on View
Pandora's Box
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Laylah Ali, Untitled, (detail), ink and pencil on paper. Image courtesy of 303 Gallery, New York. |
Opening Reception: Fri, Jan 29, 7-9 p.m.
Opening Remarks: 7:30 p.m.
Artists: Laylah Ali, Ghada Amer, Shary Boyle, Amy Cutler, Chitra Ganesh, Wangechi Mutu, Annie Pootoogook, Leesa Streifler, Kara Walker, Su-en Wong
Curated by Amanda Cachia.
Organized and toured by Dunlop Art Gallery with the financial assistance of the Regina Public Library, The Canada Council for the Arts and the Saskatchewan Arts Board.
What's in the Box? Getting to know Pandora
An evening of community engagement of the arts
Tuesday March 9, 7-9 p.m.
KW|AG, with WLU Women Studies students, will be hosting this event at the Gallery to create dialogue surrounding the themes of Pandora's Box. The aim of this event is to create a safe space to enhance the sharing of views and experiences on issues such as sexuality, gender and race. The Women Studies students will interview viewers of the exhibit. These voices will be used as a catalyst for further discussion, in the form of a blog. If you've already had the pleasure of walking through Pandora's Box, we welcome you back inside in order to share your experiences/reflections. If you have yet to step inside, please come in.
This is a free event. Everyone is welcome. Snacks and refreshments are provided.
Curator Talk with Amanda Cachia: Thurs, January 28, 2010, 7 p.m.
Artist Talk with Shary Boyle: Thurs, February 4, 2010, 7 p.m.
Pandora's Box offers a new twist on the myth of Pandora. Pandora is no longer about what is hidden inside of the box, never to be revealed, but what is metaphorically reflected on the outside. Inside Pandora's Box viewers will encounter a phantasmagoria of myths, folk tales, stereotypes and ambiguity. These international artists challenge disempowering myths and fairy tales to make them a more accurate mirror of female experience in new socio-historical contexts. They share personal fictions, political statements and psychological manifestations. We are invited to reflect on larger human issues such as birth, death, parenthood, relationships, rites of passage and multiple identities through an engagement with other worldly creatures and everyday environments. A gallery facilitator will be present in the exhibition area Mon-Fri from 2-4 p.m. during the month of February to share insights and responses to the work.
Related Links:
An Interview with Crystal Mowry, KW|AG's Curator of Exhibitions and Collections, about Pandora's Box >
Leah Sandals' interview with Curator Amanda Cachia about Pandora's Box >
An Interview with artist Chitra Ganesh in Toro Magazine >
Resonant Surgeries: The Collaged World of Wangechi Mutu, Robert Enright, Border Crossings Magazine>
Portrait of Cape Dorset Artist, Annie Pootoogook (Video) >
Wangechi Mutu on Facebook >
Artist Videos
Note: The Pandora's Box exhibition will include a resource lounge with access to artists' videos including Art 21: Laylah Ali and a portrait of Cape Dorset artist, Annie Pootoogook.
Ground Level: Works from KW|AG's Permanent Collection
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Installation view of Ground Level: Works from KW|AG's Permanent Collection. (Photo: Matt Dupuis.) |
January 29 - March 21, 2010
Artists: John Chalmers, Richard Lanctot, Stanley Lewis, Graham Peacock, Don Proch, Gordon Rayner, Jim Reid, Klaas Verboom, Peter von Tiesenhausen
The works in Ground Level are assembled around the subject of "terra firma". Whether through perspective or actual material components, the works are either 'of' the ground or 'from' the ground. The works by Peter von Tiesenhausen and Jim Reid utilize two opposing vantage points with worm's eye and bird's eye perspectives respectively: a view from the ground looking up and the other of the ground viewed from above. Other selections are composed of earth elements, like the stone carvings of Stanley Lewis, or are intended to act as a segment of earth, as in Graham Peacock's Seasoned Ground Vee.
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| Tony Urquhart, Canadian, b. 1934, Hero!, 1961, woodcut, 30.2 x 22.6 cm. Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery, Gift of the Artist, 1992. |
Being Magnified: Heroes and Villains from KW|AG's Permanent Collection
September 18, 2009 - August 29, 2010
Opening Reception: Fri, Sept 18, 2009, 5 - 7 p.m.
Read an interview with Registrar Cindy Wayvon about Being Magnified >
There have been stories told throughout history that have carried a timeless and profound resonance within mass consciousness. Perhaps these impactful myths, from the Epic of Gilgamesh to Star Wars, contain within them a reflection of the truth of our being which we intuitively recognize. Comparative mythologist Joseph Campbell identified an archetypal patterning, a common thread, through every myth ever created which he called "The Heroes Journey". He believed that through symbolism, mythology provides a glimpse of our own true nature and a road map to self actualization.
Being Magnified delineates this mythic commonality, the framework for all storytelling whether mythical, spiritual or filmic. At the beginning, ordinary beings respond to an innate internally driven curiosity to explore or improve their world, often characterized by a sense that there must be more or that things should be better. Their search for happiness, or an improved condition, brings them face to face with an obstacle, a decision, or an adversary which forces a discovery of untapped strength or wisdom within. Like a magnifying glass, this evolution amplifies the true being within - a unique and profound expression which resonates when witnessed by others.
