Western Canada's art magazine since 2002
23 Febuary 2021 Vol 6 No 04 ISSN 2561-3316 © 2021
From the Editor
Portia Priegert
Art galleries have been stepping up their online offerings over the last year amidst closures and ongoing pandemic uncertainty. On any given day, you could probably find a new online artist talk, exhibition tour or other activity to attend somewhere in Canada.
My impression is that digital offerings are becoming standard fare for many galleries. As well, the overall quality has continued to improve since galleries made their first forays into online programming last spring.
Some digital programs are doing surprisingly well. Last month, Curtis Collins, the director of the Audain Art Museum in Whistler, B.C., mentioned TNT (a.k.a. Tuesday Night Talks), which uses a Zoom format with guests like Ian Wallace, Liz Magor, Paul Wong, Rebecca Belmore and Attila Richard Lukacs. Collins says weekly viewership has been exceeding in-person visits to the gallery, with talks attracting upwards of 300 viewers. The Audain's earlier talks can be viewed here anytime.
Meanwhile, across the country at the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, virtual visitors can check out another online show that caught my eye: Leonard Cohen: A Crack in Everything. It includes some 50 works from the museum's collection, as well as songs from the gallery's original 2017 exhibition.
Another great online resource is the Art Canada Institute, which publishes digital books about Canadian artists that can be downloaded free of charge. In this issue, we're pleased to present an excerpt adapted from one of the institute's latest books, Iljuwas Bill Reid: Life & Work, by acclaimed nêhiyaw (Plains Cree) scholar Gerald McMaster. In this excerpt, McMaster tells the story of Loo Taas, the cedar canoe paddled from Haida Gwaii to Vancouver for Expo 86.
This issue of Galleries West also features two shows that consider disasters. One, Healing After Disaster, considers the role art played in recovery efforts after a massive earthquake and tsunami hit Japan a decade ago. The other is a group show, States of Collapse, at the Dunlop Art Gallery in Regina. It looks at everything from the pandemic and environmental woes to cultural genocide.
We also feature stories about Rocio Graham, a Calgary-based artist born in Mexico, and longtime Saskatchewan painter Robert Christie.
Meanwhile, for some light-hearted reading, check out our review of Wendy, Master of Art, which follows the latest adventures of Walter Scott's hungover heroine. I love the first line of Sarah Swan's review: "Wendy’s eyes are piss-holes in the snow." Who can resist reading what comes next?
Looking ahead, watch for stories about artists Brendan Fernandes, Jon Sasaki and Gary Lee Nova.
Until next time,
CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE: Beverly Cramp, Paul Gessell, Jera MacPherson, Gerald McMaster, Sarah Swan
We acknowledge the support of the Government of Alberta Media Fund, the Government of Canada Special Measures for Journalism Fund and the Canada Council for the Arts.
