Geoffrey Farmer’s 2002 work Trailer is one of the pieces on view in the National Gallery of Canada’s reopened contemporary galleries. It was purchased by the NGC in 2003 (no. 41202). © Geoffrey Farmer.
Our editors’ weekly roundup of Canadian art news.
The National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa has officially reopened its contemporary galleries with a new exhibition, “Canadian and Indigenous Art: 1968 to Present.” The exhibition brings together some 150 works by more 100 artists from the gallery’s permanent collection, and displays them across 12 galleries located on two floors. The artists featured include Carl Beam, Rebecca Belmore, Rodney Graham, Kelly Mark and Jeff Wall. The exhibition opens ahead of the new Canadian and Indigenous Galleries at the NGC, which will launch on June 15, with special programming and free admission.
The Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec (CALQ) announced on Tuesday that several figures in the Quebec arts community will be appointed Companion of the Ordre des arts et des lettres du Québec in a ceremony at Montreal’s Phi Centre on May 29. Painter René Derouin, DHC/ART Foundation and PHI Centre founder Phoebe Greenberg and arts patron Pierre Lassonde are among the recipients. The awards are “in recognition of these individuals’ outstanding contributions to the diversity and vitality of Quebec culture.” Past recipients include Rita Letendre, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer and Françoise Sullivan.
Carolyn Meili was announced on Wednesday as Guelph’s next artist-in-residence. Meili applied to the annual open call, which invited artists to consider “Canada’s 150th birthday and the City’s 190th anniversary while encouraging reflection of Guelph’s collective history in a unifying way.” Meili is the fourth artist-in-residence for Guelph. Past recipients are Lisa Hirmer, Greg Denton and Pearl Van Geest. The program is meant to connect artists with the public, and animate public space.
The Royal Architectural Institute of Canada announced on Monday that art and architecture critic John Bentley Mays has posthumously received the 2017 President’s Medal for Media in Architecture. Awarded every two years, the prize “recognizes storytelling about buildings and cities that promotes understanding of architecture and the role of architects in the daily lives of Canadians.”
