Western Canada's art magazine since 2002
19 November 2019 Vol 4 No 24 ISSN 2561-3316 © 2019
From the Editor
Portia Priegert
When Calgary writer Kristine Thoreson pitched a story last January about the carbon footprint of the cultural sector, it took us a while to figure out how to tackle such a vast and complex subject.
She had suggested looking at Edward Burtynsky, the renowned Toronto photographer of devastated global landscapes. No doubt, many aspects of his practice, including international air travel and shipping, must have a comparatively large footprint.
But how could this actually be quantified? And how does one balance those carbon costs against art that has done so much to raise awareness about the scope of humanity’s toll on the Earth? While it was a provocative story idea, it also had the potential to create fodder for climate-change cynics or simply be dismissed as eco-puritanism.
Then, an article last summer in The Tyee, an independent Vancouver-based online news magazine, started me thinking again. The story, by UBC mathematics professor Malabika Pramanik, looked at the carbon cost of travel to academic conferences, and had data to back it up.
Kristine and I emailed back and forth about exploring how much art galleries and museums contribute to climate change. Perhaps an academic had done a study? I figured Kristine's doctorate would stand her research in good stead.
Eventually, a draft materialized in my inbox. Although she had not located a study related to the issues we were curious about, she had learned about efforts to shrink the carbon footprint at several galleries and museums.
One thing that struck her was how difficult it was to locate to information. She had looked at websites and social media feeds, thinking institutions would be talking proudly about efforts to be environmentally friendly. For the most part, this did not seem to be the case.
In her story, Greening the Gallery, published in this issue, she raises interesting questions, challenging galleries not only to do more, but also to talk publicly about what they are doing. As she writes: “Perhaps it’s time to create a new normal – an age of upfront discussions about environmentally conscious choices and well-publicized green initiatives.”
Similar conversations have started over the last few years around institutional efforts to embrace Indigenous ways of knowing, and, in this issue, we have stories about Métis artist Christi Belcourt and Niap, an Inuit artist from Northern Quebec.
We also look at brave new work by Ira Hoffecker about the abuse she experienced growing up, as well as fascinating exhibitions by Marie Lannoo and Alison James.
By chance, apart from Greening the Gallery, this issue focuses entirely on solo shows by female artists. In a curious synchronicity, our next issue will feature male artists – Abbas Akhavan, Mitchell Wiebe, Curtis Cutshaw and Dave More.
We’ll round out those articles with Doug Maclean’s report on the fall auction season in Toronto and a review of the Sobey Art Award finalists' exhibition (congratulations to $100,000 winner Stephanie Comilang), hosted for the first time at the Art Gallery of Alberta in Edmonton.
Until next time,
CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE: Stacey Abramson, Beverly Cramp, Paul Gessell, Agnieszka Matejko, Maxine Proctor, Kristine Thoreson,