Raymonde April's Autoportrait de rideau (1991) is one of the thousands of portraits in the National Library and Archives. A revived National Portrait Gallery initiative would hope to help surface that collection, at least in part, for its exhibition projects. Photo credit: Raymonde April, Library and Archives Canada, archival reference number R12483, e008438965
© Raymonde April.
Ideas of a National Portrait Gallery for Canada have been kicked around for 20 years, and a new group is hoping to revive it as a public-private partnership. Led by Ottawa lawyer Lawson Hunter, the new group “includes arts professionals, business people, several Canadian senators and retired Supreme Court chief justice Beverley McLachlin” and released a new advocacy study November 8. (Globe and Mail)
The Vancouver Art Gallery is starting a Mandarin lecture series. “Vancouver is one of North America’s most important gateways to Asia and now has one of the fastest growing Asian populations in the world,” says a release. “This fall, to better reflect the communities that we serve, the Vancouver Art Gallery’s Institute of Asian Art launches Tan Yishu, a Mandarin-language lecture series of art talks.” Zheng Shengtian, adjunct director of the Institute of Asian Art, will start the series off on November 15. (Vancouver Art Gallery)
Finalists have been announced for two major Montreal artist awards. Finalists for the Prix Louis-Comtois this year are David Armstrong-Six, karen elaine spencer and Milutin Gubash. Finalists for the Prix Pierre-Ayot are Guillaume Adjutor Provost, Nadège Grebmeier Forget and Caroline Monnet. (AGAC, AGAC)
“How Ottawa’s Nordic Lab is creating new opportunities for Northern art.” That’s the headline on a CBC story about Saw Centre’s new initiative for Inuit and circumpolar artists launching in spring 2020. It includes a research and production space, as well as an education space. (CBC)
Artist residency updates in Calgary and Vancouver. The School for the Contemporary Arts at Simon Fraser University has welcomed Raven Chacon as the 2019 fall Audain Visual Artist in Residence, during which time Chacon will be leading a series of workshops concerning the production and presentation of “scores.” The New Gallery in Calgary has announced that Teresa Tam, Annie Wong, and Cheryl Wing-Zi Wong will be in the inaugural Calgary Chinatown Artist Residency, exploring the area’s cultural identity, built environment, heritage, and history while envisioning the community’s future. (Art & Education, The New Gallery)
Canadian artists are exhibiting in Birmingham this fall. “Manif d’art is proud to announce that six Canadian artists from the ninth edition of the Quebec City Biennial, including three from Quebec, will be exhibiting this fall in Birmingham, in three of the city’s important exhibition centres,” says a release. Anne-Marie Proulx, Caroline Gagné and Nadia Myre will be at Stryx, Jim Holyoak and Matt Shane at the Midlands Arts Centre and Meryl McMaster at Ikon Gallery. (e-flux)
Staffing has changed at Mercer Union in Toronto. Julia Paoli, previously director of exhibitions & programs there, has assumed leadership in the role of director & curator, while Aamna Muzaffar has been promoted to TD assistant curator and Sonya Filman to audience development coordinator. “This organizational approach offers a refreshed focus and streamlined structure as Mercer Union celebrates its fortieth anniversary,” says a release. (Mercer Union)
