ryanbroderickcuratorialstudies

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                              Art Exhibition Review: We Are the Robots

           The exhibition at the Vancouver Art Gallery, We Are the Robots, is curated by Grant Arnold and Audain Curator of British Columbia Art.  The exhibition showcases Kevin Schmidt, a British Columbia based artist who draws upon aspects of conceptual and performance art while embodying the do-it-yourself sensibilities of an amateur inventor. Schmidt was born in Ottawa in 1972, but lives and works interchangeably in Berlin and Vancouver. He has exhibited in galleries such as Farbvision (Berlin, Germany), Kelowna Art Gallery (Kelowna, Canada) and Justina M. Barnicke Gallery (Toronto, Canada). We Are the Robots is divided into three different spaces where the work of art varies considerably from room to room. Each room feels like its own theme being exhibited with the do-it-yourself platform as the main protocol. His artworks vary from the materials used and from the choice of medium as he uses video, mixed media, found objects, with numerous technological elements.  

           Out of the three sections of this exhibition, I was drawn by and interested mostly in the first encounter called the RGB Beg Cycle, 2018. The art piece focuses on bringing in DIY aesthetics to the advertising of and subsequent participation with the exhibition. It was very eye-catching and playful, and it made me curious about what it does and what human interaction will cause. The art piece is a miniature replica of the Vancouver Art Gallery and it sits in the middle of the room. The miniature model is surrounded by four keyboards which have headphones attached. The viewer can see wires that connect the keyboards to the miniature model in which is covered in red, green, blue, light emitting diode strips. RGB Beg Cycle is created with a Styrofoam model, RGB lighting, DMX controllers, customized recording software, MIDI keyboards, and a computer. Once the viewer puts the headphones on, it is as if they enter their own world while hitting piano keys to make music, and also watching how the keys correspond with the lights on the model. It is a fun interaction that allows the viewer to visualize the model as if it was the actual building and how they play a part in the lights on the outside of the miniature and actual building. The audio the viewer hears through the headphones is also played over surrounding studio monitors as well as FM broadcasters on top of the Vancouver Art Gallery.  The art piece allows itself to be viewable from each side with a keyboard to interact with, which makes the viewer want to try each view, as lights from each side are different and the piano notes play different sounds. Schmidt wanted to use RGB lights for their history of convenience stores using them to grab people’s attention. He wanted to create a piece that invites the viewer to create their compositions. The art piece also automatically records and stores viewer’s compositions to a library in which when the art piece becomes inactive, the system will re-play one at random to keep the art piece in motion.

           The artwork does a successful job at grabbing a viewer’s eye, just as Schmidt wanted the RGB lights to do. The scale and layout of the piece is inviting and easy to interact with. The model is not superb-looking and looks like a craft project that anyone could take on, minus the need for knowledge with technology. The art piece advertises itself by making pedestrians outside watch the lights and hear the sounds of the Vancouver Art Gallery. Passers-byers may perhaps wonder if there is a big event going on at the gallery and begin to ask questions. The RGB lights on the gallery do exactly what convenience stores do with RGB lights in order to attract business to their building. The piece does challenge the participant, however, to either believe and trust that their actions on the model are reflected on the outside gallery, or not. There is no proof that the same visual appearance is being seen by the pedestrians outside. This is unless people go out of their way to live video chat with someone outside, while they are inside. It would have been nice to see a live stream of the outside of the gallery near the model, as the viewer can only use their imagination with the model to correspond to the idea of it being the actual building, which does not measure up to seeing it happen at the proper scale.

           From this gallery experience, I learned that interactive artwork is one of the stronger art styles in the industry. It is indicative of the “hands-on” culture that is very much present in our society. Aspects such as presentation, location, and style are all crucial for the success of a works’ interactivity.

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Kwantlen Art Gallery Exhibiton

My groups’ opening reception for our exhibition, “Inevitable Cessation” recently just took place on Thursday evening. It was such a great turn out, as many who showed up were either artists in the show or students of KPU. It was a great experience that allowed me to interact with audience members and other artists. I got the opportunity to discuss the exhibition experience, process, and final outcome with Paulo Majano who had only good things to say. It was also great to see some of the artists talking about their own artwork to attendees.

I was able to hear feedback from two artists (Aimee Risby and Stephane Dufault) as I was wondering how they felt about the display of their work. We had more options for the display of their art being that they were ceramics and 2D wall works. Aimee was happy with how we displayed her two sculpture pieces and how we had them facing each other in a triangle formation with the front entrance. On the other hand, Stephane was surprised to see that we split up the pieces in his work “Layers of a Fragmented Soul,” as he never thought of displaying them on their own, but said they looked very good as they were. He did, however, suggest that we should switch the placement of the leg and arm in “Untitled” as it would make more sense. I agreed to bring up the switch with my group members. Overall, Stephane did prefer the layout of his pieces better than how he had displayed it in the past. Eva Yang also mentioned how happy she was with the location of her artwork, and said that it was where she was hoping it would be which was a happy coincidence. As one of the curators of the exhibition, it was great to hear from the artists about their artwork and their feedback. This allows me to grow and build from my experience which can be carried over to further exhibitions going forward.

There were many contributing factors to the success of the opening night. The food and floral centrepiece helped in attracting students to come and browse the gallery space as they are both signs of a social function or happening. It also brought an aesthetic appeal to the entrance and overall space. Visitors were able to come to partake in the food and interactions, all while viewing the art. In addition, I was happy with Alison's speech about the exhibition as she has a strong and clear presentation voice which brings clarity for the audience about our intentions with the exhibition.

Although the result was a success, the day of and before the reception was definitely not an easy task as it was full of preparations. After finalizing the artwork being used for the exhibition on Wednesday, we went looking for plinths. It was a struggle to find decent ones, but I managed to get a hold of two brand new plinths that fit the two ceramic pieces quite well. We also spackled and painted the gallery walls and cleaned the floor before the Creative Writing event began. On Thursday (the day of), we had to work quickly to measure and hang the artwork evenly and straight. This caused some scuffing of the walls in which I then touched up with more paint. We also had to finish cutting and mount the artists' statements, curatorial statement and get them up on the wall. There was also the pamphlet that needed to be finished and printed for the reception. Finally, the only other issue was taking a screw out and spackling over the wall that Celesta’s “Progeny” was on, which she was more than happy to help me with. We got the wall looking as good as we could, but we couldn't paint it as we didn’t have the same colour wall paint.

We were on a tough time crunch for most of the preparations but it was well worth it, as the results have shown. There were some quality control aspects I would have liked to have been more keen on and made sure were up to the most professional standards but working in a group of students, it is not always possible. One thing I learned is for sure, curating is no easy task and it takes a strong cohesive team to make exhibitions happen. I am now more aware of all the work involved in preparing for an art exhibition, and I will take these skills with me into my future artistic career.

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Screening Experience as a Viewer

On Thursday night, I attended “Skewing the Familiar”, a film screening curated by Eric Berg, Leah Coray, Winnie Otchere, and Angela Wells. The program included 9 short snippets from various films that were put together to question the “real”, whether something is true or just pretend. The videos convey the aspect of the media interpreting an experience and how the media itself can never be reality itself. The group curated the show in a manner in which the videos flowed from one performance to the next, all while keeping the video length in mind. They placed the order of films from short videos in between lengthier videos for a fresh perspective. I enjoyed this because it created breathing room for the audience.

The group took learning experiences we have been taught from artist talks/gallery visits in order to achieve the best possible outcome at this point in their studies. I found that “Auditions” by Elizabeth Milton, 2011 and “Empty Orchestra” by Kira Wu,1997 to be the strongest pieces in this screening, which both happen to be the two longest videos. These two videos had a script in which I was able to follow along to, as well as understand the humour behind things being said. The shorter clips were fairly odd with little or no script which were less memorable to me.

While I enjoyed the screening, for the most part, I am unsure about what the group was trying to achieve. If their focus was to highlight the two aforementioned videos, then they have succeeded. However, if all the videos were supposed to be seen as equal in quality, then this was not achieved through my viewing.

The group’s curatorial statement claims that they “ probe the construction and performances of identity, the divided between the experience of something and how it looks, scripts in our lives, and the mass commercial images presented to us.” This statement confuses me on the theme and what the videos are aiming at, as this sounds like multiple different ideas leading in one direction. My understanding is that the videos were to show different approaches to showing certain truths on something. I found the curatorial statement a little wordy in expressing the purpose. In addition, I felt some of the videos were more complex in communicating the idea of hidden truths in which I found myself not as engaged in like “The Protagonists” by Gabi Dao, 2018 for example.

Attention to detail was present, as they created a genuine viewing experience with the added popcorn machine which made the entire experience itself real. Overall, the group did a good job at the initial selection of films as they were only able to choose them through the written descriptions at the beginning. Despite the technical issue that occurred, they were quick thinkers and kept a positive attitude, still making the screening work in another location. The group worked well together to create a successful and enjoyable evening.

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Jennifer Winsor

Jennifer Winsor is the founder of Winsor Art Projects a commercial based gallery. She started off as a bank investor, with a business background. But being surrounded by artists growing up she always had the desire to go back to her roots and be a part of the art world. She began with an 800 square foot gallery in the now Hotel Georgia, which invested close to seven figures per year into the art industry.

During the artist talk today, Winsor mostly discussed the “Show Stoppers” which included Dana Claxton, Alan Wood, Paul Wong, Attila Richard Lukacs, Patrick Hughes, and Andy Dixon all. Although it was interesting to hear about the artists and their practice, I came to understand that as a curator it is important to promote certain artists when an opportunity is given. I did not find learning about the artists to be as helpful with the curatorial aspect.

The insight provided by Jennifer Winsor on commercial galleries was that the owner should be invested and involved with the artists in order to succeed. Winsor has been able to take part and build on the industry from scratch. As a stakeholder, it is important to understand every artist’s dreams and hopes and to help them reach these milestones. Curators must be prepared to help and inform collectors what works of art are worth buying and where the “hype” is. Curators play an important role in running galleries and helping promote and providing exposure for the artists.

In terms of gallery types, there is a difference between ones that sell art and ones that want to show art to create conversation. Commercial galleries can put up anything they want on their walls to target certain clients to purchase the artwork. Contemporary art galleries such as the Vancouver Art Gallery display artworks that will bring more interest and enthusiasm to the community to sell the most tickets in order to make a profit.

Although it may seem that every gallery wants to make sure that its artists and works of art are among the top tier, they are all very supportive. Galleries work together and talk about artists and the market. They also discuss moving locations if the rent is too high, as galleries like to be close to each other in a community. It is important for art galleries to be close to support each other.

From the perspective of both an artist and curator, it is important to be open and take advantage of every opportunity. If you have an idea, find sponsors, find sources and materials, dig in and do the research necessary. To be successful, everyone must have confidence and take risks.

One useful way to learn and get hands-on experience is by volunteering, which helps with creating those useful connections while building up experience at the same time. Volunteering can lead to other opportunities as one could get a job with the institution later on, and possibly move up through positions faster.

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Kwantlen Art Gallery Exhibition

Today my group gathered together to shortlist artworks. We have sent out emails to the individuals who work we would like to see in person for further jurying which will take place on Wednesday, November 14 with the help of Kira. We have asked the artists to drop their artwork off by this Friday, November 9. We put all considerations into the selection from size and meaning and artwork complimenting one another, we hope once we have the work in front of us we will be able to piece the exhibition together. We are also trying to get a hold of some artist statements as well as if the works are framed/clean edges as we want the artwork to be professional looking. If artists do not have artworks framed we will do our best to get them framed. There was some discussion about putting our curatorial statement up on the wall and the best way to go about that. Creating the curatorial statement to group all the artworks together will be the next task that I hope my group will collaborate with ideas on the online doc, however, I feel we had some good points on our slideshow that can be used or at least for inspiration.

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Dr. Curtis Collins Talk

Dr. Curtis Collins received his doctorate from McGill University in the Department of Art History and Communication Studies in Montreal in 2002. Dr. Collins has been a Director / Curator at a number of cultural institutions throughout the country, including the Beaverbrook Art Gallery in Fredericton and the South Okanagan Art Gallery in Penticton, throughout his career. He has also served as an instructor in art history and curatorial studies at the First Nations University of Canada, University of Lethbridge, Trent University, and as a Director of the Yukon School of Visual Arts.

His talk focused on the gallery system in Canada, the possibilities, how to direct work, how to be shown in an exhibition, and appeal to curators. Through public galleries, artist-run centres, commercial galleries and hybrid galleries he dealt with all these issues.

During his talk, he mentioned the National Gallery of Canada in Ontario and how its mandate is to tell the story of Canada. Its exhibitions are intended to develop, maintain and publicize a collection of works of art, both historical and contemporary, in Canada as a whole and internationally, with a special but not exclusive reference to Canada, and to further the knowledge, understanding and enjoyment of art in general among all Canadians. Its artwork travels through history showing population changes. They recently included the artwork of the first nation that is important for Canadian history and how Canada grows as a community. The artwork shows the difference in the aesthetics between the art of the first nations on a canoe and the British on easels. It is important to show them in the same space as they were curated in order to compare and contrast the works with the appreciation of both.

He also spoke about the Beaverbrook Art Gallery in New Brunswick, a collection from Lord Beaverbrook, which consisted of British and Canadian work. The gallery tries to incorporate more contemporary works of art with which Collins was interested. As a curator, it is his job to comfort, but also to challenge, the audience of stories and history. It is important to understand that public works of art create a community's identity. It raises awareness through visuals of how the community is viewed and the direction of the community.

 Another example of curating was the Penticton Art Gallery in Okanagan, where a sculpture was created for a whole round. The genitals shown made the mayor extremely insane and thus a conversation and controversy between Curtis as curator and the major was created. Curtis had to come up with an idea that both conveys its point and message while also protecting the artist. In doing so, they made an ugly and obvious plate to cover the genitals that they were hoping to show the mayor how stupid it looked to bother him more. After that, a vote with other government officials took place, in which it was agreed that the genitals should be left alone. Although Curtis stood as a curator and did his best for the artist, the genitals were smashed in a truck by someone. This created a lot of press and exposure for the community and the artists, just like a curator is trying to do.

There were other examples and galleries of the character, but I thought they best described the curating process. As an artist, it is important to tailor applications and carry out research and know the mandate of galleries as a curator to see whether the submission meets the gallery criteria. Research is important because every gallery has its own mandate. For example, Western Front focuses on digital media and painters should not apply, Urban Shaman focuses on contemporary aboriginal art, Universities show students artwork, commercial galleries have an ideal look for art for their clients, etc

When curating a group show, the curator can only provide the context for the exhibition and hope that artists create and submit work that fits the theme. The curator tries to pull it together from there.

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Kwantlen Art Gallery Exhibition

My group got a decent amount of submissions over the last couple days of the deadline. Together over an online doc we have been able to analyze the artwork together and the artist statements and give feedback as a group on which works with think fits together and with the theme and why we believe in that. It was interesting to see how many artworks a lot of us agreed on and then the few that only one or so connects with. I think we have some strong pieces to choose from, however, they are all wall works, so that is unfortunate as we were hoping for some sculptural pieces to take up some space. We might still get some late submissions or inquiries, but we will work as a team to put the best exhibition forward. 

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Hank Bull

Hank Bull, was born in Calgary but has lived most of his life in Vancouver. At about 11/12 years old, he became fascinated by art making where he painted self-portraits and art consisting of haunted trees. Hank Bull travelled to Europe for eight months after high school and took the time to look at museums. When he returned to Canada, he played for a while in some bands before he created the HP corporation.

He wanted to explore and experiment as an artist with the food industry. He became an artist and curator with his HP business. He conducted a radio show for HP consisting of a dinner show to help people prepare, and digest their dinner. The radio station also offered visiting artists to participate in wacky activities and songs. The radio station lasted eight years; some experiences lived through the radio show was a performance that included recording a whole show underwater and another one while riding a bicycle. He also managed to activate gallery spaces through live performances, such as making whisky in the gallery space and performing a shadow theatre.

An important piece he had been a part of, was the HP carriage in which he and another carried a large HP bottle around like a carriage. The performance allowed viewers to wonder who is inside the container and who is being carried around. The idea was that the third man was inside and that cooperation could be a miserable experience.

Much needs to be considered when it comes to collaboration. For example, who has the main voice, who is pushy, who gets their way, who compromises, who does nothing, etc. Much art now requires some collaboration. For instance, videos need a subject, a sound person, a video person, a filmed person, an editor, etc.

During his talk, he also seemed very fascinated by cardboard boxes, stating that boxes are painting and sculpture. It is a simple idea, but it is fascinating what he said. He continued to say that boxes could be folded, closed, stored and removed easily. They can be used as a wall piece or opened to become a dimensional shape that takes up space. There is also meaning behind a box that is taken into account, such as where the box was going, came from, had in it, going to have in it?

When it comes to curating he mentioned that if you care about art, you are curating. One also curates their show when they display their own artwork. When it comes to curing, he said you are curating if you care about art. The hierarchy of artists, collectors, galleries, etc has been broken, and everyone needs to work together to succeed. A curator is responsible for artists and is there because they care about helping artists. Curators are not to only accept and decline artwork, but also to assist those declined in a direction that will help the artist find ways to get their art displayed.

Art allows people to use their own minds and ideas. This enables people to see art as either poorly done, well done or not made. He also said that stupid ideas are also fantastic ideas and should still be made. His speech gave me the impression that collaborations always has its struggles and frustration. It is almost never a simple, straightforward task and will consist of a lot of disagreement that will need to be worked around. However, the end result is usually a positive and hard-earned one.

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Kwantlen Art Gallery Exhibition

After talking to my group as well as hearing what Kira had to say I realized there are more people I could specifically target for artwork. Since our first and only submission going into Thursday’s (October 18th) class was Eva’s, in which was a personal request I made on her abortion artwork, this might be the best route to go. In previous days I had talked to Joyce and Cayley about submitting, as I know they both have a number of body of works that would fit the theme. They both said they would submit, so I hope they follow through. They are both in my fourth-year class, as well as Angela and Aimee who both have told our group they would submit through our curatorial class. The other two students in my fourth year don’t have works that fit our theme. Since my request to Eva has been the only submission, I targeted some students after class that I know have artwork I would like to exhibit. I personally contacted Melanie as I believe some of her photography work would be suitable, and she was thrilled to hear from my personal invitation and is going to do her best to submit. I also contacted Cyrus whom photography is also very suitable for this exhibition. I also contacted Alex about a performance piece he did underwater and recommend/requested for him to submit it as well as asked if he would be interested in doing a live performance for the reception. Things are tight right now, but I hope people follow through. Our group has been approached by students in the curatorial class saying they would submit, and other students have had people tell them they will submit. Only time will tell.

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Kwantlen Art Gallery Exhibition

My group and I have been chatting in a group chat on WhatsApp in order to correspond. We also discuss in any way in person after class if it allows us and whoever can be a part of it momentarily for anything that could use more clarity. After making the posters and distributing them, all we can do is hope people submit. Some of us have announced to people face to face to submit with verification that they will, so hopefully, these people follow through and submit for the deadline. I have talked to several people, with a couple saying they do not have anything that fits the theme, but I had five people tell me they will submit and I continuously remind them, so hopefully, they follow through, but so far only one person I personally talked to submitted so far. I know other group members also have people who have told them they will submit but have not yet, so it is a waiting game until the 20th to see what happens. We also have received inquiries about the exhibit, so hopefully, those follow through as well. Until then there is not much we can do, as we need submissions in order to analyze what there is, and then can use them as help for the presentation/write up. We also need the submissions in order to use it as material for promoting the reception and creating a brochure for the reception. We have talked about dates and times, and other requirements for reception and promoting, so all that is mostly taken care of. It is just moving forward with our discussion once the deadline reaches. 

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Reflection on Miniature Gallery

It was interesting to see how everyone approached this project and what themes and ideas each and everyone came up with. It is helpful to see and hear why people chose to display artworks in a certain way and the scale in which they wanted. Criticism, as well as compliments, were both useful to hear about my own gallery as well as others. It was clear to see when someone's gallery was overcrowded and the scales were not thought through for viewing. I did my best to think through how I wanted my exhibit to be displayed. My process of thought was to allow the windows to give people walking by a glimpse of what is inside in order to grab their attention to come into the gallery. I used the plinths in order to both help move the viewer around the gallery but as well as allow the viewer to experience the coin differently than on the wall. The plinths allow the coin to be viewed by each side. It was said these plinths were not needed and crowded the space during critique. I also tried to change how the coins were positioned on the walls to keep them interesting but also making sure they did not go to high up the wall or too low for viewing, creating awkwardness. During the critique, it was mentioned how more variety of staggering of the coins on the walls would have helped create more interest for the gallery. I did, however, try my best to stagger it in the most interesting way I could, with multiple attempts of arranging. I also wanted to include benches to allow the viewer to sit down and take a breather, as, from experience, a lot of galleries have something to sit on at some point within the exhibition. This experience will be useful moving forward into other curatorial exhibitions I am part of, but most importantly the one I currently have in the making with my group for this class. I am sure we all can use what we learned to help make decisions for the display and artworks chosen for our exhibition. I look forward to collaborating with all our new knowledge in order to build on the experience we just encountered. 

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Grunt Gallery/Equinox Gallery

The Grunt Gallery is an artist-run centre founded in 1984 in Vancouver, BC that furthers the practice of contemporary art. They offer public programming in the form of exhibitions, performances, artist talks, publications, and other special projects in the community. Grunt Gallery Mandate is to inspire public conversation by creating an environment of innovative, collaborative and provocative contemporary art. The Grunt gallery is non-profit and uses its space as a living and working studio They do not sell art and instead help artists experiment with art. They display art that does not fit the mainstream gallery criteria. It is through government grants and public support that this gallery is able to run. The artworks chosen for display is art that tends to be silenced from fine art. These silenced works can be indigenous methods for traditional woven structures and patterns, to craft materials that are formed using not traditional fine art materials. The artwork displayed is always a loan from the artist, family, or other organization. The exhibitions held in this space are curated from in-house and outside sources as well as a jury process that decides what will be shown. The current exhibition material is weaving, this links to what other galleries such as the Surrey Art Gallery are doing. The exhibition “Woven Work From Near Here” does not use labels on the walls allowing the room to not seem crowded. Although the room is tiny there is enough breathing space between the arts. What is also nice about this space is that they provide you with a curatorial statement as well as a map of the layout.

The Equinox Gallery was founded in 1972 and is currently at is 4th location. This commercial gallery focuses primarily on promoting its artists and paying attention to artists rather than providing information on the history of the gallery. The reason is that the gallery runs off of it sales and must, therefore, channel all the direction at the artists the artwork. An artist that is represented by the gallery will have a solo show every 1-2 years, but most shows are a group. The artwork is meant to hang until sold and then replaced by a new artwork. Their inventory is strongly based on this, and when the work is sold, the artist is paid for. Normally, the gallery does not take new emerging artists, but more well-established artists through referrals. It is important for the gallery to have artists that their style caters the clients' tastes. The artwork is mostly wall works, but they do have sculpture and video every now and then. As a commercial gallery, they go to art fairs and have their own booths that can be solo or group based on the criteria of the art fair, to promote their artists to larger audiences. Although they represent 24 artists, they are not all exclusively represented. It is also important to the gallery that the artwork is interesting in a public realm that people are wanting to talk about it.

The Grunt Gallery and Equinox Gallery both aim to promote and showcase artists. The Grunt Gallery helps fine art artists experiment with art that would otherwise not been seen in galleries while the Equinox Gallery helps commercial artists through a demanding redundant style of art for collectors to purchase. They both provide a certain amount of exposure to artists while also displaying artwork for different reasons. The Grunt Gallery cares a lot about its history and the artwork that is shown and how they can help provide exposure to artwork to a small community and open more doors for an artist. The Equinox Gallery is more money driven and does not care so much about talking about its history but more about the artists and how their artwork is worth owning. The size in space was also significantly different, as well as the reasoning and use of labels. The Grunt Gallery did not want to use any labels, so the artwork can be interpreted and appreciated for the viewers own reasons, where the Equinox wants its clients to know the artist who made the work and the price of the artwork. The Equinox, for instance, has Gordon Smith’s painting in which are very similar piece by piece. They are meant to target a certain market buy and collect the artwork and is mostly based off being aesthetically appealing. Hank Bull’s painted cardboard box at the Grunt Gallery is not about making a profit off it or selling it, it is just to create dialgoue and conversation about the idea of the box. 

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Jordan Strom Curatorial Talk at the Surrey Art Gallery

Jordan Strom Curatorial Talk at the Surrey Art Gallery focused more on artwork than Curatorial. However, this talk allowed me to understand the Surrey Art Gallery more as the institution it is. I have learned that the school board and the British Columbia curriculum is a significant involvement at the Surrey Art Gallery. How it offers adult and children programs, as well as exhibitions free of cost. As well as when a classroom comes to visit, the school usually covers the cost of the visit which covers the cost of running the Surrey Art Gallery and not for profit.

The Surrey Art Gallery is responsible for showing Community Art in which the citizen of the community can relate to and create a dialogue with. It puts the people of the community first and thinks about what art they would like to look at and if they can help exhibit local artists. Since the gallery is open to all age groups, it is important that children and older age people both can enjoy the artwork and engage with it. This is different from an artist-run centre as an artist-run centre aims at showing artwork that wouldn't be shown in a gallery and therefore may only be engageable by a smaller community. Its current exhibition “Connecting Threads” revolves around fabrications/textiles. It was divided into sections that complemented the subject but had its differences. For example, the Tech Lab had wires and electronics weaving into fabrics, separating itself from other artists ' techniques. The exhibition included works in the collection of Surrey Art Gallery and borrowed public works. However, borrowed pieces are under review by the Surrey Art Gallery in hopes to be collected. The majority of the artists are from British Columbia with several artists from Ontario, Quebec, and Alberta.  The works date from the late 1970s up to the present.

The artwork in the exhibition is a panel decision, and it is a panel decision on which artwork is to be acquired for its collection. The curator and colleagues pick up the works an artist lends them.  It takes about 2 - 3 years of exhibition planning and sometimes needs alternatives, as this show was initially expected to be commissioned by a well- known textile curator, but it did not go through. A curator is looking through files, magazines, guess curators, exhibition tours and own research as well as reviewing submissions to influence what artwork is going in an exhibition.

The Surrey Art Gallery has a wide range of photos, prints, ceramics, computer things, reading documents, books, paintings, etc. It is also important to listen to the community what they want to see as lately guests have been requesting artworks for interaction/participation.

The Surrey Art Gallery also hopes for a family endowment in which the money sits in the bank, and they spend the interest on the artwork. They also have a location offsite being the Urban Screen, where video works are shown.

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Posters made and put up. Waiting on submissions.

Presentation/Paper on the go.

Second poster will be made and put up for reception once time plays its part.

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Dana Claxton

Dana Claxton gave insight on both the artists’ side of an exhibition and the curatorial side. Some key pointers that stuck with me are going to be very helpful for my decision makings in the future. Some examples she gave was one being a gallery space in which the outside had an art piece that says “Yours for indigenous sovereignty” across the top of the building. The gallery, however, had its name presented on the wall which then looked like a signature, which was very misleading. The black stripe covered the gallery name to reflect the artists' vision while also respecting the community and public. As a curator, there will be many complaints and recommendations on how something should look or if it even should be present. It is essential for a curator to be able to handle backlash as well as work with artists to make sure both visions are reflected into the showing of the work.

Dana also spoke about her collaborated curated exhibition “Beginning with the Seventies: Collective Acts” at the  Belkin Gallery, which was insightful to understand and learn about the many elements to think about when curating. She worked with the collective called “ReMatriate” which consists of several indigenous women artists The sew in collaboration activates the space into a social space. The installation allows itself to be activated by people. The colours used,��enable the complementary between artworks which can be seen throughout such as the Denver rainbow dress in the photo on the wall. The chairs also contain multiple colours which were also another eye opener of how a curator needs to prepare for the amount of time to find the perfect match for the exhibition. As the colours they chose came from different businesses and three different countries. They also painted the desks to look less like a working table, so it fits the room more proper. White walls can also be cold for an environment, so they painted a wall yellow with three strips to make the space more lively.  It is also essential to allow the viewer to breathe before the next experience.

Curating is about supporting artists fully, even if the public is mad. Artists do a lot of research on a topic to make artwork, just like a curator does their research to put on a show. It is possible to over curate and under curate. A curator must ask themselves why are they curating, what are they doing, and what is the intent. It is important to sketch ups plans and use a 3D model if possible. Exhibitions cost a lot of money and walls can be built and torn down to fit the needs of an exhibition depending on the gallery.

As a curator, it is also essential to know about borrowing from institutions, and collectors. Collectors may not allow a gallery to acquire their art for many reasons. Galleries are labelled as “A, B, or C” which will also play a factor if the art would be in proper hands for display.

When it came to designing a catalogue for a book about herself, she provided three examples she liked, and the designers used them as a reference. When it comes to publishing a book the artist can choose to commission essays, republish essays and the possibilities are endless. There are no rules.

I found this talk to be helpful in many different aspects of curating and art making. Each experience she shared allows a new lesson to learn that I may have not even thought about it the past. I think this talk will help me analyze a situation with my eyes and body language more, to fit the needs of a successful showing of artwork.

[ryanbroderickcuratorialstudies]

Cabinet of Curiosities Canadian Memorabilia: Achievements of the past

Canadians have a lot to be proud of from the confederation, the wars they have fought, and sports events that bring the nation together. For years the Royal Canadian mint has highlighted these landmarks on their currency. Artists have been given the opportunity to share their illustrations on these events on coins that are passed on from one Canadian to the next. However, these beautiful pieces of art can go unnoticed and can be hard to see with the reflection of light among the material and design. This exhibition brings the coins to larger than life-size for the ability to appreciate and allow for a different viewing experience. Each coin in this exhibition has the same metal formally as its normal circulated coin, making them weigh around 100kg.

           I have decided to break down the gallery space for an easy transition from one achievement to the next in Canada. The viewer first walks in to see a coin that represents a significant moment in Canada when women were given the rights to vote. The viewer then can choose to walk forward which the plinths consist of elements of confederation and Canada as a whole, or immediately go to the right in which are the provinces and territories of Canada as well as other historical moments. The plinths are positioned to move the viewer up and down the gallery. The coin’s transition into historical moments in sports for Canada, which the two plinths on the end allow the viewer to walk around the space and compliment the sports moving from one wall to the next. The coins transition from sports to war movements through different designs of the Olympics over the years, similar to how war has changed the lives of Canadians over the years. This then brings the viewer into the last section of historical war moments which then the viewer can follow the plinths back up the gallery space or follow the glass wall. Two benches have been placed for resting on that allow the viewer to step back from the space but still able to admire it. Each coin has been specifically selected for the theme and having larger than life-size coins allows the viewers to look at coins in a different way as well as take in some Canadian history through mesmerizing artwork.

[ryanbroderickcuratorialstudies]

Cabinet of Curiosities

The line up is already quickly forming outside the Ryan Broderick Gallery for the exhibition opening at midnight, “Canadian Memorabilia: Achievements of the Past”. The crowd is growing restless as the doors open in half an hour! What amazing show of support!