Western Canada's art magazine since 2002
12 January 2021 Vol 6 No 01 ISSN 2561-3316 © 2021
From the Editor
Portia Priegert
As a magazine editor, I get a lot of email, including newsletters, exhibition invitations and media releases from hundreds of art galleries across Western Canada.
I've learned to scan messages quickly and sort them on the fly, extracting news and events that might interest readers, while stashing queries that need more considered responses for later.
Given the high volume, it can be challenging to make sense of it all. So I was pleased recently to spot a particularly effective year-end membership mailer that hit the mark for being transparent, comprehensive and clearly articulated.
It came from the Campbell River Art Gallery, located in what we Victoria folk call "up island" – a vague term for the more northerly reaches of Vancouver Island – and used simple graphics to convey basic information about community engagement, which last year included 3,205 visitors, six shows, five virtual talks and five online workshops. The gallery graciously and efficiently acknowledged the support of its members: "We know this year was hard, but you showed up for us in ways we didn't see coming." The only thing I wondered was how the numbers compare to previous years.
My aim here isn't to single out one gallery for praise, but to reflect more generally on the unsung labour of support staff – including the preparators, the admin types and, yes, the PR folks – that too often goes unremarked. Wages in the arts generally do not scrape the stratosphere – instead people are often motivated by a desire to contribute to a creative community.
So why not take a moment to thank the unsung troupers who have kept galleries running amidst the pandemic? Cheers to you all!
Here at Galleries West, we took a wee break last week after a busy December that included the annual art books issue and a series of thematic year-end stories. As a result, this issue features four articles instead of the usual six. In Edmonton, Agnieszka Matejko looks at work by Kyle Beal, while Calgary writers Lissa Robinson and Richard White review shows by Larissa Tiggerlers and Chris Cran, respectively. Meanwhile, in British Columbia, Helen Wong responds to Vancouver artist Gu Xiong, who documents heritage sites left by early Chinese immigrants to the West Coast.
Looking ahead to the next issue, we'll have a report on recent art auctions, and look at shows in Yellowknife, Saskatchewan and Vancouver.
I'm hoping to hear news of more exhibitions and projects, so please keep those emails coming!
Until next time,
CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE: Agnieszka Matejko, Lissa Robinson, Richard White, Helen Wong
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.
