10 THINGS TO DO IN OCTOBER

What's Happening Wednesdays |  Laetitia Dandavino-Tardif

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1. World Press Photo 2018 Exhibition

Date: October 2 to 23, 2018
Location: Brookfield Place, Allen Lambert Galleria

Every year, the World Press Photo showcases the best visual journalism of the past year through an international exhibition, travelling to more than 100 cities and 45 countries. The contest celebrates the most striking, shocking and touching photographs showcasing compelling stories and insight into our world, while supporting the career of professional photojournalists.

Bev Koski's Ottawa #1 and Bearlin #1 (2014). Source.

2. Beads, they're sewn so tight

Date: October 10, 2018 to May 26, 2019
Location: Textile Museum of Canada

Curated by Lisa Myers, Beads, they're sewn so tight presents beaded works by contemporary artists Bev Koski, Katie Longboat, Jean Marshall and Olivia Whetung. Through innovative beading and threading techniques, these artists create new visual languages of pattern and surface design, while drawing attention to social and political issues.

Waterlitch (Official Video) by Daan Roosegaarde. Source.

3. Waterlicht

Date: October 12, 13 and 14, 2018, from 7-11PM
Location: The Bentway

After London, New York, Paris and Amsterdam, experience Dutch artist Daan Roosegaarde's monumental public art installation Waterlich, for its Canadian premiere in Toronto. Through the use of LEDs, special software and lenses, Roosegaarde creates an imaginary landscape illustrating the universal power, poetry, and danger of water. The travelling exhibition is site-responsive. It will be located at The Bentway, underneath the Gardiner Expressway highlighting the Lake Ontario shoreline.

4. The Power Plant's Fall 2018 Exhibition Season

Date: Friday, October 19, 2018, starting at 8:00 PM
Location: The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery

The Power Plant is hosting a free party for the launch of its Fall 2018 exhibition season, which includes the first solo exhibition of sculptor Karla Black, the first Canadian solo exhibition of Argentinian artist Vivian Suter and the ongoing exhibition of Abbas Akhavan's variation on a landscape. Be part of this seasonal opening party attracting large crowds from artists to museum professionals and art lovers!

 A tea bowl from Sir William Van Hornes's collection. Source.

5. Obsession: Sir William Van Horne’s Japanese Ceramics

Date: October 20, 2018 to January 22, 2019

Location: Gardiner Museum

Organized in partnership with the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Obsession brings together over 350 objects from Sir William Van Horne's exceptional Japanese pottery collection. The exhibition presents not only the fascination of one of the greatest Canadian collectors for Japanese objets d'art but also dives into the history of collecting in Canada at the end of the 19th century. 

6. Art Toronto

Date: October 26 to 29, 2018

Location: Metro Toronto Convention Centre

Art Toronto is an annual international contemporary and modern art fair showcasing leading Canadian and international galleries, such as from the United States, Germany, United Kingdom, Israel and Belgium. The programming of the fair also includes PLATFORM, Art Toronto’s original speaker series with prominent art world professionals.

A room from the Museum of Illusions. Source.

7. Opening of the Toronto Museum of Illusions

Date: Opens October 15, 2018
Location: 132 Front Street East, Toronto

First opened in Zagreb, Croatia in 2015, the Museum of Illusions is soon to open in Toronto joining other cities around the world, such as Vienna, Belgrade, New York, Dubai, Berlin, and Kuala Lumpur. The interactive rooms in this “museum” showcase various optical illusions, which are definitively Instagram-worthy.

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And see it before it ends...

Iris van Herpen: Transforming Fashion at the  Royal Ontario Museum. Source.

8. Iris van Herpen: Transforming Fashion

Date: Ends October 8, 2018
Location: Royal Ontario Museum

Discover the extraordinary world of Dutch fashion designer Iris van Herpen at the ROM, as she pushes the boundaries of fashion and design through her use of new technologies such as 3D printing. The exhibition is presented alongside Canadian architect Philip Beesley’s interactive installations.

Rebecca Belmore's sister (2010). Source.

9. Rebecca Belmore: Facing the Monumental

Date: Ends October 21, 2018
Location: Art Gallery of Ontario

Curated by Wanda Nanibush, this exhibition explores contemporary Anishinaabe artist Rebecca Belmore's career. Belmore uses interdisciplinary artworks to respond to political issues such as Indigenous rights, land rights, violence towards Indigenous women, and the role of the artist in our contemporary society. 

10. Modernism on the Ganges: Raghubir Singh Photographs 

Date: Ends October 21, 2018
Location: Royal Ontario Museum

This exhibition showcases the life, culture and people of India, from 1960s to 1990s, through Raghubir Singh's vivid color photographs. Don't forget to also visit #MeToo & the Arts, in the lobby of the ROM, which was created in response to the sexual harassment allegations against Singh and exposes the ongoing gender inequity within the art world. 

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WOMEN IN DIALOGUE: REFLECTIONS FROM THE WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP PANEL

WEEKEND EDITION

BY: AMY INTRATOR AND KATHLEEN LEW

Full crowd at MUSSA's Women in Leadership Panel. Photo courtesy of Charlotte Gagnier. 

This Friday, the Museum Studies Student Association (MUSSA) hosted its first ever Women in Leadership panel at the iSchool. The panel was made up of four women with vastly different leadership experience in museums. The panelists were Gäetane Verna (Director of the Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery), Shelley Falconer (President and CEO of the Art Gallery of Hamilton), Dara Solomon (Executive Director of the Ontario Jewish Archives), and Gracia Dyer Jalea (Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Toronto Ward Museum). The panelists engaged in an insightful and inspirational dialogue about the challenges, successes, and future of museum work. The iSchool was the perfect location to host this panel, as currently, 87% of Museum Studies and CRO students identify as female. In today’s special Weekend Edition, Kathleen Lew (She’s My Muse) and Amy Intrator (Beyond Tradition) are continuing the dialogue and reflecting on the panel.

Source.

KL: Before we dive into the panel content, let’s take a moment and appreciate how cool it is to hear a group of powerful women speak collectively about a field that many of us are pursuing. We can gain so much from hearing leaders build on each other’s ideas, creating a conversational approach to women's’ leadership. 

AI: I loved that the panel really felt like a dialogue. There wasn’t one woman explaining what it meant to be successful in the field, instead we got to hear about so many different perspectives on what it means to be a woman in a leadership position. That being said, despite all the differences between the speakers’ experiences, I was so amazed that all four women seemed to find common ground in a lot of their challenges in the field. 

Shelley Falconer quoting Tina Fey. Photo Courtesy of Charlotte Gagnier. 

KL: Yeah I agree, dialogue is crucial when grappling with critical issues in our field. Women are complex individuals, and change cannot come from just one voice. We need many intersectional insights to better support all women in the museum field. I think it is really important that the panel made space for different perspectives, and I’m glad we can carry the conversation over to Musings.

There are a lot of women in our field but a lot of sexism too” - Shelley Falconer, President and CEO of the @TheAGH #MuseWomenTO

— Musings MMSt (@musingsmmst) February 9, 2018

AI: Absolutely! Every one of the four panelists talked about the importance of dialogue and collaboration with other professionals. Falconer even mentioned that in her experience, women tend to be more collaborative than men in the workplace. The women all attributed their successes, in part, to their support networks, but that being said, they also spoke passionately about the need to make space for yourself when support isn’t readily available.

KL: Another great example is when Jalea spoke eloquently about the values of the Ward Museum, an institution that strives to make space for those who are marginalized from dominant histories. With this work, Jalea realized that advocating and making space for herself as a professional is important as well. Jalea did not see the position that she wanted in the museum field, so she co-founded a museum, making her own opportunities. Verna had similar points when she spoke about negotiating salary. Verna was informed and confident in the facts of what she would bring to the institution, and she was not afraid to ask directly for what she deserved.

“Don’t be afraid to create an opportunity for yourself” -Gracia Dyer Jalea, co-founder and Executive Director of @TOWardMuseum #MuseWomenTO pic.twitter.com/5U54GvEsmg

— Musings MMSt (@musingsmmst) February 9, 2018

AI: The similarities between Jalea and Verna’s experiences are amazing! Although the women were advocating for themselves in such different settings, there is so much overlap in how they dealt with being underestimated and undervalued. There were a lot of sympathetic nods and laughs between panelists throughout the panel! Overall, I got the impression that these women shared the opinion that being a woman in no way undermines their ability to be a strong leader. In fact, a lot of the anecdotes seemed to prove that challenges like motherhood actually strengthened these women as leaders, like Jalea’s statement that she is more attuned to her work because of her children. Talk about empowering!

Gäetane Verna (left) and Gracia Dyer Jalea (right). Photo Courtesy of Charlotte Gagnier. 

Gracia @TOWardMuseum & Gaetane @ThePowerPlantTO leadership requires compassion& empathy, also fairness

— Cara Krmpotich (@MMStCara) February 9, 2018

KL: Another sympathetic nod (and sassy snap) moment was Verna’s powerful reminder that men do not constantly justify their actions the way that women tend to in professional settings. If men do not apologize for their ideas, than why should we? Verna decided she was only going to apologize when she was at fault, rather than feeling she needed to prove her intelligence to her colleagues. This statement really resonated with my own tendencies, as gendered power often makes me feel the need to apologize for asserting my voice. Great advice was flowing freely on Friday, what else can we gain as emerging professionals from the conversation?

If you don’t ask the answer will always be no #DontNeedToJustifyYourself #WomenInLeadership #MUSSA @ischool_TO @MUSSAToronto @ThePowerPlantTO

— Leore Zecharia (@leorezecharia) February 9, 2018

AI: The panelists shared so much valuable advice for young professionals entering the field. The speakers left me thinking about the importance of professionalism, entrepreneurship, and risk-taking in the museum field today.

Time for some Q&A! How can young professionals make their way in the museum field? “Be entrepreneurial” - Shelley Falconer #MuseWomenTO

— Musings MMSt (@musingsmmst) February 9, 2018

Dara Solomon reminds young professionals about the value of face-to-face dialogue #MuseWomenTO

— Musings MMSt (@musingsmmst) February 9, 2018

Gaëtane Verna encourages young professionals to step out of the 416 and find opportunities that meet their goals #MuseWomenTO

— Musings MMSt (@musingsmmst) February 9, 2018

KL: It all starts with a dialogue, but what’s next? The four panelists had some great insights for the future of the museum sector, and I can't wait to see what they continue to accomplish. I think this panel was a great start to future conversations about women's leadership at the Master of Museum Studies program. I hope MUSSA will have more great panels, because our future careers can be positively shaped by the insights of accomplished professionals.

With that, let’s continue the dialogue beyond the panel (and blog post), and turn words into action at the museum.

Women in Leadership panelists and Serena Ypelaar (left), Musings Editor-in-Chief, as moderator. Photo Courtesy of Charlotte Gagnier.

MARIA HUPFIELD: THE ONE WHO KEEPS ON GIVING

EXHIBITION REVIEWS

BY: TABITHA CHAN

First room in the exhibition

(Photo: Tabitha Chan)

Maria Hupfield is an Indigenous Canadian artist who combines hand-sewn sculptures and multimedia video installations to create a dynamic conversation about the complex relationship between humans and objects. Her work encourages viewers to consider the significance of objects beyond their physical materiality and to reflect on the process of how objects become embedded with meaning. These ideas are illustrated in her current solo exhibition titled “The One Who Keeps On Giving” at The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery.

Hupfield is a member of the Anishinaabe Nation at Wasauksing First Nation, Ontario. Her work often draws from her Indigenous heritage to explore the relationships between people, places and objects. She replicates objects that are typically seen as “Indigenous” or regionally specific in industrial felt to neutralize their materiality and to examine what it means for them to take on a new “contemporary” identity.

Second room in the exhibition

(Photo: Tabitha Chan)

The exhibition is presented in two adjoining rooms. White walls and bright lights characterize the first room that visitors enter into, while the second room is distinguished by darkness and shadows. The first room features six groupings of work that are related to each other thematically, but can also be viewed as standalone installations. All of the groupings use similar materials such as industrial felt and poplar plywood, highlighted by neon yellow panes of colour. The second room features Hupfield’s newly commissioned installation for the gallery, which stems from an oil painting of a seascape by the artist’s late mother.

In the first room, there are three video works. In the film, It Is Never Just about Sustenance or Pleasure (2016), the artist is seen walking through the desert of Santa Fe wearing handmade mitts and boots (the same ones that are displayed in the gallery). In this desert, there once existed a waterway. The objects themselves are a reference to wetlands, as the mitts are typically worn for snowmobiling and the boots for river fly-fishing. Hupfield replicates these objects in felt to emphasize that they have been adapted to serve a new purpose in the midst of climate change.

It Is Never Just About Sustenance or Pleasure (2016)

(Photo: Tabitha Chan)

The tactility of Hupfield's handmade objects make them feel personal, like they belong to someone and that each one carries a story beyond its functional purpose. The chosen objects are readily recognizable and accessible, both in size and purpose. Objects include: a canoe, a cassette recorder with headphones, a snowsuit, a snowmobile helmet and a light bulb. 

Most visitors will have encountered a similar light bulb fixture in their basement, and have a memory of turning it on by pulling on the metal chain. Hupfield has even replicated the electrical outlet that connects to the light bulb in felt. Hupfield’s felt objects are compelling enough to provide an entry point for visitors to venture their own guesses as to what the work is about and why the artist chose to replicate them in this way.

Handmade replicas of objects in industiral felt

(Photo: Tabitha Chan)

Without having some knowledge of Hupfield’s biographical details, her sculptures and installations in the first room may still be intimidating for viewers who are not comfortable or experienced in looking at contemporary art independently. The second room helps to diffuse this tension, as visitors are able to partake in a shared experience, while learning about Hupfield’s personal heritage and narrative. 

The second room has an intimate and solemn atmosphere. The only light emitted in the room is from two floor-to-ceiling video projections that face one another, and from a small cut out rectangular window that looks out onto the Lake Ontario harbour. There are two objects in the room: Bound with Georgian Bay by Peggy Miller (1974) and Jingle Spiral (2015). Both objects make appearances in the projected performances. 

Small cut out window looking out onto Lake Ontario

(Photo: Tabitha Chan)

This painting below inspired Hupfield’s performance with her siblings, which took place in their hometown of Parry Sound, Ontario on Georgian Bay. In this performance, Hupfield holds the painting facing inwards, as her siblings dance and sing around her to celebrate the memory of their mother. Hupfield and her siblings re-enacted the same performance in the gallery space to ground the work within the exhibition.

In the gallery version of the performance, Hupfield holds the painting facing outwards. These recorded performances are projected one after the other on opposite sides of the gallery. The running time of each performance is 15 minutes – this means that visitors could potentially not even realize that there is a second film if they enter the room early on in the first film.

There are five square boxes configured in a circle in the middle of the room for viewers to sit and watch the performances. This seating arrangement resembles a campfire setting, encouraging viewers to have a community experience. This room is successful in being able to tell a very personal story to the artist, while inviting visitors to collectively partake in it. As visitors look out onto the Lake Ontario harbour, this act gives them the ability to ground their own experience in the exhibition. Their act of looking outwards is a parallel to the oil painting of the Georgian Bay seascape.

Bound with Georgian Bay by Peggy Miller (1974)

(Photo: Tabitha Chan)

CLOSING THOUGHTS

Being in the same room as objects that are seen in the performances gives visitors a way to connect and reflect on Hupfield’s personal narrative. Although the objects are often worn in the performances, the same objects that are displayed in the exhibit do not invite visitors to interact with them. They are remnants of the performance, and in this way, a symbol of past memory.

The two rooms are not binary opposites, but compliment each other through their differences and give viewers the opportunity to form their own interpretations based on what is revealed in the artworks themselves. In trying to understand the relationship between the two rooms, viewers are able to grasp the big idea of the exhibition.

Regardless of visitors’ familiarity or comfort level with contemporary art, the key to understanding this exhibition is time. This exhibit can only be fully appreciated if visitors have time to experience it and to take the initiative to personally reflect on the meaning of the exhibition. To properly engage in the content of the artwork, visitors have to spend time watching and listening to the performances.

The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery uses an interpretive strategy in this exhibition that is quite open ended and largely reliant on the viewers’ own agency to think actively. There is a quality of poetic abstraction with regards to how this exhibition has been curated. Viewers are able to develop their own conclusions, as long as they are willing to embark on their own journey and physically, as well as metaphorically, travel between the two rooms.

“The One Who Keeps On Giving” is open until May 14, 2017 at The Power Plant. The gallery has also made it possible to virtually visit all of their current exhibitions on their website.