McMichael Makes Major Announcement
New acquisitions for the Collection, the premiere of three newly created special exhibitions, the release of a major new publication, an international exhibition tour and the installation of a McMichael-commissioned work by noted First Nations artist will be featured this summer!
June 19, 2009 Kleinburg, ON –The McMichael Canadian Art Collection announced today a very special lineup of initiatives for the 2009 summer season. The gallery will open the first of three remarkable exhibitions, all created and curated by the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, with Challenging Traditions: Contemporary First Nations Art of the Northwest Coast, opening on June 27th, and two opening on July 18th, Charles Pachter and Margaret Atwood: The Journals of Susanna Moodie and Diana Thorneycroft: Canada, Myth and History. The summer season will also include the launch of the gallery’s newest major publication by Ian M. Thom, Challenging Traditions: Contemporary First Nations Art of the Northwest Coast, and the installation and unveiling of its two most recent art acquisitions, The Painted Flag by Toronto-artist Charles Pachter and the commissioning of a specially created totem pole by noted Northwest Coast Native artist Don Yeomans.
Challenging Traditions: Contemporary First Nations Art of the Northwest Coast, organized by the McMichael and guest curated by Ian Thom, features seventy-five contemporary works of art created by forty of Canada’s most talented First Nations artists living in Canada’s Northwest Coast. The exhibition opens at the McMichael gallery on June 27th and runs until September 20th, 2009 and will then travel on a domestic and international tour. Tour details will be announced shortly.
Challenging Traditions: Contemporary First Nations Art of the Northwest Coast will be a landmark exhibition and publication (co-published by the McMichael Canadian Art Collection and Douglas & McIntyre) that examines the rich diversity and creativity of art in this region of Canada. In the last forty years, the art of the Northwest Coast has re-emerged as one of the most vibrant, varied and expressive art forms practised by any of the indigenous peoples of the world. The forty artists included in the exhibition have been selected by the guest curator, Ian Thom, the foremost curator and author of historical and contemporary Northwest Coast Canadian art. Each artist has built a substantial and important career. They address, in their own ways, an important visual and cultural tradition in a unique, personal voice. Lastly, and perhaps most controversially, each artist produces work of remarkable depth, beauty and quality. Moreover, the curator has attempted, wherever possible, to select recent, newly created work in direct consultation with the artists themselves.
One of the many artists represented in the Challenging Traditions exhibition and publication is Don Yeomans, a Haida artist from B.C.’s Northwest Coast whose works are installed in the University of British Columbia’s Museum of Anthropology, the Royal British Columbia Museum, the Canadian Museum of Civilization, and the Seattle Art Museum. The McMichael has commissioned a full-scale totem pole by this artist that will be installed in the gallery’s Grand Hall this summer.
The McMichael recently acquired The Painted Flag, the iconic painting by well-known Toronto artist Charles Pachter, for its permanent collection. The artwork will be installed at the gallery over the next several weeks and will be on view to the public for the first time on Canada Day, July 1st, as part of the gallery’s opening celebration for its summer exhibition season. The timing of this art purchase is ideal as the McMichael gallery prepares to open Charles Pachter and Margaret Atwood: The Journals of Susanna Moodie, on July 18th. This exhibition is organized by the McMichael and curated by Chris Finn. It will explore the unique collaboration between Pachter and Atwood and will include a collection of approximately thirty original prints with the accompanying poems from Atwood and Pachter’s livre d’artiste, a limited-edition artist’s book. This exhibit will be on display until October 11th, 2009.
Also opening on July 18th is Diana Thorneycroft: Canada, Myth and History, organized by the McMichael and curated by Sharona Adamowicz-Clements. Winnipeg artist Diana Thorneycroft is known for creating provocative and controversial photographs that challenge her audience’s viewing experience. Her seemingly comical images composed of innocent subjects—dolls and toy figurines—set against the landscape paintings created by Canada’s most beloved artists reveal, upon a closer examination, a deeper and darker meaning. Through her compositions of modern-day life and historical events set against the landscapes of the Group of Seven and their contemporaries, Thorneycroft explores notions of Canadian identity and cultural ideologies, while deconstructing mythological narratives. This exhibit will remain on display until November 29th, 2009.
On Canada Day, Wednesday, July 1st, the McMichael will host an all-day celebration, with extended hours from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm, to launch Challenging Traditions: Contemporary First Nations Art of the Northwest Coast and all of the gallery’s summer events. Members of the gallery and general public will enjoy all-day musical entertainment and programs, gallery tours, cash bar and BBQ, meeting exhibition curators and artists, and much more.
“This spectacular summer season will provide a distinctive, engaging experience for each and every gallery visitor, whether they are international tourists or daytrippers from the GTA,” said Thomas Smart, McMichael Executive Director & CEO. “We are presenting bold, new directions for the McMichael as we continue to explore, through art, what makes the McMichael unique and 100% Canadian.”
Acknowledgements
The exhibition, Challenging Traditions: Contemporary First Nations Art of the Northwest Coast, has been financially assisted by the Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund, a program of the Government of Ontario through the Ministry of Culture, administered by the Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund Corporation. This project has been made possible in part through a contribution from the Museums Assistance Program, Department of Canadian Heritage. The publication and accompanying curatorial research has been generously funded by the Audain Foundation for the Visual Arts.
The commissioning of the totem pole by Don Yeomans has been funded by the McMichael Canadian Art Foundation.
The McMichael’s purchase of The Painted Flag by Charles Pachter was made possible in part by the generous financial support provided by an anonymous donor.
About the Gallery
The McMichael Canadian Art Collection is an agency of the Government of Ontario and acknowledges the support of the Ministry of Culture. It is the foremost venue in the country showcasing the Group of Seven and their contemporaries. In addition to touring exhibitions, its permanent collection consists of more than 5,500 artworks, including paintings by the Group of Seven and their contemporaries, First Nations and Inuit artists.
The gallery is located on Islington Avenue, north of Major Mackenzie Drive in Kleinburg, and is open daily from 10 am to 4 pm.
For further information:
Stephen Weir, Publicist
Gallery: 905.893.1121 ext. 2529
Toronto Office: 416.489.5868
Cell: 416.801.3101
s1weir@aol.com or sweir5492@rogers.com
Cathy Lepiane, Communications Coordinator
McMichael Canadian Art Collection
905.893.1121 ext. 2210
clepiane@mcmichael.com
