From the Editor - August 29, 2023 Issue

August 28, 2023

9:30 PM

Western Canada’s art magazine since 2002

Portia Priegert

From the Editor

During my break, I watched with horror news of the terrible wildfires raging across Canada, particularly in British Columbia and the Northwest Territories.

You may recall our story Under Fire, which looked at how artists in the B.C. Interior faced loss and trauma during the 2021 fire season. This summer is so much worse. Galleries West contributor Sarah Swan, who made a harrowing drive south as Yellowknife was evacuated, summed up the experience on Facebook: “It’s a Don DeLillo novel out here.”

Thoughts of friends close to various fire zones continued to weigh on me as we planned a new series launching in this issue. Called Shorts, it takes a quick look at five interesting shows across the country. With all the smoke many of us have been inhaling, it’s no wonder, then, that Breathing in China, a show at the Art Gallery of Hamilton, caught my eye as a lead item. For me, the show is another timely reminder that the world is facing major environmental problems that require global cooperation.

We started Shorts, in part, to reach out to far-flung regions where it is often difficult to organize coverage. But the series also allows me to focus my energy on producing three feature articles in each issue of Galleries West. We have kept a gruelling pace over the last six years by producing six articles every two weeks. This new schedule provides breathing room for thoughtful coverage.

Publisher Tom Tait believes the new format will continue to serve readers, as well as artists and galleries seeking to spread the word about their work. Our exhibition listings are unchanged, so please continue posting your shows and sending information to editor@gallerieswest.ca. We will also continue to publish news items.

Moving on to this issue, the focus is on two major retrospectives – German photographer Wolfgang Tillmans at the Art Gallery of Ontario, and Shelley Niro at the National Museum of the American Indian in New York City – along with a show in the B.C. Interior featuring beaded brain scans from an eye-catching new body of work by Ruth Cuthand.

Finally, for our next issue, love is in the air. We are working on articles about the Rumi exhibition at the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto and Calgary artist Kenzie Housego’s show on contemporary courtship, I❤️U, at the Art Gallery of Alberta.

Until next time,