T H E A RT G A L L E RY O F C A L G A RY
Exhibition runs May 16 - June 29, 2013 admission by donation
PARTICIPATING organizations 809 Gallery Arbour Lake Sghool AVALANCHE! Bee Kingdom CAGC the CAM Haight Gallery IDEAL Art Space Imaginary Ordinary PITH GALLERY WRECK CITY
1 1 7 - 8 a v e n u e s . w. calgary, al b erta , ca n a d a t 2 p 1 b 4 ma i n : 4 0 3 . 7 7 0 . 1 3 5 0 fa x : 4 0 3 . 2 6 4 . 8 0 7 7 w w w. artgallerycalgary. org
GARAGE MONTAGE Garage Montage is a group exhibition showcasing emerging artists whose activity in their individual art practices and as curators and arts administrators define the newest wave of Calgary’s DIY art scene. Featuring 11 independent galleries and studio collectives, Garage Montage is a compilation of over 25 artists who founded these alternative-use spaces. by appropriating garages, domestic spaces and derelict buildings, these artists have endeavoured to carve out a professional platform whereby they dedicate space to foster art production, often without reliance on mainstream commercial galleries, artist run centres or government funding. This exhibition hopes to trace the interconnectedness of these grassroots spaces where institutional practices are applied to facilitate their mandates, revealing the vibrancy of this network of artists whose vision, determination and bravery define our young arts community. By showing a wide scope of traditional and experimental art forms including painting, photography, sculpture, drawing, glasswork, installation, video and performance, Garage Montage presents a synopsis of Calgary’s innovative artists who activate mundane spaces by channelling avant-garde approaches in display and representation.
The underpinning theme which emerged in my research for Garage Montage, was the uninhibited spirit of camaraderie among the artists I interviewed. With every studio visit came suggestions to get in touch with more artists who the first had worked in collaboration with. Although the character of certain organizations was irrefutably tongue-in-cheek at first, over time, their founders gained strength and momentum from within the art community leading the initiative to flourish. While some of the galleries and collectives included in the exhibition still exist, others have been demolished, disbanded, or reformed in response to obstacles. The caveat of curating Garage Montage was the risk that some vital members of this vast community would not be included due to space and budgetary restrictions. As such, future iterations of this theme may be visited to further uncover Calgary’s rich history of independent alternative-use art spaces and collectives, revealing more of the montage. - Kayleigh Hall, Chief Curator For further information visit our Reading Room, presented in conjunction with Garage Montage, to browse various publications including magazines, newspapers, web articles, and catalogues to learn more about the organizations we’ve featured, as well as zines produced by the artists in the exhibition.
809 GALLERY The 809 Gallery was an artist-run center operating within a single car garage in the neighbourhood of Sunnyside for eight hundred and nine days from 2007 to 2009. inspired by a student trip to Chicago, led by Alberta College of Art + Design painting technician Bradley Harms in 2007, the gallery took advantage of the unused detached garage behind Brandon Dalmer’s (then) rented house. It was host to a variety of local, national, and international artists and organizations. 809 reopened in 2012 as a residency program, functioning as a space to both produce and exhibit work, and most recently, was included as part of an installation in WRECK CITY. For further information visit www.eightohnine.ca Founders: brandon dalmer, Ryan Ford, Ryan Gustafson, Tyler Los-Jones, Shawn Mankowske, Jenine Marsh, Ryan scott, Thea Yabut Duration: 2007 - 2009 (Gallery), 2012 - 2013 (Residency)
image credit: brandon dalmer
ARBOUR LAKE SGHOOL Arbour Lake Sghool is an artist collective located in the suburban community of Arbour Lake in NW Calgary. The Arbour Lake Sghool provides a stage for the creation and display of artistic or critical projects that explore and engage a suburban setting. The collective has been exhibited across Canada, paris and in Amsterdam. In 2008, the Arbour Lake Sghool received the Mayor’s Award for Artistic Achievement. past projects include ecological interventions in gardens and developments, re-enactments of World War I, giant cardboard constructions of volcanoes and public robot fights. For further information visit www.thearbourlakesghool. com Founders: John Frosst, Andrew Frosst, Justin patterson, scott Rogers Duration: november 2003 – present
Image credit: City of Calgary Bylaw Services
AVALANCHE! Institute of Contemporary Art AVALANCHE! Institute of Contemporary Art is an art gallery and studio space dedicated to exhibiting exciting work by emerging Canadian artists, with an emphasis on experimental, sitespecific, and installation-based practices. Through curated exhibitions, print editions, and special events, AvALAnCHE! strives to present conceptually engaging and aesthetically resolved programming, ultimately aiming to contextualize the practices of Calgary-based artists on a national level. To date, AvALAnCHE! has hosted nine exhibitions and numerous special events, and produced a series of limited edition prints designed by each of our exhibiting artists. For further information please visit www. avalancheavalanche.com Founders: nate McLeod & Cassandra paul Duration: May 2012 - present
image credit: nate McLeod
BEE KINGDOM Bee Kingdom is a glass-based studio collective who occupy a renovated garage studio in Calgary’s Mount Pleasant neighbourhood. The former Alberta College of Art + Design students were inspired by a summer residency at the Pilchuk Glass School in Washington State (2008) and have since fostered a vigorous commercial and fine art practice in Calgary, winning the Lieutenant Governor Award for Emerging Artists in 2010. More recently, bee kingdom helped establish Berlin’s first full-time professional glass blowing studio during a 7-month residency. For further information please visit www.beekingdom. ca Founders: phillip bandura, Timothy belliveau, Ryan Marsh Fairweather Duration: 2004 – present
image credit: bee kingdom
THE CONTEMPORARY ART GALLERY OF CALGARY (CAGC) The Contemporary Art Gallery of Calgary (CAGC) is an artist-run organization, which hosted 31 artists in 25 exhibitions displayed on 2 sheets of 4’ x 8’ drywall, set up as a freestanding corner display at the Alberta College of Art + Design. Born out of the desire to establish an exhibition history and enhance the artistic dialogue for fellow artists, the CAGC held public openings with students, faculty and staff at ACAD as well as alumni from Ringling College of Art & Design and the Design Academy Eindoven. CAGC shows are acutely aware of their context and are often cheeky, uncensored and experimental. The only rule is no painting the walls. The CAGC designed public programs around each exhibition and documented these events, producing a limited edition publication outlining its calendar of exhibitions and featured each exhibiting artist. For further information please visit www. contemporaryartgalleryofcalgary.org Founders: Thomas dahlgren, karly Mortimer, Stephen Natchigall & Jeremy Pavka Duration: 2011 - present Image credit: Jeremy Pavka
THE CONTEMPORARY ART MUSEUM (THE CAM) The Contemporary Art Museum (the CAM) was a fictional and functional, homespun museum based in a rental home in the community of Kensington in NW Calgary. Adopting all the accoutrements of traditional museum display, the CAM maintained the signifiers of an art institution; objects of the home became part of the living display, while visitors became patrons. president and CEO bree Zorel and Heather kai-smith continued the CAM after the museum was disbanded through a project entitled The CAMettes; a decentralized version of the project where Smith and Zorel acted upon their intention to serve the CAM through everyday activities, research and urban interventions. Founders: Heather kai-smith & bree Zorel Duration: Fall 2009 - summer 2010
image credit: Heather kai-smith & bree Zorel
HAIGHT GALLERY Haight Gallery is an artist-run gallery operating out of a renovated detached garage in the Capitol Hill neighbourhood of Calgary. Hosting up to 10 exhibitions per year and representing over 16 artists, Haight Gallery was established by artist and Alberta College of Art + Design graduate, Matthew Mark bourree, who participated in an exchange program with Cooper Union for the Advancement of Art and Science in New York. In New York City, Bourree was inspired by art exhibitions organized in temporary locations. Haight Gallery is a diY solution to exhibiting art on one’s own terms, building a strong stable of artists and utilizing guerrilla-advertising tactics to attract visitors. For further information visit www.haightgallery.com Founder: Matthew Mark Bourree Duration: november 2010 - present
Image credit: Matthew Mark Bourree
IDEAL ART SPACE IDEAL Art Space was an alternative space gallery located in an abandoned building on the corner of 17th Avenue and 1st street sw. Formerly a gas station and mechanic’s garage, the gallery’s name was derived from its last tenant, a variety rental shop called ‘Ideal Rentals’. The gallery offered approximately 5,000 square feet of exhibition space, run and maintained by its founder Erik Olson and administered by Erica brisson, who was based at The Banff Centre at the time. IDEAL Art Space hosted 12 exhibitions, featuring local and international artists (including members of Arbour Lake Sghool) with shows designed around the space itself. Founders: Erik Olson & Erica Brisson Duration: december 2007 - september 2008
Image credit: Erik Olson
IMAGINARY ORDINARY Imaginary Ordinary was a social networking site located in a previously abandoned storefront on Centre Street where different groups or individuals of all ages could meet and connect with one another. it was a community centre – a place where everybody in the neighbourhood was able to come to participate in activities, share information, or simply browse and hang out. In operation for only four months, Imaginary Ordinary hosted more than fifty events, engaging the residents living and working in and around the neighbourhoods of Crescent Heights, Regal Terrace, and Renfrew. For further information visit www.birdwatcher-yyc.ca/ PROJECTS/imaginaryordinar.html Founders: Eric Moschopedis & Laura Leif (with Mia Rushton) Duration: May 8 - August 29, 2009
image credit: Eric Moschopedis
PITH GALLERY Pith Gallery & Studios is located in inglewood and occupies a former bottle depot. It focuses on irreverent, experimental practices that challenge conceptions of contemporary art. Pith Gallery desires to situate itself within Calgary’s public domain as an engaging and valuable site for new ideas, arts education, and productive debate. it provides affordable studio space and has been operating since spring, 2009. For further information visit www.pithgallery.com Founders: John Frosst, sarah Adams & stacey watson Duration: spring 2009 - present
Former tenant of Pith Gallery Image credit: Jennifer Crighton
WRECK CITY WRECK CITY was a community-based art experiment instigated as an epilogue for 809 Gallery when it was slated for demolition along with the other houses on its block. 9 houses, 2 garages, and a greenhouse were transformed into a temporary, alternative use venue for visual art, installation and performance. Located between 621 and 823 – 5th Avenue in the NW community of Sunnyside, the project included over 100 artists, organized by 8 artist-curators. The project was inspired by similar experiments: The Leona Drive Project in Toronto and The House Project in Calgary. For further information visit wreckcityproject. wordpress.com Curators: Matthew Mark Bourree, Caitlind r.c. Brown (with Wayne Garrett), Jennifer Crighton, brandon dalmer, Andrew Frosst, John Frosst, shawn Mankowske, Ryan Scott Duration: April 19 - 27, 2013
image credit: neil Zeller
PROGRAMMING All public programs are free and open to the public. Cash bar available. PAnEL DisCussion: independent spaces May 23, 2013 7PM Ever wonder what it takes to start your own art gallery or studio collective? Join The AGC at 7pM on May 23rd to hear the founders of four independent arts spaces in Calgary discuss their experiences founding and operating in unique locations. Panelists: Brandon Dalmer (809 Gallery), Erik Olson (IDEAL Art Space), Cassandra Paul (AVALANCHE! Institute of Contemporary Art), and Heather Kai-Smith (the Contemporary Art Museum). sCrEEninG/PAnEL DisCussion: Alternative Currency - June 1, 2013 3PM Join The AGC for a special screening of Alternative Currency, a documentary investigating Calgary as the Cultural Capital of Canada for 2012 through a series of interviews with artists, curators and arts administrators in Calgary, followed by a discussion and Q&A with the filmmaker, Lewis Liski, and panelists from the community. PAnEL DisCussion: Collaboration in temporary Public Art - June 14, 2013 3PM Two collaborative artist duos discuss their experiences working within temporary public art, from the intervention and performance-based practice of Eric Moschopedis & Mia Rushton, to the installation-based practice of Caitlind r.c. brown & wayne Garrett. Artist tALK: bee Kingdom - June 29, 2013 1PM Join us as Bee Kingdom co-founders Phillip Bandura, Timothy belliveau, and Ryan Marsh Fairweather discuss the founding of their hot-glass studio, the development of their practices, and their experiences working communally. reading room – ongoing Visit The AGC’s Reading Room for the duration of Garage Montage to browse various publications including magazines, newspapers, web articles, and catalogues to learn more about the organizations featured, as well as zines produced by the artists in the exhibition.
EXHIBITING ARTISTS phillip bandura Timothy belliveau Matthew Mark Bourree Caitlind r. c. brown Jennifer Crighton brandon dalmer Ryan Marsh Fairweather Andrew Frosst John Frosst wayne Garrett bradley Harms Heather kai-smith Bryce Krynski Laura Leif Lewis Liski Tyler Los-Jones Shawn Mankowske Jenine Marsh nate McLeod karly Mortimer Eric Moschopedis stephen nachtigall Erik Olson Justin patterson Cassandra paul Jeremy Pavka scott Rogers Mia Rushton Ryan McClure scott Thea Yabut bree Zorel
Exhibition Opening and Media Relations sponsored by: TODAY’S BEST MUSIC