Making Methods at RMG Fridays

Our fall RMG Fridays event series has been announced. The lineup includes exhibition openings, book readings and launches, short film screenings, and more, all set alongside the incredible live music performances you’ve come to expect! We’ve got even more in store, so stay tuned as we add new components to each event as we move closer to the date.

Friday 6 September is our first fall RMG Fridays and it is another busy event!

The opening of the exhibition Making Methods is the centrepiece. The artists Becky Ip, Mark Stebbins and Sam Mogelonsky will all be present to discuss their work.

The event also celebrates the opening of Community Curates II, a new exhibition of works from our permanent collection that were recently selected by our community through an online survey!

The Isabel McLaughlin Gallery will host the musical guests Isla Craig and Native Other (formerly called The Louder Sounds). Isla was recently profiled by BlogTO as a “breakout band.” Read more about her work here.
Native Other are a young emerging band from Oshawa. We’re excited to host both of these performances.

At the event we’ll also help kick off the OshawaSpaceInvaders art exhibition pop-up event. OshawaSpaceInvaders places contemporary art is temporary spaces. In mid-September, six groups of artists will take over vacant retail spaces in downtown Oshawa and fill them with diverse artwork. You can learn more about this group by visiting their blog, and pick up a schedule of events and map at RMG Fridays in September.

As always, RMG Fridays is free to attend and is open to all ages. A cash bar is available at the event. The gallery is open 7-10pm, with a new Nutshell Tour (a quick 10 minute tour) each month, starting at 7:15pm.

Join the RMG Fridays September event page on Facebook for regular updates.

RMG Fridays December

We’re excited to be hosting our final RMG Fridays of the year tomorrow. We are welcoming folks from the Art of Transition planning committees as well as expecting a great audience.

Just a quick post to share some music from the acts performing tomorrow….

Whitby native Jay Pollock plays with a percussive acoustic guitar style, paired with a haunting baritone voice. His lyrics are dark and sarcastic, but relatable, though infused with twisted imagery. This is paired with a dash or two of eastern melodic spices.

https://www.facebook.com/JayPollockMusic

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=la0X2sNaONc]Orono native Jonas Bonnetta is the man behind Evening Hymns, who have recently returned from a lengthy European tour, and are embarking on a cross-Canada tour in October and November in support of recently-released album Spectral Dusk. In October, Evening Hymns were featured on CBC Canada Live recorded at Toronto’s Great Hall and The Grid (Toronto) calls Spectral Dusk “…deeply evocative.” The December 7 concert date in Oshawa is the final in this tour and is a free show.
https://www.facebook.com/eveninghymns

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5NOg6n_ruQ]

In 2013 we’re kicking off the new year with Dog is Blue and Bellevue. Check out the Facebook event page here.

We’re now working on putting together our next RMG Fridays, for March, April, May and June.

August First Fridays

We had so much fun at our August First Fridays event. The weather couldn’t have been more perfect.

(Click to follow links for more info!)

Musician Jeff Leech of Jeff Leech and the Pepperbox Choir opened the evening backed by another well-known local musician Abel Renton. Jeff told the crowd he was happy to be performing at the RMG (though he may have stumbled over our acronym!) and suggested we take a listen to his new album, Pointin’ Fingers, produced by Abel.

Jeff is a friend of the gallery. An artist and local teacher, Jeff recorded a version of his song Soldier Boy in the RMG last winter with local videographer Mike Peleshok.

Next up was singer/songwriter Patrick Dorie, who is soon to perform at the Canadian Country Music Association’s new artist showcase. We’re thrilled to have had him at a free event. Patrick’s video for Hope in High Places was screened at a previous First Fridays event in an awareness raising effort for the Second Marsh. You can hear some more of Patrick’s music on his Facebook page.

Local artist and illustrator Dani Crosby led an interactive mural project, using ink, wood panel and the assistance of First Fridays guests to create an RMG themed three-panel work. We haven’t decided if we can part with the work just yet, but are considering auctioning it at a future event, or keeping it as a mascot. We love the collaboration the work symbolizes!

Local burger business The Patty Shack came to hand out free RMG Vanity Sliders. We were lucky enough to work with Dave from The Patty Shack to design this delicious treat. R stands for Roasted Red Peppers, M for Mozzarella and G for his signature Gardillic sauce. We loved the burger and we’ll be headed back there for a staff lunch soon.

Read More:

Reporter Nathan Mackinnon captured the event on his blog post for the Downtown Oshawa News Blog.
Columnist Will McGuirk mentioned the event in his article for Oshawa This Week.

We’re now looking forward to our next event in September with anticipation. It has a back-to-school theme and we promise it will be much more fun than actually heading back to school!

See the full gallery on Posterous

July FIRST FRIDAYS!

We’re excited to announce the RMG’s sixth edition of FIRST FRIDAYS!

July’s First Fridays is on a special date and time: July 8^th. The party kicks off at 5pm with the opening reception for the gallery’s two new exhibitions, FIERCE and Geordie Lishman: Hidden Worlds. At 6pm Boom Bust & Echo will perform, followed by singer-songwriter Kate Boothman at 7pm. Cash bar and free to attend. Party continues until 9pm!

Kate Boothman is perhaps best known for her work in the band Sunbear. Kate will be performing a solo set and we are excited to welcome her to the gallery. Check out Kate’s myspace page here to hear some of her music.

Boom Bust & Echo are a new local act with a tie to artist Geordie Lishman – his brother Aaron Lishman is in the group!

July’s edition of First Fridays is an event partnership with Durham Tourism www.durhamtourism.ca.

We hope you will all join us for this great evening of art and live music!

True Power, Geordie Lishman