Intern Files: Rachael

This post is by Rachael Dixon Lawrence, a grade 12 student at Father Leo J Austin Secondary School. Rachael is completing a co-op placement.

I chose to do my placement in the curatorial department at the RMG to further my knowledge and skills in art for my future career in animation. Fine art is very important to me because it is a way for people to express themselves in fun and interesting ways. I felt that working in a gallery would help me appreciate how everyone views artworks differently and to learn how art exhibitions are organized and displayed. Working at the RMG has really shown me how much time and effort is put into exhibition planning, and the importance of preserving artworks, photographs, and archival documents.

Before working at the RMG I did not know that Oshawa had such a large collection of artworks, and was not familiar with Painters Eleven or their importance to the gallery. I love how each Painters Eleven member’s style is very different, yet they clearly influenced each other. I have also learned about Oshawa’s history through working with the Thomas Bouckley Collection.

My favourite Painters Eleven artist is Kazuo Nakamura. I particular love this painting by Nakamura entitled Suspension.

One of my favorite jobs while working at the gallery was assisting with the placement and hanging of artworks for both the Durham Catholic District School Board and the Oshawa Art Association exhibitions. I also have enjoyed organizing hard copy photographs of artworks into files because I get to see a variety of artists and styles in the collection while doing it. I have catalogued books and historical photographs, taken inventory of books and exhibition pamphlets, researched exhibition history, made/hung labels, learned how the dewy decimal system works in the library, and hung artworks.

I have thoroughly enjoyed my experience at the RMG and look forward to continuing my studies in fine art and animation.

The Intern Files: Tara Mazurk

The Intern Files is an ongoing series of blog posts written by RMG Interns. Tara Mazurk is a third-year Arts Management Student at the University of Toronto.

There’s satisfaction in assisting the RMG in endeavors which build the local community, support artistic practice across Canada, and provide a pedagogical forum for learning and engagement. As the Communications and Events Assistant, I’ve had the opportunity to coordinate artists for RMG Exposed 2012 and progress the development of the RMG’s volunteer program.

The auction at RMG Exposed 2012

With RMG Exposed, I was charged with the task of coordinating incoming submissions, creating a comprehensive database, and acting as a liaison between artists and RMG. Ultimately, the objective was to create a system which was easily accessible internally, and enhanced communication between parties. I was quick to realize the benefits of this project, both as educational experience and within a broader context.
Currently an undergraduate student in Arts Management, the RMG has been wonderful in giving me a breadth of experience in database management, fundraising and development, and in artistic programming. To coordinate selections for a charitable auction allowed me to realize not only the funding impact for the RMG, but also the indispensable relationship between artist and organization. Those who had submitted work for jury came from various locations across Canada and thus various social, cultural, and educational backgrounds; some selected artists had previously no exhibition experience. This values the placement of emerging artists within an institutional framework, and provides a new forum for discussion, display, and career development.

Guests check out works to be auctioned at RMG Exposed 2012

No stranger to the professional development acquired through volunteering, I had approached the RMG with an eagerness to learn and inherent support of their values and initiatives. Of course, it was in my natural interest to outreach to new volunteers and to align administration of the volunteer program with the RMG’s Strategic Plan. My responsibilities included researching the various venues to which we could reach interested participants. As an extension of internal operations, I helped create a volunteer database which is accessible and easily filtered for volunteer interests, availability, and current status. The RMG’s volunteer resources are invaluable; and we are currently enhancing the portfolio to provide methods for internal evaluation. At the core of everything, this provides a fitting experience and inviting atmosphere to those who are crucial in building and engaging our community.

Tara (left) and another volunteer clowning around at RMG Fridays August 2012

The Intern Files: Taylor Short

In this edition of The Intern Files, we hear from Taylor Short. Taylor is fourth year Communications student at Oshawa’s University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT). This week Taylor completed her internship with us. Here is her blog post about her experience working in an art gallery for the first time.

In attempting to conceptualize the space of an art gallery, I typically picture paintings hanging on blank walls with people browsing through works as they please. My recent experience as an intern at the RMG has changed my perspective of the use of gallery spaces. I have come to the realization that art, and gallery spaces alike, are creative tools for gaining a better understanding of various environments.

Having the chance of exploring works within the gallery and working with individuals who share a passion for art has been an eye opening experience. It has been exciting to learn about artists, attention-grabbing mediums, and the messages associated with various creative pieces.

The RMG gift shop has been one of my areas of focus during my time as an intern at the gallery. Norah O’Donnell and I have enjoyed exploring exclusive products beautifully crafted by local artisans. It has been exciting to be educated about the ways in which pieces are crafted and developed, to create exclusively striking jewellery, pottery, glass ware, and fine art alike.

(Pictured: New artist finger puppet/magnets in the RMG shop)

Art has a curious way of reaching into the deepest corners of our imagination. It seeps into our souls and allows us to experience a simple sense of bliss. I hope that the rest of my time at the gallery continues to allow my imagination to be exhilarated.

The Intern Files: Amy Weir

In this edition of The Intern Files, we hear from Amy Weir. Amy is a library and information science graduate student from the Faculty of Information at the University of Toronto. In the past, Amy has interned at the RMG Library and Archives, and is currently working on a special project for the Thomas Bouckley Collection.

Compiled by local historian Thomas Bouckley, the Thomas Bouckley Collection at the RMG depicts the history of the City of Oshawa – providing visual insight into Oshawa’s past. The collection’s catalogued component consists of over 2280 photographs and negatives, but in addition, the RMG possesses a wide range of supporting files from Thomas Bouckley’s personal collection: over 2000 items including uncatalogued photographs, documents, artefacts and ephemera.

As some may be familiar, much of the catalogued component of the Thomas Bouckley Collection has been organized and filed in proper storage, frequently displayed in exhibitions and accessed for research purposes by the public. However, the other items that make up the collection currently remain in the condition received in 1985, with little organization, improper storage, and a lack of archival-quality housing. The uncatalogued materials, while stored in folders that have been numbered and named, are also difficult to locate due to a lack of description in the accompanying finding aid. This is where I come in. Over the course of three months, I’m working toward the goal of establishing order and appropriate storage for the uncatalogued portion, with the ultimate objective of facilitating ease of access, longevity, and ongoing preservation for the entire collection.

Re-housing files in archival-quality folders, before and after.

Currently, the project’s first stage is just wrapping up: the records within nearly all of the files have been ‘re-housed,’ and placed in archival-quality storage to enhance their preservation. Some files have simply required new, archival-quality file folders, while others have required more careful intervention – removing damaged photos from dated photo albums, for example.

Damaged photos to be removed from unstable photo albums.

Doing so has involved an analysis of every item in the collection, which has provided a great opportunity to discover the treasures that Bouckley collected as part of his research. Items, such as the original postcard with inscription shown here, tell the stories of the families who lived in early Oshawa.

1917 postcard and note on verso. Man in photo is identified as Frank Mallet of Mallet House Hotel, Oshawa.
TBC File no. 013A

What’s more, some of the items within the collection speak to not only the history of Oshawa, but the history of other areas in Ontario, with research and artefacts dating as far back as the aboriginal settlements of today’s Durham Region and Southern Ontario. Once the collection has been properly re-housed, organization and the eventual production of a digital finding aid (and collection inventory) is created, access to the collection will be significantly enhanced while contributing to Bouckley’s endeavour to continually augment and to preserve our knowledge of the region’s history.

The Intern Files: Ashley Craig

Ashley Craig is an Public Relations Intern working in our communications department as part of her program at Durham College. This is a blog post about her experience working here in the past few weeks.

I am a public relations intern at The Robert McLaughlin Gallery and up until this year, the only other art gallery I have ever been to was the ROM. I went when I was six and I don’t remember seeing any of the exhibits. I just know that I held a snake while I was there. The majority of the artwork I have ever been exposed to were the paintings hanging in my grandmother’s old apartment. The paintings were mainly scenery, flowers and one of a little girl that looked like she belonged on a Cottonelle ad.

So it is safe to say, I have no artistic background. I can draw a stick person, if that. Now interning at The Robert McLaughlin Gallery once a week, I am exposed to all forms of art. Instead of thinking art was just paintings and photographs, I now see art comes in all different styles. I sometimes feel I don’t understand the art, however I am able to appreciate it for what it is, for instance, this piece from the new Micah Lexier & Kelly Mark: Head-to-Head exhibition.

So far my experience interning at The Robert McLaughlin Gallery has been educational, since I am gaining knowledge in the PR industry. It has also been interesting to see all the works, which I probably wouldn’t have thought of as art if I didn’t come here. I would say my experience so far, has allowed me to open my mind to different things.