Western Canada's art magazine since 2002
8 October 2019 Vol 4 No 21 ISSN 2561-3316 © 2019
From the Editor
Portia Priegert
Mentoring emerging writers is part of what we do at Galleries West.
At times, this is a necessity as it can be challenging to find experienced arts writers in smaller communities. But it also helps foster more inclusive dialogues about art.
I look for writers who choose words with care and have something to say. When editing their articles, especially reviews, I hope to see a brief description of the art and enough context to situate readers, as well as a thoughtful consideration of what's working – or not.
As I edit, I move from big-picture structural considerations through to copy editing, weighing each sentence carefully, not to shift opinions, but to ask if it is clear and concise. Is there a logical flow with solid transitions as I move sentence to sentence? I also think about diction and spend oodles of time checking names, dates and titles.
Edited versions are sent back to writers for revisions. My final step is to proofread and add images. One good trick is to read the text aloud. The ear will often catch what fatigued eyes do not. I also read backwards, paragraph by paragraph, from the bottom to the top.
A friend recently shared a wonderful quotation from an editor, although I didn't catch the source: “I’m on the side of the writing.” It encapsulates how I see my role. I really enjoy editing when writers understand why I'm suggesting changes and come up with better tweaks. Our process becomes a conversation through the text.
A few years ago, when I was invited to teach an arts journalism course at the University of Victoria, I was surprised I could find no online evidence of something similar at the post-secondary level anywhere in Canada. That really drove home to me why it's so important for Galleries West not only to mentor writers, but also to support community-based initiatives that foster writing about the arts.
I was happy to partner recently with the Southern Alberta Art Gallery in Lethbridge, Alta., for the SAAG Art Writing Prize, now in its eighth year. This year’s contest was organized in conjunction with a workshop led by David Balzer, a former editor of Canadian Art.
In this issue, we are publishing a review by Daniel Walker, the winner of the contest's critical writing category. He looks at Cul-de-Sac, an exhibition at the Art Gallery of Alberta about architecture and urban development. The show, unfortunately, has already closed, but Walker gives a good overview and we have ample images. I'd also like to congratulate the contest's other winners, Julia Rose Sutherland, in the prose category, and Hali Heavy Shield and Gianmarco Visconti, for their poems.
You can find more good critical writing in this issue: Amy Gogarty on Vancouver artist Angela Teng, Dick Averns on Calgary artist Teresa Posyniak, and Dorothy Woodend on Haida Modern, a new film about Robert Davidson. We also feature my quick look-ahead to a show by Vancouver painter Vanessa Lam.
This issue’s final article is about Art and Rivalry: The Marriage of Mary and Christoper Pratt by Carol Bishop-Gwyn, a book that Galleries West writer Paul Gessell calls “a vivid exploration of a complicated union.” For more background, revisit Sky Goodden's review of a 2014 exhibition by Mary Pratt. It's one of the best reviews in our online archive.
Looking ahead, we are working on pieces about Katie Ohe, Attila Richard Lukacs, Dee Barsy, Elise Rasmussen and Puppies Puppies, a.k.a. Jade Kuriki Olivo, a conceptual performance and installation artist from Los Angeles, who is showing at the Remai Modern in Saskatoon.
If you’re interested in writing for Galleries West, check out our writer’s page, where you’ll find submission guidelines, as well as an alphabetical database of our writers, some going back 15 years or more. We encourage submissions and story ideas from everyone, including diverse communities that have been historically under-represented.
I look forward to reading your pitches.
Until next time,
CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE: Dick Averns, Paul Gessell, Amy Gogarty, Dorothy Woodend, Daniel Walker