow motion of the footage from the fieldwork in Holland to reveal the timeless elegance of Earth Science fieldwork. The mysteriously distorted sounds and shadows of the geologist against the soil profile is a distillation of time and evolution that speaks to the vulnerability of Earth at our hands. Another is a fast-paced film using footage from a 3D CCTV ‘spinning camera’ lowered down a 90-meter borehole during fieldwork on a private estate in the UK’s spectacular Peak District. This last film hints at work to come using a range of cutting-edge technology generously made available to her through her on-going partnership with the BGS.
Sound interesting? Find out more
UPDATE: This talk has been postponed to Monday the 19th—so if you thought you missed out, you’ve still got a chance to catch it
(via City can’t guarantee High Level Bridge waterfall will ever flow again)
“The tap is likely to be turned off again this year on the High Level Bridge’s Great Divide waterfall, and city officials can’t guarantee it will ever start flowing.”
Although the Edmonton Journal didn’t mention it, this Edmonton landmark is one of our most visible public artworks, commissioned based on a proposal by artist Peter Lewis. For some reason—perhaps its popularity—the “Great Divide Waterfall” is often not seen in those terms.
It’s quite a juxtaposition, compared to the other public art controversy happening this month, also making the rounds on tumblr:
<3
Hey fellow Edmontonians,
Take a look at the blog post my uncle Ryan posted last month. And for a real hoot of a time, be sure to read the comments. Just click on the link below.
The loudest voice is local artist Ryan McCourt—familiar to Latitude 53 regulars after submitting this image anonymously to last year’s National Portrait Gallery show and then complaining about it (the show also included Trevor Anderson addressing the bridge and waterfall itself, which you can see a later version of on his website). But alongside his browbeating of Journal writer David Staples, he points out that he isn’t alone in finding the work problematic. While the “Great Divide Waterfall” is forgotten as an artwork and considered part of the local architecture, “Talus Dome” is the work of American architects and is, in the eyes of its critics, just a pile of building materials. But, like the waterfall, it is also expensive.
What do these scandals say about the future of public art in Edmonton? Can we imagine a future when now-controversial projects like “Talus Dome” or the world’s largest Baseball Bat are as beloved as the “Great Divide Waterfall”?
It’s that time of year: our friends at PACE just opened nominations for this year’s civic awards for artists and supporters of the arts in Edmonton.
Our friend Amy Fung is guest-curating an evening at Mile Zero Dance next week—perhaps the perfect follow up to Karen Zalamea’s performance that afternoon:
MILE ZERO DANCE presents “THE WIRED BODY” Salon
Guest Curated by Amy FungArt Salon Premiere of MZD’s 2011/2012 Season
From Amy Fung:
Keeping with MZD’s history of surprising salons, I want to carry forward the element of surprise and curiosity. Audiences and performers alike come to the salon not knowing what to expect, and I want to accentuate that it is the framework — the platform — of these interdisciplinary settings (along with the host organization and organizers) that we are all trusting.
Because there is no real difference between you and me, between audience and performer, between our two bodies. There is a distance: a difference of time meets space in perception, but let’s not get philosophical, not yet anyways. Your body is wired to mine, to everything that surrounds you, and me, and everything we don’t know. The difference between is the connection, and the connection can change depending on how close you want to come, how close you want to be.
How do you want to be wired in? Through shadows and reverberations or stimuli of a physical and intellectual kind? Presence comes first, and your presence is being requested…
Performances/Screenings/Gestures by the likes of: Amalie Atkins, Cris Derksen, Freya Bjorg Olafson, Jeannie and Jodie Vandekerkhove, Ghibli, Tamara Hamilton, Teen Jesus Barbie and more.
MC’ed by The Cedar Tavern Singers.Lighting Design: Daniela Masellis
Stage Management: Amy KucharukGuest Curator Bio: Amy Fung is a roaming cultural commentator, interdisciplinary arts writer and sometimes organizer of events and exhibitions. Her research focuses on identity politics and a sense of place. She has written extensively in the Edmonton region since 2002 and has been working in the UK this past year. She regularly publishes in national and international forums and is the founder of www.PrairieArtsters.com. For more information visit www.amyfung.ca.
‘The Wired Body’
Saturday, November 26, 2011, Showtime 8pm Doors at 7pm.
Westbury Theatre, Fringe Theatre Adventures (10330 – 84 Avenue)
Tickets at the door - $10/members, $15/non-membersPlease note: This event is 18+. Cash Bar. No flash photography please.
Yesterday, the Arts Visioning Commission released its twelve recommendations. You can read a press release, as well as find the pdf report, at the link but we’ll give you a quick summary, because honestly who wants to read that stuff? Here’s how the commission describes itself:
The Mayor’s Arts Visioning Committee was created by Mayor Stephen Mandel in early 2011. The committee was asked to look beyond the City’s 10-year plan – The Art of Living – and investigate new opportunities, especially in partnerships between Edmonton’s arts and business communities to carry the plan forward. The group set itself a foundational goal: how to develop recommendations to lift Edmonton to international recognition as a city of the arts by the year 2040.
Sounds good, right? Well, here are their twelve main recommendations:
The City of Edmonton acquire and convert MacEwan University’s west campus, the Centre for the Arts and Communications, into a multi-use, multicultural and City operated arts incubator.
The City of Edmonton develop the former power plant site into a landmark cultural and commercial complex on the banks of the North Saskatchewan River which must include a premier Aboriginal arts and cultural celebration centre, as well as studio, exhibit and performance space for Edmonton artists.
The City of Edmonton endorse, in principle, a landmark performing arts centre (PAC) downtown, and designate land for such a development in the city core.
The City of Edmonton establish a capital allocation under the civic capital budget in anticipation of future opportunities to establish, enhance or acquire arts space of all types.
The City of Edmonton create and sustain arts spaces within existing and future community recreation centres and other community spaces for creation, classes, exhibits and performance.
Private and government partners establish an Edmonton Arts Sustainability Fund for small and mid-sized arts organizations to help finance business development.
A community-lead initiative, modeled after Sports Central, be supported by the City of Edmonton to supply materials, equipment, and program support for disadavantaged and disconnected Edmontonians to pursue arts experiences.
The City Manager and Edmonton Arts Council leadership develop a strategy to embed a broad vision of the arts into city planning and decision making.
Embed in downtown planning a commitment to the arts, comprised of funding for public art, as well as designated spaces for artists to live, create, rehearse and perform.
The City of Edmonton increase capacity for the Edmonton Arts Council to strengthen proactive outreach programs to ensure diverse communities are engaged in decisionmaking throughout the city’s arts organizations and increase participation across the city.
The City of Edmonton takes a leadership role to invite a coalition of business, civic and community groups to strongly advocate for increased funding and emphasis on arts education in Edmonton schools and post-secondary institutions.
The City of Edmonton and business partners increa se support and awareness of the Edmonton Arts Council’s “Artist in Residence” program to enhance in-house opportunities and collaboration for artists with local businesses.
Corporate and arts community members establish a business and arts advisory committee to work with the Edmonton Arts Council to build on the 2040 arts vision and link the two communities with shared expertise, resources and ideas.
Well, wait: there’s only supposed to be twelve. Point number nine there is only present in the summary, not in the full explanations—but those explanations are full of reflection and justification for these plans, so if you are curious about the details, go have a look yourself—and tell us what you think of these visions! Will they be implemented? Are they on the right track? Leave us a comment below.
Agnieszka Matejko sent us this request for qualifications on behalf of Boyle Street Community Services:
Boyle Street Community Services is inviting visual artists in the Edmonton area to submit a proposal to become the inner-city agency’s next Artist-in-Residence. The successful artist will commence duties in January 2012 for a six-month period.
The Artist in Residence will develop a body of work in studio at Boyle Street while interacting with community members to mentor and build their talents. The artist will ideally reflect their experience at the agency in their own work and participate in a public showing of artwork produced by the artist and community members during the artist’s tenure.
If you are an artist interested in community participation and outreach, working with people facing poverty and marginalization, and looking for an opportunity this winter and spring, check out the call at boylestreet.org.
