for the time being: 2017 Alberta Biennial of Contemporary Art opens at the Art Gallery of Alberta and Walter Phillips Gallery
Posted on
April 21, 2017
for the time being: 2017 Alberta Biennial of Contemporary Art
May 27 – September 10, 2017 | Art Gallery of Alberta | youraga.ca | @youraga
June 24 – September 10, 2017 | Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity | banffcentre.ca | @banffcentre
BANFF, AB, April 24, 2017 — The Art Gallery of Alberta and Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity’s Walter Phillips Gallery are pleased to present for the time being: 2017 Alberta Biennial of Contemporary Art. Spread over the two sites, it opens at the Art Gallery of Alberta in Edmonton on May 27, 2017 and Walter Phillips Gallery in Banff on June 24, 2017, with public programming at both sites throughout the exhibition’s duration.
Curated by Peta Rake and Kristy Trinier, and jointly organized by the Art Gallery of Alberta and Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, the 2017 Alberta Biennial of Contemporary Art features new works by 24 Alberta artists.
Art Gallery of Alberta
- Ashley Bedet
- Devon Beggs
- Tamara Lee-Anne Cardinal
- Roy Caussy
- Mark Clintberg
- Craig Fahner & Neal Moignard
- Svea Ferguson
- Megan Green
- Tia Halliday
- Kristopher Karklin
- Kristopher Lindskoog
- Jay Mosher
- Marigold Santos
- Nicole Kelly Westman
Walter Phillips Gallery
- Andrew Buszchak
- Roy Caussy
- Mark Clintberg
- Gerry Dotto
- Svea Ferguson
- Taryn Kneteman
- Wil Murray
- Justin Patterson & Stacey Watson
- Paul Robert
- Parker Thiessen
- Justin Waddell
“Peta Rake and I travelled approximately 5000 km to meet with artists in studios across the province,” said Kristy Trinier. “Our research resulted in rich conversations from many accomplished artists. The exhibition presents a summary of these conversations, through selecting artists to represent a diverse selection representation of contemporary art practices in communities from Fort McMurray to Lethbridge.”
The cohort of 24 Alberta artists met at Banff Centre in the summer of 2016 for the Alberta Biennial Sessions to further develop their artworks and expand upon the exhibition themes together with the curators. Two international guest curators, Kendal Henry and Lorenzo Fusi, led an intensive series of workshops with the artists and facilitated an open conversation on the status of biennials and their impact regionally and internationally. This was the first time that artists had been brought together in such a way prior to the opening of the exhibition.
“The Alberta Biennial Sessions were generative for both the artists and curators because they were able to connect and share their practices in advance of the exhibition development. We prefaced ‘conversation’ as paramount in structuring the Biennial and emphasized the importance of thinking through our community collectively, hopefully creating a richer, more intertwined exhibition,” said Peta Rake.
for the time being: 2017 Alberta Biennial of Contemporary Art approaches the political implications of self-organization and wayfinding in new and unknown territories that may or may not be visible. Spread over two sites — the Art Gallery of Alberta and Walter Phillips Gallery — the Alberta Biennial investigates the distribution of wealth and labour through the provisional practices of 24 artists from across the province. In conversation with the artists, the curators acknowledged common threads that emerged relating to interstitiality and site — albeit physical or virtual — and a preoccupation with language and echoes that reflect the way in which artists see reverberations within larger discourses in their communities. The exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue featuring essays by the curators Peta Rake and Kristy Trinier and guest curator Lorenzo Fusi.
Since 1996, the Art Gallery of Alberta has presented the Alberta Biennial as a survey of contemporary art from across the province. Over its course, the exhibition has included new and exciting works by 222 Alberta-based contemporary artists, promoting them across the country and bringing national attention to Alberta’s art scene. In 2017, we celebrate the tenth Alberta Biennial.
for the time being: 2017 Alberta Biennial of Contemporary Art is jointly organized by the Art Gallery of Alberta and Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity and presented by ATB Financial. The exhibition at the Art Gallery of Alberta is supported by Artist Patrons: Bruce and Carol Bentley, Marie Gordon, John and Maggie Mitchell, Sheila O'Brien, and Allan and Marianne Scott. The exhibition at Walter Phillips Gallery is supported by the Gail and Stephen A. Jarislowsky Outstanding Artist Program. We would like to acknowledge the generous support of the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, Canada Council for the Arts, Edmonton Arts Council, and the City of Edmonton.
For more information about the 2017 Alberta Biennial of Contemporary Art, visit youraga.ca or banffcentre.ca
For more information, please contact:
Nikki van Dusen, MA
Head of Marketing and Communications
Art Gallery of Alberta
tel: +1 780. 422.6223 ext. 2466
cell: 780.993.6261
nikki.vandusen@youraga.ca
About Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity: Founded in 1933, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity is a learning organization built upon an extraordinary legacy of excellence in artistic and creative development. What started as a single course in drama has grown to become the global organization leading in arts, culture, and creativity across dozens of disciplines. From our home in the stunning Canadian Rocky Mountains, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity aims to inspire everyone who attends our campus – artists, leaders, and thinkers – to unleash their creative potential and realize their unique contribution to society through cross-disciplinary learning opportunities, world-class performances, and public outreach. banffcentre.ca
About The Art Gallery of Alberta: Founded in 1924, the Art Gallery of Alberta (AGA) is the oldest cultural institution in Alberta and the only museum in the province strictly devoted to the exhibition and preservation of art and visual culture. Serving both the city of Edmonton and the province of Alberta, the Gallery maintains a collection of nearly 6,000 objects. The AGA is focused on the development and presentation of original exhibitions of contemporary and historical art; on building national and international curatorial partnerships for the creation of new exhibition projects; and on the development and delivery of a program of touring exhibitions that disseminate contemporary and historical art within Alberta and across Canada. youraga.ca
The AGA is a not-for-profit organization that relies on the generous support of its Members, donors, sponsors and government. The Art Gallery of Alberta is grateful for the generous support of the many public and private donors and sponsors who have made the AGA’s New Vision possible, as well as the ongoing support of the City of Edmonton, the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, The Canada Council for the Arts and its Members.