Western Canada's art magazine since 2002
23 March 2021 Vol 6 No 05 ISSN 2561-3316 © 2021
From the Editor
Portia Priegert
The creative process is all about experimenting – trying new things to see what happens. Hopefully, it's something productive, but, if not, you simply move forward and with another step.
In this issue, we've taken this approach not once, but twice.
First, we have launched a new feature – Commentary – with the goal of encouraging a diverse range of voices to promote discussion about contemporary issues in the art world.
Patricia Bovey, a senator in Ottawa, as well as a former director of both the Winnipeg Art Gallery and the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, graciously agreed to produce our first commentary, writing about her goal to have the essential role of artists recognized by Parliament.
In essence, this initiative would enshrine the intellectual and economic rights of artists and arts workers, helping people understand that the arts are a societal anchor rather than a mere frill.
Galleries West is looking for people with something to say for future commentaries – whether about pandemic recovery, the art market, systemic racism in the arts, or new efforts to Indigenize cultural institutions, to name a few possibilities. I'm happy to consider any and all pitches for these op-ed style pieces, which we hope to run once a month or so. Don't be shy!
So what's our second experiment in this issue?
It's A Conversation about Relationship by Jennifer Smith and Annie Beach, who discuss a Winnipeg exhibition by Jaime Black and Brandy Bjarnason Bloxom. There's an interesting symmetry at play. The writers are in a mentoring relationship, as are the two artists. Also interesting was the pitch from Smith, who proposed writing the review as a back-and-forth conversation with Beach. It seemed a useful way to diverge from the singular authoritative voice that characterizes much of the Western tradition of criticism, offering a more open-ended and generous opportunity to reflect on the work. I'm interested in continuing to experiment with this form in future reviews.
This issue also includes the second article of our five-part pandemic tour of Western Canada and the North. This instalment, by Winnipeg arts writer Lindsay Inglis, looks at five Manitoba artists. It follows our look at five artists in Alberta, and explores how Manitoba artists are managing anxiety through introspection, cultural traditions and the absurd. Each vignette is an interesting snapshot into one person's experience of the crisis. Stay tuned as this series unwinds. Our next stop will be British Columbia, with artists Scott August, Lori Goldberg, lessLIE, Audrey McKinnon and Joanne Hewko.
We round out this issue with stories about Ruth Chambers' ephemeral floral ceramics at the Art Gallery of Regina and Chinese artist Sun Xun's expansive work at the Vancouver Art Gallery. Coming full circle, our final article considers Process, a show at the Paul Kuhn Gallery in Calgary by four artists – Robbin Deyo, Cassie Suche, Tanja Rector and Eleanor Wood – whose work reveals the nuanced traces of their creative experiments.
Looking ahead, Mark Mushet is working on a video about Vancouver artist Karen Bubaš and Ottawa-based arts journalist Paul Gessell is writing about Caroline Monnet, an Indigenous artist from Quebec. Monnet is part of a major Group of Seven exhibition currently touring to Germany and also is included in an upcoming show about Indigenous languages at the MacKenzie Art Gallery in Regina.
Until next time,
CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE: Annie Beach, Patricia Bovey, Lindsay Inglis, Jera MacPherson, Jennifer Smith, John Thomson, Richard White
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.
