Western Canada's art magazine since 2002
22 September 2020 Vol 5 No 19 ISSN 2561-3316 © 2020
From the Editor
Portia Priegert
Working on this issue over the last two weeks has been challenging. Along with the ongoing isolations and deprivations of the coronavirus pandemic, Victoria, like much British Columbia, was cloaked with heavy smoke from the wildfires south of the border. Even slipping out for a quick walk became a fraught experience.
Editorially, we've been catching up with exhibitions we didn’t get a chance to cover before the pandemic forced galleries to close. Fortunately, Bridget Moser’s fascinating video installation at the Remai Modern in Saskatoon is among the shows that have extended their run. It is deftly reviewed in this issue by Michael Peterson, who discusses how well Moser captures the current mood of apathy and anxiety about societal inequities and environmental destruction.
New exhibitions that respond to the pandemic are also starting to appear, including Breathe, a beaded mask project launched by two Métis women. It opens Sept. 24 at the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies in Banff.
Also featured in this issue are Jill Ho-You at Harcourt House in Edmonton, Carroll Taylor Lindoe at TrépanierBaer in Calgary, and Ritual & Lore, a show at the Art Gallery of Regina that considers how cultural traditions inform the work of seven contemporary artists.
By chance, almost all artists featured in this issue are women. A little counterbalance comes via our Sneak Peek at the Bluerock Gallery in Black Diamond, Alta., where owner Tarek Nemr, a recent Syrian refugee, is organizing a large ceramics show.
Although galleries across the West have been re-opening, there are fewer shows than usual this fall, so we are launching some special projects – including a series on art and healing. If you’re an artist working around this theme, we’d love to hear from you. Ditto organizers of any special projects, or writers with story ideas about initiatives in their communities.
We are also starting to plan the annual art books issue for December. Since we reviewed many Canadian books during the first six months of the pandemic, we are broadening our focus this year to include reviews of international books. I will, however, compile our usual roundup of Canadian books, so please don't hesitate to let me know about new publications.
Turning to our next issue, we’re excited to launch a special feature – our first-ever in-house video. It will feature an interview with Fei Disbrow, whose lovely show, Catalogue of Stitches, is on view until Oct. 10 at Gallery Jones in Vancouver. Videographer Mark Mushet did a stunning job and we hope he will go on to produce more pieces for us. As well, writers are working on reviews of Senegalese artist Omar Ba at Contemporary Calgary and Third Realm, a photo-based show by various Asian artists at the Polygon Gallery in North Vancouver.
Magazines, even digital publications, need front-end planning time, so I encourage anyone promoting exhibitions to reach out to us. With only six stories every two weeks, we can’t write about every show in Western Canada. But getting your shows on our radar early is the best strategy to improve the odds of coverage.
Until next time,
CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE: Paul Gessell, Jera MacPherson, Agnieszka Matejko, Michael Peterson, Lissa Robinson