Please join us in welcoming Kendra Yee to the RBC Emerging Artist Residency Program! To learn more about Kendra’s artistic practice and her plans for the incubator lab, visit her profile and read her blog post below!
Close your eyes and picture that onetime, not so long ago.
Maybe the minutes that comprise your thought stumble between a single second or perhaps it wobbles over weeks or they just might motor through many months.
A memory feels magical because it’s alive; metamorphosing with every recollection (for better or worse). Memories turn inanimate objects into sentient things. Throughout the day we listen to the whispers of daily diaries and the laughs of hand-me-down jeans. By interacting with taste, touch, smell, hearing and sight, the senses activate an objects cache, revealing the saga of memories. Memories can blur and they are not inherent truths, rather they coexistence with falsities. This is just a part of living; things are not always as they seem.
Documentation of self reflections can take on a variety of different shapes and forms. These stories are often left out from cannon institutions, yet their dialogues cannot be silenced; they still chatter. Over the course of single seconds, wobbly weeks, and motored months, I will be looking at the enchantment of personal record keeping, observing the preservation of experiences and how we keep conversations through curated objects.
Here is a prediction that is also a promise: on the starting date of the residency, I will have consistently written in a journal for 68 days (everyday)!!
Here is a confession: I hate writing. This journal is the start of something daring, acting as an initial guide that stores daily antidotes. Sometimes, it is my friend. Tightly within the pages the scratched ballpoint ink keeps joy and fosters excitement. Similar to a vessel, it is responsible for storing, a paper pot for stories. Other times, it is my enemy. I do not want to write. Each word is poison. There is nothing to feel.
Perhaps, you will visit me at the studio and we will have a conversation on a memory that you had. I wonder if some secrets will be disclosed? We could swap pages from our journals, embarrassed by the mundane details. It could also be awkward; we are strangers after all. Anything could happen. It’s just like the initiations of a memory, you never really know what will stick or what will fade away. With your collaboration, an installation will be built to preserve the memories of others through the creation of objects / items / things. Using clay and drawings as a foundation, the artworks created will combine donated paper paraphernalia and other items provided by the community. Coming together as a collection, these works will build a memory palace. Some things important to us… for a time that we cannot recall.
Canada is marking the third National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, established to honour the intention of the 80th Call to Action in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Report “to honour Survivors, their families, and communities, and ensure that public commemoration of the history and legacy of residential schools remains a vital component of the reconciliation process.”
Each year the RMG closes to the public and our staff team engages in collective and personal reflection and learning. Our Indigenous staff members determine how they want to spend the day. This year the team will come together on Monday, October 2 for that learning. On September 30, the RMG is closed.
There are more events and commemorations as each year passes to observe the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. We will continue to share links to our past blog posts in the hopes that these resources are useful to your journey of learning and unlearning. I remain grateful to our past team member Samuel Powless and to Erin Szikora (Associate Curator, Exhibitions) for putting them together for us all.
The City of Oshawa also has a webpage that you can explore. It includes the location of Orange Ribbon Memorials across the City and a local resource guide.
Continuing to support and advocate for the self-determination of Indigenous people and communities is part of our ongoing work, both internally and with community. As a settler, I understand my responsibility to understanding the truth and working towards reconciliation throughout the year. While these days and months are important, ensuring they are always part of the societal dialogue, our programming, and making our organizational systems and structures more equitable is paramount.
This area continues to be home to many Indigenous people from across Mishiike Minisi. We recognize the sovereignty of all Indigenous nations and are grateful for the opportunity to learn, live, and work on this land.
We acknowledge that the RMG is in treaty land, and respect our collective responsibility to protect and nurture the land. We also recognize the continuing impacts of colonialism and our responsibilities to redress the ways this has helped shape our organization. We are committed to working to address structural inequities and to centering Indigenous voices in the gallery.
We are excited to announce that our new Collections pages are live! With the support of a Digital Access to Heritage Grant from the Department of Canadian Heritage, the RMG team embarked on a process of reimagining how visitors can digitally access and interact with our collection. Our permanent art collection is one of our greatest assets, and we are always looking to find ways to share it more broadly with our community. This project was an opportunity to improve access to our Permanent Collection through a more engaging and user-friendly digital experience.
One of our key goals was finding ways for visitors to explore and let their curiosity lead them. More than just a simple search function, the online database has been transformed to become a space for learning that offers various ways to explore. You can create a personal account to assemble and curate your own online ‘collection’ and scroll through a timeline to visualize the history of Canadian abstract art. Seeking copyright permissions was an important part of this project in order to increase the number of artworks with images. We have increased the number of works with images through this dedicated copyright project. There is also more in-depth interpretive information about artworks and educational activities to inspire you.
It was incredible to work with the amazing teams over at Puncture Design and Helios Design Labs who also redesigned our website in 2022. They took time to understand the RMG, our collection and our audience, and developed ways to animate the collection through interactive components while carrying through the accessible, contemporary visual design of our website. Our long-standing relationship with Minisis Inc. allowed for a smooth data transfer to a new, updated collections database that functions for visitors and for our team.
We hope you enjoy exploring our new collections pages, taking a virtual stroll through the interactive timeline, and collecting artworks into your own personalized web collections. We are so excited to be able to offer new ways for you to engage with the collection and to build on the ways we connect in this digital age.
Nous avons le plaisir d’annoncer que nos nouvelles pages sur les collections sont en direct ! Avec le soutien d’une subvention pour l’accès numérique au patrimoine du ministère du Patrimoine canadien, l’équipe de RMG s’est lancée dans un processus de réinvention de la manière dont les visiteurs peuvent accéder et interagir numériquement avec notre collection. Notre collection d’art permanente est l’un de nos plus grands atouts, et nous cherchons toujours à trouver des moyens de la partager plus largement avec notre communauté. Ce projet était l’occasion d’améliorer l’accès à notre collection grâce à une expérience numérique plus engageante et plus conviviale.
L’un de nos principaux objectifs était de trouver des moyens permettant aux visiteurs d’explorer et de se laisser guider par leur curiosité. Plus qu’une simple fonction de recherche, la base de données en ligne s’est métamorphosée pour devenir un espace d’apprentissage qui propose diverses possibilités d’exploration. Vous pouvez créer un compte personnel pour assembler et conserver votre propre « collection » en ligne et faire défiler une chronologie pour visualiser l’histoire de l’art abstrait canadien. La recherche d’autorisations de droits d’auteur a constitué une partie importante de ce projet afin d’augmenter le nombre d’œuvres d’art comportant des images. Nous avons augmenté le nombre d’œuvres avec des images grâce à ce projet dédié aux droits d’auteur. Vous trouverez également des informations interprétatives plus approfondies sur les œuvres d’art et des activités éducatives pour vous inspirer.
C’était incroyable de travailler avec les équipes extraordinaires de Puncture Design et Helios Design Labs, qui ont également remanié notre site web en 2022. Ils ont pris le temps de comprendre la RMG, notre collection et notre public, et ont développé des moyens d’animer la collection grâce à des composants interactifs tout en conservant la conception visuelle accessible et contemporaine de notre site web. Notre relation de longue date avec Minisis Inc. a permis un transfert de données en douceur vers une nouvelle base des données actualisée de collections mise à jour qui fonctionne pour les visiteurs et pour notre équipe.
Nous espérons que vous prendrez plaisir à explorer les nouvelles pages de nos collections, à vous promener virtuellement dans la chronologie interactive et à rassembler des œuvres d’art dans vos propres collections web personnalisées. Nous sommes ravis de pouvoir vous offrir de nouveaux moyens d’engager avec la collection et de renforcer les liens qui nous unissent à l’ère du numérique.
Deaccessioning is the process by which a work of art or object is permanently removed from a gallery or museum’s collection.
Artworks to be deaccessioned are presented and approved by the RMG’s Acquisitions and Collections Committee, then following the Committee’s recommendation, reviewed and approved by the RMG’s Board of Directors.
The RMG is following the set of procedures for deaccessioning artworks outlined in our Collections Management Policy and several national, American, and international museum guidelines.
Deaccessioned artworks are offered to other public galleries, sold through reputable art auction, returned to the original artist or, rarely, permanently destroyed.
During a 2020 Ask a Curator Instagram Live event, RMG Curator Sonya Jones was asked: “is Deaccessioning still a dirty word?” After chuckling at the question, Jones responded that she did not believe it was still a dirty word and that it was an important part of caring for collections in order to address storage issues and to refine the collections scope. The question was important; it is true that historically deaccessioning has been a contested issue in the museum and gallery world. The heart of the issue usually lies with what happens with any funds raised from the sales of collection items or if the work being removed is a beloved community favourite.
What is deaccessioning?
Deaccessioning is the process by which a work of art or object is permanently removed from a gallery or museum’s collection. Without this widely recognized and regulated collections management practice, institutions would be facing storage crises as well as having artworks that do not align with their collections mandate. The RMG’s permanent collection is rooted in its original focus on Painters Eleven and telling the continuing story of contemporary Canadian Art. When acquiring new artwork for the collection these areas are still a priority alongside an intention to collect work by equity deserving artists in order to reflect a more holistic, diverse, equitable, and reflective history of Canadian art.
How are artworks chosen for deaccessioning?
Following careful consideration and research by the curators, in March 2023 a list of artworks to be deaccessioned was presented and approved by the RMG’s Acquisitions and Collections Committee, then following the Committee’s recommendation, reviewed and approved by the RMG’s Board of Directors.
What criteria does an artwork need to meet to be deaccessioned?
When putting the list together, the RMG considered how each artwork fits within the collection, and whether its removal can open up the possibility for new and more priority acquisitions. If monies are realized from the deaccessioning of works of art, they may be used only for the purchase of other artworks or for collections care and management. Only artworks that meet the following strict Canadian Museum Association criteria can be considered for deaccessioned:
Gallery’s inability to care for and maintain the artwork
Lack of significance or relevance to the collection or terms of acquisitions
Redundancy or duplication within the collection
Work of poor quality or lesser importance
Artwork determined to be false or fraudulent
Artworks acquired through unethical means, and Repatriation
In the case of the works selected by the RMG, the criteria that these artworks meet are the gallery’s inability to care for or maintain the work, lack of significant or relevance to the collection, work of lesser importance and redundancy within the collection. The removal of these works will help the RMG better align the collection with our priorities for acquisition outlined in our Collections Management Policy, and will benefit both the scope of the collection and storage space.
What happens when artworks are deaccessioned?
How galleries and museums remove artworks from collections is also clearly outlined in the CMA’s deaccessioning guidelines. The RMG will prioritize keeping the artwork within the public domain, so will first offer to public galleries across Canada. We are committed to transparency, so we will make all effort to notify donors and artists of any transfer to another collection. Only if there’s no interest from public galleries will we put the artworks for public sale at a reputable art auction house such as Waddington’s Auctioneers & Appraisers. As mentioned earlier, any funds raised by the sale of artworks will only be used for purchasing new acquisitions and collections management. Artworks can also be returned to an artist so long as they were not the donor of the artwork. Permanent destruction is a last resort and is very rarely done. It is only considered if the artwork is damaged beyond reasonable repair so can’t be offered to another institution, made available for sale at auction, or the artist does not want it.
FAQs
Has the RMG deaccessioned anything before?
Yes, we have. Most recently in 2022 we deaccessioned the Pedlar People Lion, an object designed by Pedlar People Limited to decorate the entrance to Alexandra Park c. 1908. The decision was based on “Lack of significance or relevance to the collection or terms of acquisitions” as the Pedlar People Lion is more of a historical object than an artwork. Since the Pedlar Lion is an important object to Oshawa’s history, the RMG gifted it directly to the Oshawa Museum. This object is better suited to the collecting mandate of the Oshawa Museum and will have more opportunities for engagement and historical research.
Can the artwork be given back to their original donors?
No. When a person donates an item, they transfer all ownership over to The Robert McLaughlin Gallery. Donors may also have been issued a tax receipt when they donated items. If so, it would be against Canadian tax laws and cause for the Canada Revenue Agency to revoke charitable status.
Can the artwork be given back to the artist?
If the artist was not the donor of the artwork, then yes it can be returned to them. However, priority should be given to keeping it in a public collection to be enjoyed by all.
Who decides if an artwork is to be deaccessioned?
Many people are involved in the decision making process. First, the curator will recommend to the CEO artworks to be deaccessioned after extensive review and research. From there, a report and presentation is made to the Acquisition and Collections Committee, comprised of members of our Board of Directors. Following the Committee’s approval and recommendation, it then must be approved by a two-thirds majority vote of the Board of Directors.
If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Sonya Jones, Interim Senior Curator or Lauren Gould, CEO at 905-576-3000.
The Robert McLaughlin Gallery creates an accessible community-arts green space in Oshawa with funding from Government of Canada, Ontario Trillium Foundation and City of Oshawa.
Over the past year, The Robert McLaughlin Gallery (RMG) has been working collaboratively with landscape architects Brook McIlroy and artists LeuWebb Projects to re-imagine the greenspace directly behind the gallery. With feedback from our Community Advisory Circle and staff team, our plans reimagine the backyard as a new type of public space that incorporates creativity, play and art. Featuring a new shade and performance space, seating, gardens and barrier-free accessibility to the creek, visitors will be able to explore nature differently, connect with community and dream new possibilities.
The reinvigorated outdoor space will activate and expand the possibilities of the Gallery. Last year, the pilot outdoor RMG Friday concert series and summer camps were able to experience the joy of free access to a greenspace. The free opening of The Backyard at the RMG will be celebrated on Friday, July 7, 2023, with performances by Tania Joy and the Professors of Funk. Concertgoers will also have the opportunity to: meet the designers, plant our raised beds with the Oshawa Garden Club, participate in rock painting, and enjoy refreshments from local vendors.
The Backyard at the RMG will feature programming for all ages, abilities and interests. Follow the RMG for up-to-date information and to participate in community events. The RMG will also be seeking support for phase two of development that is hoped to launch in 2024 to commemorate the City of Oshawa’s centennial celebrations.
Quotes
“The re-imagined greenspace at The Robert McLaughlin Gallery will not only help define the community through new spaces for creative expression and social interactions but also draw new residents and visitors in to enjoy the space and each other’s company. Our Government recognizes the value of investing in community infrastructure, and we are happy that we could support this exciting project.”
The Honourable Filomena Tassi, Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario
“The Backyard at the RMG is a space that was reimagined as a result of the pandemic. We felt the need from our community to have an outdoor space for programming, a natural space for art and creativity. We’re grateful to our funders, designers for their dedication, and importantly to our community partners that have helped to shape the vision for the Backyard.”
Lauren Gould, CEO, The Robert McLaughlin Gallery
“On behalf of City Council and the Oshawa community, we’re excited to celebrate the opening of The Backyard at the RMG. The Backyard outdoor space will bring even more cultural events and programming for all ages to our great city and further establish downtown Oshawa as a vibrant cultural hub.”
Mayor Dan Carter, The City of Oshawa
Quick facts
The Robert McLaughlin Gallery (RMG) believes that art cultivates connected and caring communities. As an artist-centered and community-oriented public art gallery in Durham Region, we bring people from diverse backgrounds together to engage with art that inspires new perspectives, generates meaningful conversations, and creates a sense of belonging. Annually, the RMG welcomes thousands of patrons to engage with our: exhibitions, education programs, volunteering opportunities, event spaces, shop, artist-in-residence program, and digital programming. Admission to the RMG is FREE.
Edward Hutchinson Press Secretary Office of the Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario [email protected]
Sara Rodriguez Manager, Marketing and Communications The Robert McLaughlin Gallery [email protected]
Shannon McFadyen Manager, Corporate Communications City of Oshawa [email protected]
About The Robert McLaughlin Gallery The Robert McLaughlin Gallery (RMG) is the largest public art gallery in Durham Region. We believe that art cultivates connected and caring communities. As an artist-centered and community-oriented public art gallery in Durham Region, we bring people from diverse backgrounds together to engage with art that inspires new perspectives, generates meaningful conversations and creates a sense of belonging. We build relationships with diverse artists and communities through art. The RMG works in collaboration with artists, partners, and audiences to present dynamic and inspiring collections, exhibitions and programs in an inclusive and equitable environment.
Today, the RMG’s collection of over 4,700 works focuses on telling the continuing story of Canadian abstraction. Each year we present Permanent Collection exhibitions alongside special exhibitions of contemporary art and artists. We prioritize engaging diverse audiences in new and familiar ways through our programming. We foster community connections and partnerships to create a greater sense of belonging. We reimagine the gallery, making space for all. Annually, we welcome 38,000 visitors and 10,000 participants to engage with us and what we offer.
About FedDev Ontario For 13 years, the Government of Canada, through FedDev Ontario, has worked to advance and diversify the southern Ontario economy through funding opportunities and business services that support innovation, growth and job creation in Canada’s most populous region. The Agency has delivered impressive results, which can be seen in southern Ontario businesses that are creating innovative technologies, improving productivity, growing revenues, creating jobs, and in the economic advancement of communities across the region. Learn more about the impacts the Agency is having in southern Ontario by exploring our pivotal projects, our Southern Ontario Spotlight, and FedDev Ontario’s Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.
About the Ontario Trillium Foundation The Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF), an agency of the Government of Ontario, and one of Canada’s leading granting foundations celebrates 40 years of grant-making in Ontario and making a lasting impact in communities. Last year, OTF invested over $110M into 1,022 community projects and partnerships, which included funding for the Government of Ontario’s Community Building Fund. Visit otf.ca to learn more.
About LeuWebb Projects LeuWebb Projects is the creative union between artists Christine Leu and Alan Webb, through which they apply their professional design backgrounds to produce moments of beauty in the public realm. Since 2011, they have created more than 20 site-specific artworks across the world. With each piece, Leu and Webb summon their shared artistic and architectural expertise in exploring how a site’s qualities can serve as metaphors for storytelling and critical discourse.
Art and architecture share an integral relationship, meeting at many points including visual, spatial and tactile expression. The unique approach of LeuWebb Projects lives within the space shared by art and architecture, their practice fueling hybrid forms and new directions within the contemporary visual arts tradition. Light, texture and sound are key components of their practice that they weave together through the innovative use of materials and responsive technologies to create art that is not only seen, but also experienced.
About Brook McIlroy Brook McIlroy is an award-winning landscape architecture, planning, urban design, and architecture firm with offices in Toronto, Thunder Bay, and Winnipeg. As a unique, multi-disciplinary practice, we design projects as whole environments, addressing all scales and facets from community visions to detailed design and construction administration of parks, streets, buildings, and infrastructure. Over 21 years, we have worked extensively with municipalities, post-secondary institutions, and private developers in the design and creation of streetscapes, parks, public art, waterfronts, and design guidelines. Our progressive focus on the public realm and placemaking cerates lively, people-oriented spaces that combine landscape architecture with cultural interpretation and programming.
We work in the medium of the built and natural environments driven by a belief that we have been given an incredible gift in Canada, and an opportunity to get it right – to create environments where people can prosper and thrive while protecting the land, water, air and the other species that make life possible. This work is driven by a uniquely Canadian design ethos derived from research into place, diverse cultures, Indigenous world views, sustainability, natural materials, and the application of new technologies.
Please join us in welcoming multidisciplinary artist Noah Scheinman to the RBC Emerging Artist Residency Program! During his residency at the RMG, Noah will continue his ongoing research into the social and environmental impacts of nuclear power in Canada and work towards a new exhibition of sculpture and audiovisual installation. To learn more about Noah’s artistic practice and his plans for the incubator lab, visit his profile and read his blog post below!
My name is Noah Scheinman, and I’m a multidisciplinary artist with a research-based practice that includes work in sculpture, installation, moving image, photography, and design. I have a tendency to pursue long, self-initiated, and multi-stage projects that use art and media as material and conceptual paradigms for investigating the complex and contested environments of the Anthropocene—how they are imagined, constructed, maintained, resisted, and ultimately fall into ruin. In this context, ruin doesn’t imply simply disappearance or decay, but rather indicates the enduring afterlives of (industrial) modernity as it continues to haunt contemporary and future landscapes through legacies of contamination, colonialism, and the commodification and instrumentalization of natural worlds. One of these projects, Timber Limits, explores the histories, epistemologies, and political ecologies of forests and the timber industry in so-called Canada (and its global reach), while in another I use speculative geo-fiction to consider lithographic narratives of concrete as it became the material and metaphorical basis for rapid postwar urbanization.
The work proposed for my residency at the RMG emerges from another ongoing research trajectory, The Legacy of Matter, which engages artistic methodologies to map Canada’s Postnuclear Landscape—the network of geographic sites which have been irrevocably transformed by the extraction, processing, transportation, use, and storage of atomic materials. What is called “clean energy” also produces a host of damaging socio-ecological externalities that have and will continue to impact human and more-than-human worlds for generations to come. This includes northern locations where uranium is mined, laboratories where nuclear technologies have been tested (sometimes in forests and ponds!), and communities where proposals for the long-term storage of radioactive waste have the potential to forever reshape the land and its relations. While research and travel to each individual site informs a video-essay and accompanying sculptural installation that unpacks the unique features of a local place, it is when these artworks/locations are considered together that connections are made that reveal larger systematic patterns of environmental violence. This is not the spectacular destruction of exploding bombs and reactor meltdowns, but rather (to borrow from the scholar Rob Nixon) the slow, incremental violence of difficult-to-perceive processes that do their work over extended periods of time.
In residence, I will continue this work by focusing on the particular historical conditions of Oshawa and the regional municipality of Durham as they relate to the production of nuclear energy, the shores of Lake Ontario, the increasing obsolescence of combustion engines, and questions of containment, exposure, and toxicity when ideologies and bodies clash and mingle in unruly mixtures of earth and time. This research program will be loosely organized around five thematic clusters:
1) Sound, geography, and jurisdiction
2) Energy regimes and material cultures
3) Invisible visibilities/visible invisibilities
4) Environmental histories of nuclear architectures
5) Radioactive water and the shoreline
Through these interconnected groupings I will investigate such events as the Gunshot Treaty of 1789, which established the northern boundary of British control in the area using the acoustic reach of a musket shot from the shoreline, the environmental implications (past, present, future) of locating nuclear generating stations in close proximity to Lake Ontario, and the ways the nuclear regime is simultaneously visible (material and architectural) and invisible (unseen radioactivity and secretive) and sometimes a weird hybrid/paradox of the two.
Informed by research and thinking on these topics, which also includes significant fieldwork, I intend to produce an audiovisual installation and pursue several lines of sculptural experimentation which poetically bring together a range of ideas and processes that address the symbols, spaces, and socio-natures of the region’s constantly changing environment… But more on that later. For now I wanted to sign off by expressing my gratitude for the opportunity to embed within the community of Oshawa and by inviting anyone with an interest in visual art, film, ecology, energy, infrastructure, fashion, rocks, baseball, and swimming to visit the RMG and drop by the incubator lab to chat about life and see what I’m working on. My project is not so much about being pro- or anti-nuclear, but rather motivated by a desire to reflect on the rich constellation of issues that attend this major development in the history of the earth. It is a challenge to myself and others to consider the nuclear regime beyond reductive and binary arguments of, for, or against, and instead focus on how it intersects with systems of power and the long-term health of the places where it materializes.
We’re fortunate enough to receive different kinds of support from various people and organizations. Whether through donations, in-kind gifts, or visitors sharing their experiences of the gallery with friends, every little bit helps to further our commitment to cultivating community and connection through art.
North American Steel Equipment Inc. (NASE) has long provided in-kind donations to The Robert McLaughlin Gallery (RMG) to assist with storing artwork in our vault, housing archives, and organizing materials for our exhibition installations.
“After our recent HVAC improvements to the vault and a lot of reorganization during the pandemic during our periods of closure, we needed some new shelving to bring order to the new spaces,” said Lauren Gould, CEO. “North American Steel Equipment Inc. was quick to jump to our request and generously donated shelving for our wood storage as well as for our archives.”
“North American Steel is proud to support the growth and development of the local arts community. As a leading steel manufacture in the area, we recognize the importance of the arts in our society and believe that a thriving arts community is a vital part of a healthy city.
We are honored to provide support to The Robert McLaughlin Gallery and its many exhibitions, events, and programs. We believe that the Gallery is an important cultural institution that plays a crucial role in promoting the arts, fostering creativity and providing education to the public,” said Derik Gould (no relation!), Dealer Sales Representative at NASE.
“North American Steel is proud to be part of a community that values the arts and recognizes their importance within the local city.”
We are pleased to welcome Alex Close to the RMG as part of the RBC Emerging Artist Residency Program. To learn more about Alex’s artistic practice and her plans for the incubator lab, visit her profile and read her blog post below!
Hi! My name is Alex Close and I am excited to come back to my hometown of Oshawa this February as the next emerging artist in residence at the RMG Gallery.
I have recently been focusing on the ways we navigate through layered experiences that inform our sense of place. In the past I spent a lot of time thinking about how we can lose our ability to pay attention or even visualize for ourselves when we constantly participate in immersive or engineered experiences. From this, the idea of trust became a big theme for me, and I have been thinking about how this applies to large public events and spectacles, where immersion and movement of crowds can be physically seen. For example, being lulled into a comfortable and pleasant experience in a mall can encourage you to stay there longer. I am interested in the ecology of big public events or places, the characters that come up (like predator and prey) and the movement patterns from center to edge.
During my residency I will be working on a series of large-scale paintings that are informed by experiments with a few different avenues of abstraction; sound bites, animations, drawings/prints, and small-scale maquettes. I will be focusing on the theme of navigating public events and recalling memories that develop our sense of place. The process of navigating a new or challenging environment can almost be seen as a scavenger hunt – finding fleeting moments of thrill or an intuition of what might be next. I am interested in the emotions that come up in this state of navigation and the process of orientation in general – interpreting the reality around us and the trust in well-worn paths including our own memory.
When I travel back to Oshawa, I will also be reflecting on my experience living abroad for the last year in Eastern Europe where I started to get used to different codes and customs to navigate everyday life. This has gotten me to think about the idea of “home” and how I define it, as well as mobility and my own journey into orienting myself when going from a certain set of communication norms and into another.
I am so excited to get to work at the RMG artist incubator lab and am looking forward to meeting new people while I am at the studio so please feel free to drop by or get in touch!
In November 2022, the RMG received a non-repayable contribution of $20,000 from Central Counties Tourism to support RMG Fridays. Prior to the pandemic, RMG Fridays were a highlight of the events calendar in Durham Region. These free community events were designed for all ages and have featured live music in our Permanent Collection gallery; short film screenings courtesy of Durham Region International Film Festival (DRIFF); and food and drink from various Durham-based businesses. This is part of the Government of Canada’s Tourism Relief Fund, delivered by the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario). Central Counties Tourism received $8.65-million from FedDev Ontario to help local tourism organizations and businesses safely welcome back visitors, recover from the impacts of the pandemic and prepare for future growth.
“The RMG was thrilled to receive this support for RMG Fridays to enable us to hold these events outdoors in summer 2022 as audiences became more comfortable gathering. We supported artists and performers we otherwise would not have been able to host, attracting over 1100 people to our events.”
Lauren Gould, CEO, The Robert McLaughlin Gallery
Since relaunching RMG Fridays in 2022, we’ve featured local musicians and performers such as: Dizzy, Wooly, NERiMA, Division Street, Desarae Dee, Hunter Sheridan, EQUAL, L CON, David Shewchuk, and Durham Storytellers. These Fridays of the month have continued to feature film screenings by Durham Region International Film Festival and free tours of our exhibitions by the RMG’s team of curators.
The RMG plans to continue this popular series in early 2023.
About Central Counties Tourism
Central Counties Tourism is the provincially-funded not-for-profit dedicated to developing, supporting and promoting tourism in Durham Region, York Region and the Headwaters Tourism Region. Since their inception, they have assisted dozens of municipalities through destination development and hundreds of tourism related businesses grow their capacity, strengthening the visitor economy in the region.
About the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario
The Government of Canada’s $500-million Tourism Relief Fund is helping tourism-oriented businesses and organizations recover from the pandemic and prepare for future growth. The Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario) is delivering nearly $120 million of the Tourism Relief Fund across southern Ontario.
With thanks to RBC for their generous support, the RMG is pleased to present three new artists in the Emerging Artist Residency Program. Alex Close, Noah Scheinman, and Kendra Yee will be bringing exciting projects to the RMG over the coming year, each developing new work in our residency studio and exhibiting that work in an eight-week solo show. We look forward to sharing their work with you!
Alex Close
Spring/Summer
Residency Dates: February 27 – June 11, 2023 Exhibition Dates: June 17 – August 13, 2023
Alex Close is an emerging visual artist from Oshawa, ON. She holds a BFA from OCADU, an MFA (MLitt) from the Glasgow School of Art (2017), and a Master of Design in Design Research from Carleton University (2020). She has participated in residencies, exhibitions, and projects internationally. Concerned with the relationship between certainty and unreachable or irretrievable data, Close explores in her work the layers of experiences that form someone’s sense ofplace, as well as the varied and imperfect processes of interpreting reality and recalling memories.
Alex Close, Turbine Shellfish, 2021, acrylic on canvas, 4×4′.
Noah Scheinman
Summer/Fall
Residency Dates: June 19 – October 1, 2023 Exhibition Dates: October 7 – December 3, 2023
Noah Scheinman is an emerging multidisciplinary artist and filmmaker with a background in architecture and design. His creative work has been presented in various group and solo contexts, including a public art commission from the City of Kingston. Since 2020, Scheinman has been working on a project called The Legacy of Matter which investigates the toxic legacy of Canada’s postnuclear landscape. Engaged in site specific inquiries of colonialism and ecology, his work traces historical and contemporary practices of extraction and waste management in so-called Canada.
Residency Dates: October 23 – December 17, 2023 and January 2 – February 18, 2024 Exhibition Dates: February 24 – April 21, 2024
Kendra Yee is an emerging arts practitioner based out of Tkaronto (Toronto) with a background in illustration and design. Yee has developed programming with numerous galleries in Ontario, including the RMG, and exhibited in Toronto, Montreal, and Los Angeles. Her work is concerned with communal dialogue. Seeking a fluid sense of time and storytelling through carefully curated spaces, Yee’s work pulls from personal narratives, lived encounters, and collective knowledge to explore the relationship between private world building and collective histories.
Kendra Yee, Jump, 2022, ink & newsprint, 8” x 10”.
