From the Editor - October 4, 2022 Issue

October 3, 2022

9:30 PM

Western Canada's art magazine since 2002

Portia Priegert

From the Editor

Galleries West was pleased to pick up two Alberta Magazine Awards at a recent ceremony hosted by the Alberta Magazine Publishers Association. A Silver award for Digital Presence recognized the excellence of our website. We also received Gold in the Emerging Writer category for an article on mentorship by Megan Klak, a former intern.

Congratulations to Megan and the other three finalists: Mark Mushet, Sarah Swan and Curtis Gillespie. (You can find their articles and videos here.) In all, we were seven-time finalists this year, a solid nod to our efforts to bring increased attention to art and artists across Western Canada.

On Sept. 30, we marked the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation by posting a story about Dempsey Bob, a Northwest Coast artist of Tahltan and Tlingit ancestry. His touring exhibition, now on view in Calgary following its launch at the Audain Art Museum in Whistler, B.C., will head to Toronto, Montreal and Kelowna, B.C. Those who can’t get to the show can check out a wonderful partner book, Dempsey Bob: In His Own Voice.

In this issue, we also look at David Garneau, a Métis artist, educator and critic with an exhibition at the Assiniboia Gallery in Regina. Garneau talks with arts writer Paul Gessell about the challenging relationship between art and writing, something we are no strangers to here at Galleries West.

As well, Paul reviewed a new book, The Great Canadian Art Fraud Case, by Jon S. Dellandrea. Few things are more delightful than a good yarn about the dark underbelly of the art market. Paul describes this book as a “lively and entertaining whodunit.”

Our attention was captured by a landmark exhibition, Prairie Interlace, at the University of Calgary’s Nickle Galleries. It explores the history of fabric art, mainly weaving, on the Prairies between 1960 and 2000. As reviewer Lissa Robinson says, the work is “simultaneously beautiful, clever and purposeful.”

Rounding out this issue, we look at an exhibition at the Peter Robertson Gallery in Edmonton by Catherine Burgess, a longtime metal sculptor, as well as a show at the Richmond Art Gallery in Greater Vancouver by Vanessa Brown, who investigates complex ideas around holes.

Do remember to bookmark our news feed for future reference. We have posted recent items about Ian Wallace winning the Audain Prize, the Canadian Museums Association’s long-awaited report on reconciliation, and a political feud at the Power Plant, a leading contemporary art gallery in Toronto. We update our news feed almost daily, and publish a news digest every two weeks. We try to round up news items you may not find elsewhere, while also pointing to interesting arts-related articles in other publications. Our goal is to provide a much-needed one-stop site for reliable news about the Canadian art scene. We welcome your news tips at editor@gallerieswest.ca.

Finally, publisher Tom Tait and I would like to thank our most recent intern, Shazia Hafiz Ramji, who last month turned her full focus back to her doctoral studies at the University of Calgary. Shazia was a big help over the summer with multiple tasks, and also reviewed shows by Christopher K. Ho, Shahla Bahrami and Gailan Ngan. We're pleased that she will continue writing for Galleries West on an occasional basis. We are also grateful to the Alberta Magazine Publishers Association for funding to support this paid position. We are now looking for another intern, possibly a recent journalism graduate with a strong interest in cultural reporting. The job listing is posted here.

Looking ahead, we are working on stories about Saskatchewan artist Eli Bornstein, who turns 100 later this year; the final show at the Rennie Museum’s Wing Sang location in Vancouver's Chinatown; and a touring exhibition by Toronto artist Shary Boyle that will open at the Vancouver Art Gallery next year. We've also commissioned a commentary on artist resale rights, prompted by news that Ottawa is working on amendments to the Copyright Act that could see payments to artists whose work is resold at auctions.

Until next time,