Western Canada's art magazine since 2002
6 October 2020 Vol 5 No 20 ISSN 2561-3316 © 2020
From the Editor
Portia Priegert
It doesn’t take long to hit a centenary when you publish every two weeks.
This is the 100th issue of Galleries West since the leap to an exclusively digital magazine in 2016.
The print magazine, launched in 2002, was popular with readers, but expensive to produce. While the move to digital cut costs at a time when advertising revenues were bottoming across the publishing industry, it also brought challenges.
For instance, there’s much more pressure to produce a steady stream of timely content to remain relevant to digital audiences. As well, we can no longer grow circulation by offering free promotional copies to gallery visitors.
That’s one reason we appreciate so much the people who share our stories, reviews and news items through their online networks or encourage friends to sign up for email reminders for each new issue.
We’re also grateful to all the readers who stepped up with donations to help tide us through the first phase of the pandemic. Like many businesses, we had to tighten our belts as the economy slowed and advertising revenues dropped. I’m pleased now to report that we have accessed temporary federal funding to help us through the coming months.
Meanwhile, we continue efforts to build our readership. Our website now attracts some 15,000 unique visits each month, and more than 2,500 people have liked Galleries West on Facebook. Instagram is running at almost 1,500 followers.
This issue marks an important first as we launch a video collaboration with Vancouver's Mark Mushet. For this first video, he has turned his lens to artist Fei Disbrow and her gorgeous show at Vancouver’s Gallery Jones. The plan is to develop an ongoing series – like a Canadian version of the American treasure trove Art21 – that documents artists across the Western provinces.
Also featured in this issue are reviews of Third Realm, an exhibition of Asian photography at the Polygon Gallery in North Vancouver, and Emily Neufeld’s nuanced show about settler history on the Prairies.
Our Sneak Peek series features photographs Edward Burtynsky shot last spring in Ontario’s cottage country, as well as Mexican-born artist Ricardo Copado’s mural in the children’s section of the newly renovated downtown library in Edmonton, a place I spent many Saturday mornings as a child.
Finally, this issue includes a review of Senegalese artist Omar Ba’s stunning paintings at Contemporary Calgary, one of many galleries across the West that have responded to the Black Lives Matter movement by highlighting the work of Black artists.
Looking ahead, our next issue will feature two in-depth Q-and-A features, one with Vancouver painter Pierre Coupey and the other with Jamaican-born Charles Campbell, now based in Victoria. Another highlight is a review of the latest iteration of the show formerly known as the Alberta Biennial, this year expanded to include Saskatchewan.
As we increase coverage of artists from diverse communities, part of our effort to support equality and reconciliation within the arts, we would like to feature more BIPOC writers as well. I'm always pleased when arts writers pitch reviews and story ideas, so please don't hesitate to reach out.
Until next time,
CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE: Mark Mushet, Lissa Robinson, John Thomson, Andrea Valentine-Lewis