Invitation to exhibit Art and Culture at Oshawa City Hall

A message from: The Art and History Committee, City of Oshawa

The City of Oshawa invites Durham Region artists and groups to submit proposals for temporary exhibitions to be displayed in Oshawa City Hall.

The exhibition space consists of three locked display cases in the Council Wing hallway of City Hall. Each locked case measures approximately 8’ (height) x 6’-8’(width) x 2’(depth) 2.4m x 1.8 – 2.4m x 0.55m with ceiling hanging devices and glass shelves available for displays.

The display cases showcase community artwork, heritage displays or collections for approximately a six-month period. In 2012, the anticipated exhibition schedule is February – July and July – December.

All proposals should be post-marked no later than December 16, 2011 and should consist of a resume, artist statement or display proposal and up to 10 visuals (no original art works; CD ROM preferred). The submissions will be reviewed by the Art and History Committee comprised of City of Oshawa staff, representatives from the Oshawa Community Museum and The Robert McLaughlin Gallery.

Applicants will be notified of the Committee’s decision in January 2012. At that time, arrangements will be made to coordinate the installation, timelines and details. (All exhibits are to be in a condition suitable for display, e.g. matting, framing, etc…) The City, in conjunction with the Oshawa Community Museum and The Robert McLaughlin Gallery, will assist with the installation of the exhibition.

NOTE: The City of Oshawa and its partners/agents will not be responsible for insurance coverage of the works of art while they are on display.

We look forward to your creative submission! Please forward proposals to:

The Art and History Committee
c/o Service Oshawa
City of Oshawa
50 Centre Street South
Oshawa, Ontario L1H 3Z7

For inquiries contact
Linda Jansma, Chair of the Oshawa Art and History Committee
905.576.3000 ext. 111 or [email protected]

Learning and Supporting the Arts Community

Via Oshawa Express
October 26, 2011
By Jacquie Severs/Columnist

Developing artistic community is one way for artists to find fulfillment outside the scope of their own work. Through social interaction, artists expand and explore their ideas.

This in turn helps to support their artistic practices and can help further careers.
William Brymner (1855-1925) was an art teacher as well as painter of figures and landscapes.

The idea of artistic community was important to him, so he surrounded himself with his contemporaries. Brymner’s view of his contemporaries was not limited to only other fine artists. He also saw his contemporaries to be architects, writers, musicians, lawyers and others who shared a common interest in art, literature and culture.

His goal was to create places where those of similar values and ideals could come together and unite to defend their common interests. He encouraged the exchange of ideas, evolution in styles and new approaches. His involvement in numerous clubs, associations, and academies resulted in his widespread influence on the art scene of his day. This collaborative spirit and his encouragement of new styles is obvious in an exhibition titled William Brymner: Artist, Teacher, Colleague, which is being presented this fall at The Robert McLaughlin Gallery.

The exhibition, which opens November 5 at the RMG, includes more than 60 works of art from Brymner and his contemporaries, including Group of Seven member A.Y. Jackson, well-known Quebec artist Maurice Cullen as well as others such as Clarence Gagnon, Edwin Holgate and Horatio Walker. The works have travelled to Oshawa from Power Corporation’s collection in Montreal as well as the Agnes Etherington collection in Kingston.

As a teacher, Brymner believed in the importance of studying in various methods, as to avoid boredom for students. At the RMG this fall a workshop series is being presented in honour of this teaching philosophy.

For three Thursday evenings starting November 17, participants can first experience a lecture presented by a curator of the exhibition. The following week participants sketch in the exhibition, inspired by the works themselves. In this way they can mimic the “en plein air” style of artistic study. In the third and final week of the workshop, students paint in the RMG studio under the guidance of a painting instructor.

This three-step process of study is similar to the traditional artistic academic method of study that Brymner himself would have used.

In order to encourage the development of artistic community, the RMG is presenting this workshop free to members, or for $35 for non-members. The $35 cost is, however, the cost of a membership so it is wise to join their community and enjoy all the benefits of membership while you learn and participate in this workshop series.

Building camaraderie between students was something that Brymner saw as an important element in keeping the learning process engaging.

Working among contemporaries allows for art students to learn not only from the teacher but also from peers, developing artistic ties and friendships that can last well beyond the classroom setting.

This experience can help build artistic communities, alliances and supports the goals and missions that William Brymner supported throughout his career.

Links:

Learn more about the The Academic Tradition Workshop

Exhibition: William Brymner: Artist, Teacher, Colleague

William Brymner on Wikipedia

William Brymner on The Canadian Encyclopedia

The Curator’s View: Office of Identity Collects

Sonya Jones is Curator of The Thomas Bouckley Collection. This collection of historical images of Oshawa and surrounding areas plays a vital role in the upcoming project held in Downtown Oshawa. In today’s Curator’s View, Sonya shares her experiences working on this project.

As the Curator of the Thomas Bouckley Collection, I’m able to discover and learn about the history of Oshawa on a daily basis. It has been an ongoing delight working with this outstanding collection of over 3000 images of historical Oshawa. Every four months I install a new Bouckley exhibition, most often focusing on a particular event, industry, individual, or theme of historical Oshawa. As much as the retelling of Oshawa’s history is important, it’s also fun to look at the collection in a contemporary light, which I try to do from time to time. Contemporary artists have done the same—for example in 2009, artist Brenda Joy Lem’s exhibition Homage to the Heart, explored her family’s history as owners of the first Chinese laundry in Oshawa, and Brenda looked to the Bouckley Collection for images of Oshawa incorporating them into her work. Seeing Bouckley images in contemporary pieces was inspiring.

Brenda Joy Lem

A Clear Flame 2008

silkscreen on paper

Purchase, 2009

This fall the collection will once more be recontextualized in a contemporary fashion by Saskatoon artist Heather Cline using images from the Bouckley collection as a starting point for her work The Office of Identity Collects. 16 King Street East, in downtown Oshawa, will be the location for this community-involved installation/performance, happening from October 24-28^th. During the week the artist and her assistant will be interviewing members of the community and documenting memories and stories about downtown Oshawa. In preparation, they have been exploring the Bouckley Collection online. (Click here to search the collection from the RMG’s website)

Oshawa’s story cannot be told without looking to the past, which the Bouckley Collection offers a window to.

King Street East, 1911

King Street East, 2011

When you visit the 16 King Street East location, you’ll feel like you are entering a 1950s government passport office. You’ll sign some “government” papers (permission forms), get your “passport” photo taken, fill out a survey of questions, and lastly you’ll be interviewed about your memories and thoughts about Oshawa. The whole process will take around 20 minutes. At the end of the week, on Saturday, October 29^th, the artist will conduct a Citizenship Ceremony where you’ll get your “passport” which will include a gift of a woodblock print by Heather Cline based on the King St. area. Heather will return home to Regina and begin work on a series of artworks specific to Oshawa and the stories collected with the end result being an exhibition at the RMG from September 1 – October 28, 2012. Be sure to take the opportunity to share your stories about Oshawa, and in turn participate in the creation of a community driven exhibition.

Location: 16 King Street East

Dates: October 24 – 28, Citizenship Ceremony on October 29

Hours: 11am – 4pm

Saskatoon artists collect stories from downtown

These images are from the The Office of Identity Collection project staged in Regina SK in the spring of 2009 and exhibited at The Art Gallery of Regina in the fall of 2010.

The photograph is from the Citizenship ceremony and celebration; the painting in 10’ x 10’ digital imaging/acrylic/Canvas by mixed media artist Heather Cline.

article via Oshawa Express

By Jacquie Severs/Columnist

Artists in residence programs offer other artists and communities an opportunity to interact and collaborate. One popular format is for a gallery to offer an artist the chance to live and work in their town for a set period of time, supporting the venture with funding. This grants the artist the opportunity to work on their art free from ongoing financial worries, providing focus on their art practice.

In return, artists often run workshops and provide a window to the community into their art practice. Usually there is an exhibition at the end of the year of the art created. Artist in residence programs are not limited to fine arts however, and can also involve writers, architects, dance, design and more.

Residency programs are not a new phenomenon. Examples date back to the early 1900s. One Canadian example includes a variety of programs from Parks Canada. At one location, the program allows an artist to spend six weeks in Gros Morne National Park, exploring, photographing, sketching and participating in the park’s interpretive program. The program is designed to help connect people and the park through the arts as well as to draw attention to Gros Morne. Through artists’ participation, Parks Canada hopes to expand the way the park is seen by local residents, staff, visitors and audiences beyond park boundaries.

Kitchener, Ontario created Canada’s first municipal Artist-in-Residence program in Canada in 1995. The year-long program encourages conversation between artists and Kitchener residents and visitors, supports artistic innovation in contemporary art and offers workshops in neighbourhood community centres, lectures in the City Hall and exhibits in partnership with other agencies. One month of the residency year is reserved for the artist to use Kitchener City Hall’s Rotunda Gallery for exhibition.

The RMG is working with Saskatoon artist Heather Cline assisted by Michele Sereda from October 24 to 29 in a project called “The Office of Identity Collects.”

This project involves the artist taking up residence in a downtown Oshawa storefront located at 16 King Street East and recreating the atmosphere of a government passport office from the 1950s.

[googlemaps https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=16+King+Street+East+Oshawa&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=16+King+St+E,+Oshawa,+Ontario+L1H+1A9&gl=ca&t=m&vpsrc=0&ll=43.897769,-78.862867&spn=0.018554,0.025749&z=14&iwloc=A&output=embed&w=300&h=300]

“Passport” photos will be taken of participants and interviews conducted asking people for stories about the downtown Oshawa area. After the artists have collected material, the artist will combine it with images sourced from the RMG’s Thomas Bouckley collection of historical photographs.

Then the artist will return to Saskatoon to paint a series of works specific to our city and the stories collected.

The work created will then be shown in an exhibition at the RMG from Sept. 1 to Oct. 28, 2012.

Be sure to visit the pop-up office downtown at 16 King Street East from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. from October 24 to 28 to participate in this artist in residence program. Those who visit will be asked back to the location on Saturday, October 29, where a “Citizenship Ceremony” will be held and each participant will be given a “Passport” which is a small woodblock print of King Street.

This unique project provides an opportunity to have fun, connect with artists and build on the existing history of downtown Oshawa.

The Curator’s View: Douglas Coupland @ RMG

When I drive into work, it’s hard not to smile when I look up at the building and see Douglas Coupland’s sculpture Group Portrait, 1957. It was installed less than a week ago with an “unveiling” (without the veil – the work was too large and too high to drape!) event that included Doug Coupland speaking about his public sculpture commissions.

For many of you, there have been hints about the sculpture for some months through RMG Manager of Communications & Social Media, Jacquie Severs, including glimpses of single transponders and artist sketches found in our newsletter, on twitter and through Facebook. These glimpses brought over 250 people to the Gallery on Saturday to celebrate art in Oshawa. It was particularly satisfying to hear Mayor John Henry tell Doug that the view of Group Portrait from his office window at City Hall was the best and that the artist was welcome to view it from that angle any time!

(Curator Linda Jansma, Douglas Coupland and CEO Gabrielle Peacock)

For our CEO, Gabrielle Peacock, and me, this has been a longer process. We first met with Doug Coupland in the summer of 2010 to gage his interest in working with the RMG to produce a third public art commission. In 2002, the Gallery commissioned Reinhard Reitzenstein to create River Bench, and in 2007, Mary Anne Barkhouse was commissioned to produce grace, our much loved beavers at the front of the building. Fortunately for us, Doug was not only interested, but let us know of his friendship with Arthur Erickson, the building’s renowned architect, as well as his interest in mid-century modernist painting. In the months that followed, we supplied Doug with background information on the building and its first mandate that included collecting and exhibiting work by Ontario’s first abstract painting group, Painters Eleven (1953-1960), and sent him images of work by each of the group from our collection. We not only worked with Doug, but with lawyers, engineers, the manufacturer of the sculpture, the City of Oshawa, the Canada Council granting agency, and our own staff.

Our vision with Group Portrait, and the other public sculpture that the RMG has commissioned, is to bring art into the public realm; to engage and challenge more people more often. There’s the engagement that I witness when I see people sitting on the edge of River Bench to read a book or eat their lunch close to the creek, or place their children, like I saw last week, on top of grace, for a photo opportunity. It was wonderful to see that little girl stroking the bronze “fur” of the beavers and waving goodbye to them when her mother picked her up and headed to their car. We can’t touch Doug Coupland’s newest work, but I like the idea of Mayor Henry looking up from his desk and having the “best view” in town.

None of this would be possible without the forethought of people like Isabel McLaughlin. It was her 1987 gift to the RMG, an endowment whose interest can only be used for the purchase of works for the collection, that has so richly enhanced our city.

So, thank you Miss McLaughlin and thank you Doug Coupland for helping us bring art into our community in a meaningful way!

– Linda Jansma

The Skinny: Heavy Industries Blog Post about the Installation

Oshawa Express Column: Public Art Encourages Culture

Downtown Oshawa In Transition (DOIT) Column: Outsiders are Insiders and Insiders are looking Outside in Oshawa

Robert McLaughlin Gallery sports new outdoor piece

Profile on Canadian Art.ca

See the full gallery on Posterous

Community Curates Week 10

Our last week has arrived! Now that we are wrapping up this project, our first crowd sourced art exhibition, we are starting to review the successes and drawbacks. Please be sure to leave a comment on this post with your ideas for how we could improve this process. We’d like to try it again and shake it up, make it even more fun and interactive. We have enjoyed interacting with you and we encourage you to come to the gallery and see the results of your decision making.

The Community Curates exhibition will be hung from 23 September, 2011 to 11 March, 2012. We’ll celebrate the exhibition and show you how to leave comments on it using your smartphone at our First Fridays event on Friday 7 October 2011.

Thank you for your help and we hope you’ve enjoyed the process!

Community Curates Week 10

1. Paul B. Keele (Canadian, 1948 – 1973)

Buffalo prints won’t you come out tonight c. 1973

lithograph on paper

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Tony Urquhart, 1978

Mclaughlin_drawingfromlifeprovincetown_2003mi56

2. Isabel McLaughlin (Canadian, 1903-2002)

Drawing from Life, Provincetown c. 1948-1950

charcoal on paper

Gift of the estate of Isabel McLaughlin, 2003

3. Ray Mead (Canadian, b. England, 1921 – 1998)

Lattice 1954

watercolour, gouache and pastel on paper

Donated by the Ontario Heritage Foundation, 1988; gift of M. F. Feheley

4. Gordon Smith (Canadian, b. England, 1919-2001)

Winter Sea 1973

lithograph on paper

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Ernest and Rivette Herzig, 1993

5. Horatio Walker (Canadian, 1858 – 1938)

Lady Beside Lilypond n.d.

oil on paper, laid down

Gift of Rita M. Pretty in memory of husband Harry A. Pretty, 1984

Community Curates Week 9

While you may assume that because an artwork is in our collection, that we have ownership of it and can use the image as we see fit, this is incorrect. Artists still maintain copyright of their work and we must seek permission to use it. As a result, copyright is a huge factor in everything we do online. Some artists have given us permission to use their images for educational or promotional purposes, others have given us full permission, while in other cases we have gained full permission as the copyright has expired (as it does 50 years from the death of an artist.)

Our collection has recently been digitized (meaning it has been carefully photographed and recorded digitally) and is now available to be searched online, yet not all images have been cleared to be published online. As a result, it is an ongoing project for us to obtain permission to use works of art in our online directory and in projects such as Community Curates. It is our hope that someday the majority of our collection will be approved for viewing online so that a more comprehensive view of our holdings is easily accessible for all.

In selecting works for Community Curates, we are limited to using works that we do hold copyright to. Here are five more works for you two choose from. With just one week left, week 10, we’re nearing completion of the project. We’re very excited to debut the results in the coming weeks.

Community Curates Week 9

1. Michael Behnan (Canadian, b. Pakistan, 1947 – 1982)

Spadina and Dundas 1974

ink on paper

Gift of the artist, 1975

2. Charles E. Heil (American, 1870 – 1953)

Haystack at Bourg-la-Reine 1896

watercolour and graphite on paper

Gift of the heirs of the Hortense Gordon estate, 1976

3. Lynda Hayward (Canadian, b. 1941)

Weedscape I 1977

photo-serigraph monotype on paper

Purchase, 1977

4. Susan Low-Beer (Canadian, b.1943)

Untitled 1993

watercolour and graphite on paper

Gift of the artist, 1994

5. Michael Snow (Canadian, b. 1929)

Carla Bley 1965

photolithography and relief printing on paper

Purchase, 1970

Community Curates Week 8

Crowdsourcing is defined as, “the act of outsourcing tasks, traditionally performed by an employee, to an undefined, large group of people or community (a “crowd”), through an open call.” The term, coined in 2006 has become a shorthand to describe the ability to leverage mass collaboration that has been made easy because of the speed of communication created by the internet.

The Community Curates exhibition is a crowdsourced art show, where the community who follow us online are acting as our curators. What we learn from this and how we interact with the community as a result of the information we gather by creating the project are the benefits to us, while to you it might be the opportunity to see more of our collection that is often hidden from view. We also think it is interesting to hear when you feel the choices are difficult to make; we experience this often when curating exhibitions.

Here are the selections for Week 8:

1. Joan-Marie Dean (Canadian, b.1934)

Isis 1977

etching and aquatint on paper

Purchase, 1977

2. Fred Haines (Canadian, 1879 – 1960)

The Harvest Moon c. 1922

aquatint on paper

Gift of Charles Goldhamer, 1983

3. Kent Monkman (Canadian, b.1965)

Untitled c.1993

watercolour on paper

Gift of the artist, 1994

4. L. A. C. Panton (Canadian, 1894 – 1954)

Christmas Card c. 1940

woodcut on paper

Gift of Charles Goldhamer, 1983

5. Mary E. Rawlyk (Canadian, b. 1934)

Wringing Shirt 1974

relief etching, screen process and card relief

Gift of the Ontario Arts Council, 1974

Community Curates Week 7

Summer rolls on and our Community Curates project is soon to wrap up, with only two more weeks of voting to go after this week. We are beginning to plan the installation of the works you have chosen. We plan to include a QR code on the text panel of the exhibition. A QR code is a matrix bar code that can be scanned by a smart phone. The code will lead to you a place where you can leave comments on the works that have been chosen. We hope you’ll continue to participate with us on this project in this manner!

Presenting your images to select from for Week 7:

1. Charlotte Brainerd (Canadian, b. U.S.A., 1921-1995)

Sun Roots 1965

etching and aquatint on paper

Purchase, 1968

2. Ron Eccles (Canadian, b.1944)

Time of Aphelion 1975

etching, aquatint and engraving on paper

Purchase, 1977

3. F. W. Jopling (Canadian, 1860 – 1945)

Whirlpool Rapids Illuminated – New York Side 1916

mezzotint and drypoint on paper

Gift of W. Ross Murray, 1976

4. Jock Macdonald (Canadian, b. Scotland, 1897-1960)

Untitled 1954

watercolour and ink on paper

Gift of Mary Hare, 1990

5. Rick Zolkower (Canadian, b. U.S.A, 1950)

Reclining Statue #1 1988

toned silver print

Gift of Ernie and Rivette Herzig, 2000

Community Curates Week 6

There are as many opinions as there are experts. – Franklin Roosevelt

Everyone has a different opinion about what they consider to be art and opinions vary on what galleries should hang on their walls (or display on the floor). This project has been very interesting to us as we watch the various views, (all correct of course), funnel through the polling process and curate an exhibition. After all, opinions and preferences when it comes to art are personal and are correct for each of us. It is one element of curating that is very interesting.

A work of art can be an emotional experience for one viewer, while the same work may leave another person cold. Have any of your own choices surprised you? Have you chosen a work that in another venue, you might not have liked? Is it hard to choose between a figurative or abstract work? We’re archiving all the comments made during this process, so please feel free to leave us any and all feedback you might have in the comments.

Here’s the Week 6 selections! Top 2 make it through to the exhibition.