A work by Nicole Kelly Westman, one of the artists who participated in a past Alberta Biennial.
An expanded prairie biennial is coming in 2020. After several years of leading the Alberta Biennial, the Art Gallery of Alberta is joining forces with the Remai Modern in Saskatchewan on a broader prairie event. “Working with the theme of borders, the biennial team is seeking submissions from Prairie artists, physically or otherwise within, from, or in proximity to the borders of Treaty 4, Treaty 6, Treaty 7, Treaty 8 and Treaty 10,” says a release. “The biennial will be presented in two concurrent exhibitions, on view at the AGA and Remai Modern in the fall of 2020.” The biennial will be curated by the AGA’s Lindsey V. Sharman and Franchesca Hebert-Spence as well as Remai Modern’s Sandra Fraser, and guest curator Felicia Gay. (press release)
Montreal’s Phi Centre is bringing Marina Abramović and Renata Morales to the Venice during the Biennale. Phi will present works by both artists at Ca’ Rezzonico Gallery from May 6 to July 6, concurrently with the first few weeks of the Venice Biennale. Morales will present Invasor, the culmination of a two year residency in ceramic sculpture with Phi Centre in Montreal. Abramović will show a virtual reality piece, Rising, produced in collaboration with Acute Art, addressing the effects of climate change. (press release)
The FBI is looking for help restituting numerous indigenous cultural objects and bones. “The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) art crime team is seeking help to return thousands of objects, works of art and Native American human remains that it seized in 2014 in Waldron, Indiana, from [the estate of] collector Don Miller. Officials confiscated around 8,000 pieces from…more than 40,000 objects from various cultures, with around a third of the collection comprising Native American art works and human bones,” the Art Newspaper reports. “Since the case surfaced, the department has repatriated around 12% of the collection, including sending objects back to China, Spain, Colombia, Mexico, Canada, Peru, Cambodia and Iraq.” The FBI is seeking more leads to repatriate more. (Art Newspaper)
An interim CEO has been named at Remai Modern. “Lynn McMaster, a museum administrator with 30 years of experience in the cultural and education sectors, has been tapped as Remai Modern’s interim CEO,” says a release. “Originally from Regina, McMaster was most recently CEO at Please Touch Museum in Philadelphia. She also held leadership roles at the Canadian Museum of Civilization and its affiliate the Canadian Children’s Museum.” (press release)
Art schools in Canada are starting to name their honorary degrees for this spring. Rebecca Belmore, Michael Donovan and Robert Storr are to receive honorary degrees at NSCAD University graduation this spring, while Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun, Terry Irwin and Marianne Nicolson will be honoured at the Emily Carr University of Art and Design convocation. (press release, Straight)
The Sydney Biennial list is out. Among the artists who will be involved are Kuujjuaq-raised artist Taqralik Partridge and Montreal-based Léuli Eshraghi. (ABC)
Art historian François-Marc Gagnon has died. He passed on March 28, 2019. Gagnon was a professor emeritus in Quebec art at l’Université de Montréal and also was a chair, during his lifetime, at Concordia University. François-Marc Gagnon was particularly known for his work on the Automatistes. (CIAC)
Sally Wolchyn-Raab is the next artistic director of Eyelevel in Halifax. She begins in early May. “She received a BFA in drawing from ACAD in 2010 and moved to K’jipuktuk/Halifax in 2015,” says a release. “In her time here she has been involved with regional Artist-run centres, currently sitting on the Editorial Committee of Visual Arts Nova Scotia and is the President of Atlantis: Association of Artist-Run Centres from the Atlantis.”
In case you missed it: A few Canadian artists won Guggenheim Fellowships this week. Many in the St. Catharines arts community are concerned about new plans for Rodman Hall. The Ontario Sunshine List has revealed some of the top museum and gallery salaries in the province. And a sexual assault case involving a former OCADU instructor and on-campus incident was heard in court this week.
This post was corrected on April 22, 2019. The original erroneously stated that the Phi Centre show in Venice was happening at Ca’ Rezzonico Palace. In fact, it is at Ca’ Rezzonico Gallery.
