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Oakville galleries
What We Bring
to the Table
T&T: Onward
Future
February to June 2008
Patrick Faigenbaum, Bettina Hoffmann,
Instant Coffee, Laura Letinsky
What We
Bring to
the Table
9 February to 6 June 2008
in Gairloch Gardens
Curated by Marnie Fleming
Exhibition Opening
Friday 8 February 2008 at 8:30 pm in Gairloch Gardens,
followed by a reception sponsored by Whole Foods Market.
Introduction
by Marnie Fleming
This exhibition has been organized to “shake up” a work in Oakville
Galleries’ permanent collection by exhibiting it with other stories
and contexts. As the linchpin for this show, I chose Patrick Faigenbaum’s Pantijelew Family (1997). It was my intent to initiate a dialogue with this photograph by also including two projected videos
by Bettina Hoffmann, several tabletop still lifes by Laura Letinsky
and an installation by the collective Instant Coffee.
All these works evoke certain feelings that we bring to a table
such as happiness, stress and acceptance. They tell stories of
family, or fellowship around a tabletop.
It has been Oakville Galleries’ practice to always have essays
that offer different voices and readings that relate to the art on view,
so I invited writer Kate Taylor to respond to these works. As the
author of Mme Proust and the Kosher Kitchen (2004), I knew that
Kate was well acquainted with tabletop intimacy. I cautioned her
that I wasn’t necessarily interested in a theoretical or curatorial
“take” on these images, but rather what she personally might find
evocative in the work. I asked her, “What kind of space do they open
up for you as a viewer and writer?”
What follows here is her response to my question and her art.
Thank you, Kate.
nuts, fruit both dried and fresh, pungent cheeses and perhaps a
few chocolate bonbons too.
At the end of all this, filled with food but still hungry for conversation, they stay at the table and push back their chairs, toying
with the stem of a wine glass without drinking the contents, or
nibbling on a last bit of cheese. They are now completely unaware
of the table — and a good thing too, for it is a mess. Someone has
spilled a glass of red wine, and someone else has attempted to
remedy the situation by emptying the salt cellar on top of the stain.
That scattering of small, hard grains runs into a long brown smear
of sauce left behind from the main course. There are crumbs littered
everywhere on the tabletop, together with a few half-full bottles,
a wine cork or two, the near-empty bread basket and several dirty
linen napkins abandoned by the guests. The cheese rinds, at least,
seemed to have stayed on the plates, as well as the nutshells and
fruit peels, curls of orange rind, a browning apple core, a stem from
which the grapes have been picked clean and a few of the paper
doilies from underneath the chocolates. Wrapping, dish, linen,
food — it is all indiscriminately mixed together, used up, discarded,
ready to decay.
This fearsome image of the aftermath of the meal fits within
the grand art historical tradition of the memento mori. In their still
What We Bring to the Table
lifes, the Dutch masters painted the ham bone and the lemon, the
by Kate Taylor
of death. Food is necessary to life but it is also a warning to the
nuts and the melon, as both a celebration of life and a harbinger
living: it will rot first, but we will rot too.
With infinite care, the hostess lays her table. A linen cloth; a centrepiece — roses perhaps — in a low bowl. Two tapers in slim candlesticks, nothing to block the guests’ view of each other. The good
china. The best silver. The crystal goblets.
Delicate salt and pepper shakers, one set for each end of the
table. Butter curls in a saucer. A silver coaster for the wine bottle.
She steps back to survey her work, to check that it is sufficiently
impressive without being ostentatious. It should be elegant and
refined, but welcoming too. When the guests take their places at
this gracious table, they will admire its subtle effect with a nod or
a smile, slipping into their places with an unspoken sense of occasion. They are brought together by design, in all senses of the word.
And then they eat. Dainty appetizers, succulent meat and fish,
creamy sauces, crisp vegetables, crunchy bread, cakes, pastries,
Laura Letinsky’s clever photographs of tabletop detritus fit
squarely within that tradition and might even, at first blush, look
merely like photographic versions of the old still lifes. But the
artist always includes modern elements, plastic containers and
other contemporary vessels, which bring her image forcefully into
the present where it can confront the viewer with its purpose. It
is not only Renaissance ladies who are going to split and crumble
in their silks.
And yet, just as food is necessary to the body, the table is
necessary to society. If the hostess tolerates the mess, if she too
can push back her chair and pay no heed where only a few hours
before she fretted and tidied, it is because her perfect table has
served its purpose. It has brought her guests together, brought
them out of themselves; it has warmed and charmed them. They
Opposite: Laura Letinsky, Untitled #21 (detail), from the series Morning and Melancholia, 1998,
chromogenic print on archival Sintra, 48.3 x 61 cm, courtesy of Steven Bulger Gallery.
Coverpage: Patrick Faigenbaum, Pantijelew Family (detail), 1997, Cibachrome print, 103 x 103 cm, collection of Oakville Galleries.
5.1
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have laughed, they have argued, they have lived. She has fed the
individuals and built the group.
It is most notably not a traditional family structure: who is the
pater familias at the head of this table? In the variety of ages and
In the tight confines of the breakfast kitchen nook at one of the
couples one is left wondering not only what extremity of grown-up
member’s Bute Street studio apartment in Vancouver, the Instant
behaviour has convinced the one child in the group he would rather
Coffee artist collective discovered the special power of the table
be asleep, but just who amongst the adults is sleeping with whom.
in a particularly concentrated setting: time in the nook was always
Of course, that’s the question Hoffmann raises even more loudly in
a social moment, a break from solitary artistic work. Recreating
the final sequence of Table because here the action, or lack thereof,
the nook in an art gallery setting, the collective comments on that
is actually set in the bedroom. The title of the piece from which
power and offers viewers an opportunity to engage in it — or at
this sequence is called (La Ronde), by the way, is borrowed from
least observe it. Like any restaurant booth, if more than two people
Arthur Schnitzler’s 1897 notorious play which featured a daisy
are going to wiggle their way into and then out of this nook, it is
chain of sexual encounters.
going to take some co-operation, some willingness to participate
in a group activity.
Pantijelew Family, on the other hand, is emphatically presented
as the nuclear model: mother, father, two kids, they are lined up
Is subtle coercion sometimes involved? Do the participants
in order, posed as family, the physical resemblances between the
bring some tension, dislikes or resentments to the table along with
parents and their offspring underlined by the identical half-shadow
their conviviality? That’s certainly the impression left by Bettina
that the light has cast on each face. But this remarkable photo-
Hoffmann’s video loop Table, first sequence from La Ronde, where
graph by Patrick Faigenbaum, now in the collection of Oakville
the viewer is forcibly struck by the lassitude and the sidelong glances
Galleries and serving as the starting point of this exhibition, is no
of the people at the table. By capturing one instant here and then
studio portrait of the boastful bourgeoisie.
prolonging it in time through the mechanism of the looped video-
Here too, we question the subjects’ relationships, asking if
tape, Hoffmann elevates the passing tensions of a moment into a
the photographer’s composition has captured their hidden truths,
whole history of this group.
trying to read family dramas into their poses. Father seems to hang
Above: Bettina Hoffmann, Table first sequence from La Ronde, 2004, DVD still, courtesy of the artist.
Opposite: Patrick Faigenbaum, Pantijelew Family, 1997, Cibachrome print, 103 x 103 cm, collection of Oakville Galleries.
4
Oakville galleries
back in the shadows while mother leans forward into the light;
history hanging behind their heads — the reproduction of a Renais-
she makes eye contact, he gazes off into the distance; so that he
sance painting featuring a Madonna and Christ child as background
appears sad, she cheerful. Is she the driving force of this family?
figures. The Pantijelews are surely not eating their last supper, but
Is her energy appreciated, or perhaps resented? Is he grateful or
one wonders what fate holds for them, what domestic or political
resigned? Is she sensitive or dismissive? Have the children taken
developments will enthrall or ensnare them. I cannot say that they
sides, just as they have at the table, one boy sheltering beside his
appear to me a happy family.
father, the other supporting the mother (whose curly hair he shares)?
These, of course, are second thoughts. The domestic and social
And what is their larger setting? To the North American eye they
questions about Faigenbaum’s subjects arise slowly from what, at
are obviously European, but it took me a while to place them, to notice
first glance, appears quite an unpremeditated image of the group.
the potatoes and vodka or is it schnapps? on their table and recog-
Their table too is strewn with the aftermath of a meal with the
nize why it was I suspected they sat at some shifting border between
guests’ half-empty plates facing them as though the photographer
east and west. In fact, they were photographed in Bremen, in north-
was merely a friend with an Instamatic who had pushed back his
west Germany, eight years after the wall that separated them from
chair to snap a cheerful family portrait. How deceptive is this casual-
their neighbours two hundred kilometres to the east came down.
ness; what wealth of human love, longing and mortality lie beneath
Of course, their portrait is no less indebted to European art
the ripe clutter of the tabletop.
history than a Letinsky still life. Their pose in a single line echoes
the composition of Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper, iconography
Kate Taylor is a cultural critic at the Globe and Mail and the author of Mme
brought to mind because there is already a similar piece of art
Proust and the Kosher Kitchen, a novel about life, love and food.
5.1
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T&T
Onward
Future
Tyler Brett and Tony Romano
9 February to 11 May 2008
at Centennial Square
Curated by Patrik Andersson
Exhibition Opening
Friday 8 February 2008 at 7:30 pm at Centennial Square, followed
by a reception sponsored by Whole Foods Market in Gairloch Gardens at 8:30 pm.
Onward Future
by Patrik Andersson
Over the past decade, Tyler Brett and Tony Romano (T&T) have
that allows them to harness ecological powers with devices rang-
cobbled together their own vision of an ecologically sound and
ing from waterwheels to wind turbines. In a number of their works,
socially harmonious future landscape. The fragments that make up
condominiums that were once an eyesore on the horizon have been
their assemblage have been appropriated as much out of fragments
buried to create ‘underground’ dwellings — promoting expansive
of art history as they have been pirated from popular culture and
and bright green spaces at the cost of living underground. Emerg-
everyday encounters. Suspended somewhere between a familiar
ing out of this dark underground is a culture driven to appease
past and a yet to be discovered post-apocalyptic future, these land-
nature and rebuke obsolescence. In a sense, T&T refashions its
scapes and figures are dialectically shaped within discourses of
own potential future in a way that addresses our environmental
utopianism and its ‘other’. Configured by an amateur interest in
crisis without letting go of cultural habits born out of urban and
disciplines as diverse as architecture, industrial design and music,
suburban modernization. With this in mind, this project is driven
this project colonizes a number of popular myths into a unique new
as much by ecology as it is formed by modernity.
trope where we find ourselves nomadically adrift in what Michel
With an eye for fashion and a taste for irony, T&T insists on a
Foucault would have called “a place without a place.” Suspending
style-conscious embrace of ecology and industry. The highly styled
us in the present between the past and the future, childhood and
characters who inhabit this future appear to have found ‘crafty’ and
adulthood, reality and fiction, Onward Future locates a heterotopia
technical clothing solutions whose hybrid forms evoke medieval
sustained by imagination, innovation and play. Ironically, what sus-
knights and Sixties’ hippies as much as they call up the fashion
tains this ‘picture’ in the end is a leitmotif of doubt.
sensibility of the early Russian avant-garde. This sampling seems
It was in the spring of 1967 that Michel Foucault delivered his
apt in today’s environment where even the Gap has taken up a ‘pre-
brief but defining lecture on heterotopia to a small group of archi-
loved’ æsthetic sensibility and claims to be environmentally respon-
tects in Paris. In it he characterized the psychological and cultural
sible simply by looking ethical. As one of the soundtracks for this
logic of late modernism as an epoch of space: “The present epoch
exhibition suggests, T&T’s work is not only post-apocalyptic, it is
will perhaps be above all the epoch of space. We are in the epoch
“Post-Suzuki” — a statement that not only calls up their ambivalent
of simultaneity; we are in the epoch of juxtaposition, the epoch of
relationship with a motorcycle and automobile corporation, but also
the near and far, of the side-by-side, of the dispersed.” Some forty
David Suzuki, Canada’s foremost spokesman for the environment.
years later, the artists’ collaborative T&T appear to have taken
In The Wood Cutter (2004), we are presented with a winter land-
this lesson to heart by insisting on a working method that flattens
scape in which a man is dressed in overalls and a cowboy hat break-
dispersed fragments of geography, history and technology into a
ing sweat to heat his own cabin, which is partially built from the
space of their own. But by employing techniques as diverse as draw-
scrap remains of a car (car-bin). The ingenuity of the situation is
ing, painting, model building, and using Illustrator and Photoshop,
not unlike that of a homeless person in today’s society having to
they reconfigure the clichés into tropes that address our natural and
assemble a shelter out of cardboard boxes, shopping carts and the
technological environment in the present, past and future. Rum-
like. What makes T&T’s scenario different is that the wood cutter
maging through the general image banks of popular culture as well
is presented as a pioneer with a future rather than a ‘homeless’
as more specialized fields such as science, art and architecture,
squatter. The striking similarity between this image and that of
this post-apocalyptic vision is as generously open to a popular
Gustave Courbet’s Stonebreakers (1849) cannot go unmentioned.
imagination as it is in striking a chord with discourse theory.
In this painting (destroyed during WWII), the self-declared Socialist
The creative hobos who inhabit this post-apocalyptic land-
and Realist Gustave Courbet (1819 –1877) provoked a great deal
scape appear to have imaginatively misread and recycled some of
of criticism for evoking the cyclical toil and misery of the lower
the most striking remains from our recent past. Things such as
working class in a rural setting. If Courbet’s social type is caught
geodesic domes, automobiles and contemporary architecture have
in what Hegel would call bad infinity, T&T’s Wood Cutter assumes
been re-assembled with simple, but often scientific, pragmatism
that he is still going to be around in a post-apocalyptic future. The
Opposite: T&T (Tyler Brett and Tony Romano), (Carchitecture) Sanctuary (detail), 2003, C-print, 51 x 43 cm, private collection.
5.1
7
difference, and what makes T&T’s image so welcoming — even if
uncanny: is that this toil is stripped bare of any negative connotations. Here Courbet’s road worker has been recast as a pioneer
with the tools and skills to build his own un-alienated carchitecture. With a nod to Courbet’s Canadian contemporaries William
Notman (1826–1891) and Cornelius Krieghoff (1815–1872), the dusty
roads of his Burial at Ornans (1848) have been transformed into a
Canadian winter scene — mutating Courbet’s socialism into a
touristic endorsement of a future where a bit of snow shovelling
and creative labour might lead to freedom.
Another recurring architectural form in T&T’s work is the geodesic dome. Composed of the octet truss, the form was first discovered by Alexander Graham Bell and later popularized by the
engineer and utopian thinker Buckminster Fuller in the sixties.
Since then, the geodesic structure has entered the popular imagination not only through its use in World Fairs such as Expo 67
in Montréal or Expo 86 in Vancouver, but also as a common playground structure for children in parks world wide. In the context of
art, the form calls to mind the Arte Povera of Mario Merz as readily
as it echoes the “disinventions” of the Danish artist collaborative
N55. These last references might bode well with T&T as they are
all provoked by the living conditions of the squatters and hobos
born out of today’s lumpen proletariat. But it is Fuller’s pivotal role
in providing a structure in which the concerns of corporate America and the global environment can visually and physically meet
that most obviously appears to have captured T&T’s imagination.
8
Only a month after Michel Foucault delivered his lecture “Des
espaces autres” in Paris, Buckminster Fuller realized his first monumentally scaled Biosphere for the World Exposition in Montréal
as a commission for the US Pavilion. The transparent ‘bubble’
structure revealed ‘Creative America’, a theme that allowed the
fair’s fifty million visitors to explore the particular and the universal,
the near and the far, hot dogs and space ships. Art such as Andy
Warhol’s Self-Portraits hung next to Barnett Newman’s Voice of Fire,
effectively levelling the high and the low inside Fuller’s sparkling
architectural jewel that dominated the fair. Laying claim to the
present epoch, this was modernism and post-modernism in an
American nut-shell. But as it turned out, this nut-shell, despite
its space-age ambition, would soon crack under the pressure of
Canadian winters and gradually transform into a leaking and rusty
reminder of not only the fair, but the hubris we call progress. In fact,
it would not be long before the fairgrounds looked like a romantic
ruin from the past rather than the onward future of Star Trek.
The exhibition Onward Future suspends not only doubts about
our future but also hopes for a dialectical adventure where dreams
do not dry up and pirates still exist to capture our imagination.
This text is an edited version of Doubt/ Hope available in its entirety in the
catalogue for this exhibition.
Patrik Andersson is a freelance art critic and curator of contemporary art.
He is an Associate Professor in Critical and Cultural Studies at Emily Carr
Institute and he has operated the independent curatorial project entitled
Trapp (www.trappeditions.com) since 1997.
Oakville galleries
Above: T&T (Tyler Brett and Tony Romano), Solar Trapper, 2004, C-print, 21.6 x 27.9 cm, collection of Oakville Galleries.
Opposite: T&T (Tyler Brett and Tony Romano), The Wood Cutter, 2004, C-print, 76.2 x 55.8 cm, collection of Oakville Galleries.
5.1
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Public
Programmes
In English and French
New Public Programmes
We are very pleased to announce a range of innovative programmes for our upcoming exhibitions. Each
has been designed to involve our local community with the goal of sharing tabletop experiences.
Community participation is key to the success of
our programmes, so visit our Website for the latest
information on how to get involved!
ARTbus Tour!
Take a ride on the magic bus to a higher level of
existence! On 10 February, for the first time ever, we
will be rolling along the QEW on a mind-expanding
ARTbus tour. Stops include the Art Gallery of
Mississauga (exhibit — Mongrel Media and Karilee
Fuglem: Essence), Blackwood Gallery and Justina
M. Barnicke Gallery (exhibit — Signals in the Dark:
Art in the Shadow of War) and at Oakville Galleries
(exhibit — T&T: Onward Future and What We Bring
to the Table) where the tour will be hosted by T&T.
Our magical mystery tour will commence at the
Gladstone Hotel (1214 Queen Street West, Toronto)
at noon and will return by 5 pm. There are only limited spots available on the bus so call 905.844.4402
for pricing and book now.
What do YOU bring to the table?
The artists in the exhibit What We Bring to the Table
explore the mnemonic power of food in everyday
family life. Through their photographic, video and
installation work, they consider the table as a locus
for the everyday exchange of emotion, where stories
of family and fellowship unfold.
With this in mind, we have developed a unique
community photography project in collaboration
with our local newspaper, the Oakville Beaver. An
invitation appeared this December in the paper
asking readers to submit photos that address the
personal and cultural significance describing what
happens around Oakville’s tables. Readers are
encouraged to consider the historical and political
relevance of breaking bread as they understand
it, allowing us to explore the diversity of cultural
traditions in our communities.
We welcome photographs from all members of
our community — young and old, dilettantes and
professionals alike. Participants can submit new
photos or those drawn from the family archive.
Selected images will be printed in the Oakville
Beaver each week for the duration of the exhibition.
New Lecture Partnership with
the Oakville Public Library
Documentary Screening: a film
by Chef Michael Stadtländer
Oakville Galleries and the Oakville Public Library
are partnering to create a series of spring lectures held in locations across Oakville. The first
speaker, Chef Michael Stadtländer will screen
his recent documentary The Islands Project which
documents the journey of Stadtländer, his family
and a kitchen crew on a biodiesel/solar-powered
bus/kitchen tour to Vancouver, Quadra and Cortes
Islands in British Columbia. Returning to the land
that nurtured his first days as a chef, Stadtländer
and his crew create six extraordinary dinners with
the local community including environmentalists,
farmers, artists, oyster cultivators, and loggers.
Tabletop Intimacies: a discussion led
by author Kate Taylor
The second speaker is Kate Taylor, a Toronto novelist and cultural critic for the Globe and Mail. She
is also the author of Mme Proust and the Kosher
Kitchen. Kate will discuss the current exhibit and
how it relates to her novel and her own life-long
tabletop intimacies.
New Models for Better Living:
a round table discussion
The third lecture, a round table discussion entitled New Models for Better Living, complements the
Onward Future exhibition. It features among others;
architects Chris Hardwicke and Andy Thomson.
They will look at the following topic, “Oakville aims
to be the most liveable town in Canada. Could
models such as the velo-city project presented by
Chris Hardwicke or Andy Thomson’s miniHome be
a solution for the Town of Oakville’s urban planners?” Watch for final lecture dates and locations
on our Website.
First Thursdays: Art Walk
Oakville Galleries will now participate in Oakville’s
First Thursdays: Art Walk — a public walk to eight
art galleries along Lakeshore Road East in Oakville.
For information on all public programmes, please
contact Catherine Sicot at 905.844.4402, ext. 30.
Above: Instant Coffee, Nooks (installation view), 2007, variable dimensions, courtesy of the artists.
10
Oakville galleries
Youth Programmes
Oakville Galleries brings youth together to experience art and culture through fun and engaging
hands-on activities. Designed for youth to discover and experiment with a variety of art practices, our art programmes are inspired by Oakville
Galleries’ exhibitions, the history of art production, and the unique site of Gairloch Gardens on
the shores of Lake Ontario.
Art Classes for ages 6 to 12
PA Day Boredom Neutralizer A full day (9 am
to 4 pm) of art activities and outdoor recreation
for kids, coinciding with PA Days for all school
boards. Each session runs with a minimum of six
participants. Offered in English or French.
Parent and Child Lead by art instructor Joy
Struthers. This six-week course provides a unique
opportunity for parents and children ages 4 to 6 to
explore art together. The programme encourages
and stimulates creativity through investigations
of painting, drawing, sculpture, printmaking, and
clay work, among other mediums. Each session
runs with a minimum of three pairs of participants.
Offered in English only.
Saturday StARTers A four-session art workshop that explores various traditional and nontraditional art forms, and ideas through art making.
February is photo-based techniques, March is
exhibits. Attendance is free. Let us know if you
Each programme relates to the exhibition on view
graffiti/urban intervention, April is fabric/textile,
want to be involved!
or focuses on a specific medium. Each session
and May is video.
Teacher’s Night
runs with a minimum of six participants. Offered
in English or French.
Art Camps for ages 6 to 12
March Break Art Camp A week-long day camp
Art Workshops for ages 12 to 15
tion, discuss ideas and get inspired with a workTwo dynamic week-long media-based summer art
shop you can take back to your students. Free.
workshops. Offered in English only.
Pre-registration required for the up-coming sessions: 21 February and 12 June 2008 from 6 pm to
running from 10 to 14 March 2008 and dedicated to
making art and other fun activities to keep chil-
For more information on programmes, dates and
dren busy and inspired while school’s out. Offered
cost; to register for any of our art classes, camps,
in English or French.
and teen programmes; and/or to get on a mail-
Summer Art Camps 2008 Week-long day camps
designed for kids to discover and experiment with
a variety of art techniques. The programmes offer
a balance between indoor and outdoor art-making
and recreational activities. Groups are limited to
15 to 20 participants. Offered in English or French.
Join us for informative tours of each new exhibi-
ing or email list for future updates, please contact
8 pm.
Art Break
Following a highly successful pilot project last
Shaun Dacey, Youth Programmes Coordinator
spring at St.Vincent Elementary School in Oakville,
at 905.844.4402 ext. 23 or email <shaun@oakville
Oakville Galleries now runs Art Break, an in-school
galleries.com>.
lunch-hour programme. Contact us to develop a
School Programmes
customized lunch-hour or after-school programme
for your school’s students.
Special programmes that mix art and language
Our school programmes offer students the oppor-
For more information on these programmes, please
laboration with the Alliance Française of Missis-
tunity to experience contemporary art in both offi-
refer to Oakville Galleries’ Elementary and Sec-
sauga. Optional childcare available for day-long
cial languages in a unique setting. Join us this
ondary School Programme brochures. Hard copies
programmes.
winter and spring for hands-on experiences involv-
are available in English or French upon request, or
ing traditional and new media such as photogra-
online (PDF copies) from www.oakvillegalleries.
phy, installation, drawing and sculpture. Discover
com. For registration or further information, please
our current exhibitions with our extracurricular
contact Monique MacLeod, School Programmes
workshops.
Coordinator, at 905.844.4402, ext. 26, or <monique@
instruction are offered for French learners in col-
Open Studio for ages 14 to 19
A pay-what-you-can drop-in art programme every
oakvillegalleries.com>.
Wednesday between 5 pm and 8 pm. Participate
in artist-led workshops, talks, portfolio develop-
NEW THIS YEAR !
ment sessions, community projects, and gallery
Artist in the Classroom
trips throughout the GTA and Southern Ontario.
Each month’s theme carries through into work-
Oakville Galleries offers students new possibil-
shops and events based on a specific medium;
ities to meet with artists in workshops or during
5.1
Sponsored in-kind by:
11
The Art of
Giving
Call to Action: 500@$500
Dear community members:
Oakville Galleries is pleased to announce the newest addition to its
500@$500 lets major operational supporters know that Oakville
Galleries is a vibrant and vital component to this community.
Friends of Oakville Galleries Giving Circle. 500@$500 is bold, creative
More and more we need the annual support of our community to
and the most ambitious outreach campaign we’ve launched in the
ensure the long-term viability of our exhibitions, children’s art edu-
history of the Galleries.
cation and acquisitions for the permanent collection.
Through two sites, Oakville Galleries serves communities in
Oakville, Halton Region and wider audiences nationally and inter-
In a time when donations are sought after by so many wonderful
and needy causes, when schedules are busy with events, galas,
nationally. Dedicated to contemporary art, Oakville Galleries re-
auctions, and appeals, we ask that you consider becoming a cul-
searches; builds and maintains a collection; produces and circulates
tural community leader by joining the 500@$500 Club today!
exhibitions; publishes; develops and delivers educational programmes; and conducts relevant activities. We invite you to partner
500@$500 is a dedicated group of 500 donors who make an annual
as we contribute to contemporary culture and the history of art.
contribution to Oakville Galleries of at least $500.
500@$500 acknowledges that people have only so much disposable
income.
We ask that you please continue to support the causes and charities
that you care about everyday — and remember to take care of these
same organizations and your loved ones with a gift from your estate.
500@$500 challenges you to think about a community without music,
literature, dance, performing or visual arts.
Benefits to the Club include:
• Receiving our award-winning newsletter four times a year;
• Free admission to over 70 museums and art galleries in Ontario including the Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art (Toronto), McMichael
Canadian Art Collection (Kleinburg), National Gallery of Canada
Permanent Collection (Ottawa), The Power Plant Contemporary
Art Gallery at Harbourfront Centre (Toronto), among others;
• 10% off purchases at The Gallery Shop @ Oakville Galleries;
• 15% off art classes and camps registrations;
Organizations like Oakville Galleries play a vital role in shaping a
strong cultural and economic landscape for our community. Together
• Exclusive discounts on publications and catalogues;
• Voting privileges at the AGM;
individuals, corporations and institutions, all provide a stimulating
• Two membership cards;
environment for the fulfilment of an informed and knowledgeable
• Two complementary catalogues;
society.
• A charitable tax receipt, less the $25 membership.
500@$500 asks that you make a stand for the well-being of culture
Together, with our major funders including the Canada Council for
both in Oakville and in Canada.
the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, the Department of Canadian
500@$500 Club Members share the underlying function of assisting the Galleries to continue to exhibit and collect contemporary
art in this community.
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Heritage and the Corporation of the Town of Oakville, we will ensure
the future is bright for the visual arts in our community.
Sincerely, Margo Hébert, Director of Development
Oakville galleries
Cut along dotted line and send to Oakville Galleries -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Count me in the 500!
Name ____________________________________________________ Address _______________________________________________________________________
City _______________________ Province
Name for recognition purposes:
Â
ÂÂ
as above
Postal code
Â
ÂÂÂ ÂÂÂ
Tel.
I wish to remain anonymous
Â
ÂÂÂ ÂÂÂ ÂÂÂÂ
E-mail ______________________________
This is a gift for _______________________________________________
Gift address _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Â
$500
Â
$750
Card Number
Â
$1000
Â
$2500
Â
other $ _________ payable as:
ÂÂÂÂ ÂÂÂÂ ÂÂÂÂ ÂÂÂÂ
Expiry
Â
A cheque made to Oakville Galleries
ÂÂ ÂÂ
Â
Visa
Â
MasterCard
Â
Amex
Cardholder’s name ________________________________________________
Signature _________________________________________________________________________
Â
one-time payment
Â
monthly installments for one year
Oakville Galleries is a not-for-profit public art gallery operating under the Charitable Business Number 11906 4418 RR0001
1306 Lakeshore Road East, Oakville, Ontario L6J 1L6 telephone 905.844.4402 fax 905.844.7968 <[email protected]> www.oakvillegalleries.com
5.1
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2
Strategic Plans
Cultural Plan for the Town of Oakville
The Town of Oakville has just announced plans to
create a cultural plan that, over the next year, will
take inventory of its cultural assets, make recommendations for improvements and develop key
strategies to achieve planned goals. It will allow
the Town the flexibility to explore future development and give them a clearer picture of the strength
of its cultural sector.
The next step is to implement a course of action
that will allow us to reach our goals. Oakville Galleries has hired a new Communications Officer,
Tracey Shepherd, whose priorities are to create
and implement a communication plan. In addition,
Oakville Galleries retained the services of the firm
Reich + Petch to do a facility plan audit.
Stay tuned for further updates.
Save the date! Gala 08
Gairloch Gardens Master Plan
Friday 13 June 2008
The Town of Oakville Parks and Open Space Department retained the services of Janet Rosenberg &
Associates to develop a master plan for Gairloch
Gardens. Their approach will embrace the unique
character and interrelationships that define the
site. The plan will fundamentally maintain Gairloch
Gardens’ historical design and character, while
allowing for its future growth and evolution. For
any additional information, please contact Janis
Olbina, Manager of Park Planning and Development
at 905.845.6601, ext. 3148 or visit www.oakville.ca/
Gairloch.htm.
Mark your calendar for Oakville Galleries’ annual
gala, as plans promise to be grand. Our annual
gala is a sell-out every year. Look forward to more
information on our Website, or better yet, reserve
your tickets today by calling Maria at 905.844.4402,
ext. 21.
Strategic Thinking
Graffiti in the Oakville has become an important
topic of discussion in Town Council, with storeowners, and among youth in the community. With
this in mind, Oakville Galleries and the Town have
embarked on an exciting project to discuss the
issues surrounding graffiti. Between February and
May, Oakville Galleries will partner with the Oakville Teen Advisory Committee and the Oakville
Youth Development Centre to hold art making workshops led by visual and graffiti artists to create a
site-specific graffiti project within a public space
in Oakville. Through these events, youth will have
an opportunity to learn, research and discuss the
Oakville Galleries’ strategic goals were established
by the Board of Directors at a strategic planning
retreat held in late November 2006. The goals that
provide Oakville Galleries with the direction to
drive our strategic plan are:
• Strengthen how we connect and communicate
with the community and the region;
• Determine the sustainable level of operations
given our mission and context;
• Define the steps to move forward to achieve a
unified purpose-designed facility.
14
Graffiti: Vandalism or
Artistic Expression?
historical, artistic, and political relevance of graffiti
as well as vocalize their role within the community.
For more information contact Shaun Dacey, Youth
Programmes Coordinator at 905.844.4402 ext. 23
or email <[email protected]>.
Touring Exhibitions
T&T: Onward Future
A touring exhibition organized and circulated by
Oakville Galleries, featuring digital C-prints, drawings, paintings, sculptures, and a new animated
film work by Tyler Brett and Tony Romano (T&T).
Curated by Patrik Andersson. The exhibition is accompanied by a well-documented full colour catalogue/artist book co-published by Museum London,
Oakville Galleries and Trapp Editions, Vancouver.
Oakville Galleries at Centennial Square
9 February to 11 May 2008
Museum London, London, ON
23 August to 10 December 2008
T& T: Onward Future is available for tour. To book
or for more information, contact Matthew Hyland
at 905.844.4402, ext. 27 or by email at <matthew@
oakvillegalleries.com>.
Upcoming Exhibitions
Société de ville (City Society)
Claude-Philippe Benoit
31 May to 30 August 2008
At Centennial Square
Permanent Collection
21 June to 30 August 2008
In Gairloch Gardens
Oakville galleries
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2
and Events
Ongoing Activities
February 2008
Exhibition Tours
Exhibition Openings
Saturdays and Sundays at 2 pm at Centennial Square
What We Bring to the Table and T&T: Onward Future
8 February at 7:30 pm at Centennial Square, followed by
a reception in Gairloch Gardens at 8:30 pm (pp. 2 and 6)
and at 3:30 pm in Gairloch Gardens
Wednesdays at 7 pm at Centennial Square
PA Day Boredom Neutralizer
A full-day art and recreation programme
ARTbus Tour
An afternoon bus tour to several West GTA art galleries
10 February from 12 pm to 5 pm (p. 10)
for children aged 6 to 12 on corresponding PA days
throughout the school year in GTA West
9 am to 4 pm in Gairloch Gardens (p. 11)
Parent and Child Programme
Six-week art courses for parents and children aged 4 to 6
Teacher’s Night
A guided tour of Oakville Galleries exhibitions for teachers
21 February from 6 pm to 8 pm (p. 11)
March 2008
Thursdays at 9:30 am and 1:30 pm in Gairloch Gardens (p. 11)
March Break Art Camp
Saturday StARTers
Four-session art workshops for children aged 6 to 12
Saturdays at 9:30 am in Gairloch Gardens (p. 11)
A week-long day camp for children aged 6 to 12
10 to 14 March from 9 am to 4 pm in Gairloch Gardens (p. 11)
April 2008
Teen Open Studio
Check our Website for updates on April events and activities
A drop-in art programme for teens aged 14 to 19
Wednesdays from 5 pm to 8 pm in Gairloch Gardens (p. 11)
May 2008
Artist in the Classroom
Exhibition
Unique opportunities for students to meet with exhibiting
Claude-Philippe Benoit: Société de ville (City Society)
31 May to 30 August at Centennial Square
artists in workshops or the galleries (p. 11)
Above: T&T (Tyler Brett and Tony Romano), Coal Harbour (detail), 2007, C-print, 122 x 122 cm, courtesy of Trapp Editions, Vancouver.
5.1
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Oakville galleries
at Centennial Square
120 Navy Street
Tuesday to Thursday 12 – 9 pm
Friday 12 – 5 pm
Saturday 10 am – 5 pm
Sunday 1 – 5 pm
Board of Directors
Thomas Dutton
(President)
Barb Weis
(Vice-President)
John Armstrong
(Secretary/Treasurer)
Councilor Tom Adams
Dr. Michael Collins
Garth Laurie
Lisa Rapoport
Ho Wong
Staff
Communications Officer: Tracey Shepherd
ext. 28 <[email protected]>
Curator of Contemporary Art: Marnie Fleming
ext. 24 <[email protected]>
Oakville Galleries is a not-for-profit charitable public art gallery governed by an autonomous Board of
Directors. Oakville Galleries is committed to presenting an innovative programme of exhibitions and
providing services relevant to its local population.
Oakville Galleries aims to make compelling exhibitions that challenge conventional artistic thinking;
to present the work of artists who are making a significant contribution to contemporary art; to develop
the visual and media arts as both a source and a tool
for learning; to bring the many audiences of art closer
together and closer to the art; and to encourage visitors to regard art as an integral part of their lives.
Curatorial Assistant/Registrar: Matthew Hyland
ext. 27 <[email protected]>
Oakville Galleries acknowledges the ongoing support of the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario
Arts Council, the Corporation of the Town of Oakville,
and our many individual, corporate and foundation
Director: Francine Périnet
ext. 25 <[email protected]>
partners.
in Gairloch Gardens
1306 Lakeshore Road East
Director of Development: Margo Hébert
ext. 22 <[email protected]>
Tuesday to Sunday 1 – 5 pm
3
P CS
P
Ford
at Centennial
Square
Randall
Maplegrove
Office Manager: Maria McConnell
ext. 21 <[email protected]>
Cornwall
Cairncroft
Installation Assistant: Brian Davis
Trafalgar
Installation Officer: Angelo Pedari, ext. 32
QEW
Oakville GO Station
Navy
telephone 905.844.3460
<[email protected]>
Education Team: Shaun Dacey, Sarah Lewis,
Monique MacLeod, Olia Mishchenko, Gabrielle
Moser, Dominique Prévost, Joy Struthers
<[email protected]>
Water
1306 Lakeshore Road East
Oakville, Ontario, Canada L6J 1L6
telephone 905.844.4402 fax 905.844.7968
www.oakvillegalleries.com
General inquiries:
<[email protected]>
Art class registration:
<[email protected]>
The Gallery Shop:
Wednesday to Sunday 1 – 5 pm
Director of Education and Public Programmes:
Catherine Sicot
ext. 30 <[email protected]>
40
also the location of the
administrative offices, Education
Centre and The Gallery Shop
Lakeshore Road East
Robinson
Gairloch
GG in
Gardens
LAKE ONTARIO
map not to scale
Sales Associate, The Gallery Shop: Alison Lindsay
905.844.3460 <[email protected]>
School Programmes Coordinator: Monique MacLeod
ext. 26 <[email protected]>
Youth Programmes Coordinator: Shaun Dacey
ext. 23 <[email protected]>
ISSN 1712-1485
Oakville galleries
Join us Friday 8 February
for our Spring openings
1306 Lakeshore Road East
Oakville, Ontario, Canada L6J 1L6
613 42 54