Ottawa , May 27, 2009 - Five Canadian Aboriginal curators will have the opportunity to share their knowledge of contemporary Canadian and international Aboriginal art practices at this year's Venice Biennale in visual arts from June 3 to 11. This is the second year of a Canada Council for the Arts three-year program for Aboriginal curators to take part in the Sydney and the Venice Biennales.
During their stay, the delegates will participate in a full itinerary of meetings and events designed to build their understanding of the international art context and facilitate opportunities to promote their curatorial skills. Delegates will meet curators, artists, gallerists, collectors and museum directors from around the world, many of whom have shown a keen interest in Canadian Aboriginal art and openness to collaboration and exchange.
The members of the Aboriginal curators delegation are
Patricia Deadman (Woodstock, Ontario), David Garneau (Regina), Leanne L'Hirondelle (Ottawa), Steven Loft (Ottawa) and
Guy Sioui Durand (Wendake, Quebec).
The main objective of this unique Canada Council initiative is to expand the international careers of Canadian Aboriginal curators and raise the profile of Canadian Aboriginal artists. Travel expenses and per diem for nine days are covered by Canada Council grants awarded to the five Aboriginal curators.
Patricia Deadman
Patricia Deadman is a visual artist, independent curator and writer. She graduated from Fanshawe College (London, Ontario) and obtained her BFA from the University of Windsor. Ms. Deadman has participated in several artist residencies in Banff (Alberta), Paris, and Merida and Oaxaca, Mexico. Her works have been exhibited and collected throughout Canada, the United States, Mexico and the UK.
Ms. Deadman is former curator of the MacKenzie Art Gallery in Regina.
David Garneau
David Garneau is associate professor of Visual Arts at the University of Regina. His practice includes painting, curating and critical writing and often engages issues of nature, history, masculinity and Aboriginal identity. He has curated several large group exhibitions, including:
The End of the World ; Picture Windows: New Abstraction ; Transcendent Squares ; Contested Histories ; Making it Like a Man!; and Graphic Visions . He is currently researching contemporary Indigenous Aboriginal art in Australia and Canada.
Leanne L'Hirondelle
Leanne L'Hirondelle completed a BFA Honours, University of Manitoba, an MFA, University of Saskatchewan and a Post Graduate Certificate in Art Theory and Criticism, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She is director/curator of Gallery 101 (Ottawa). Her previous experience includes a Martin Mullins Fellowship at the Chicago Field Museum, Department of Anthropology; collections curator at the Saskatchewan Indian Cultural Centre; director of the Urban Shaman Gallery (Winnipeg) and instructor at First Nations University of Canada and the University of Saskatchewan.
Steven Loft
Steven Loft is a curator, writer and media artist. In 2008, he became the first curator-in-residence of Indigenous Art at the National Gallery of Canada. He is former director/curator of the Urban Shaman Gallery (Winnipeg), Aboriginal curator resident at the Art Gallery of Hamilton and artistic director of the Native Indian/Inuit Photographers' Association. He has written extensively on Indigenous art and aesthetics for various arts publications, and his video works have been screened across Canada and internationally.
Guy Sioui Durand
Guy Sioui Durand is a sociologist, art critic (PH.D.) and independent curator. He specializes in contemporary and Amerindian art, and is a co-founder of the contemporary art centre Le Lieu (Quebec City) and of the periodical Inter . The author of three books, including L'art comme alternative, he has also published numerous articles. He was Aboriginal consultant for the 400 th anniversary celebrations of Quebec City, a participant in the Forum at the 10 th Havana Biennial and will take part in the Paris Bienniale (Paris/Montreal) in 2009.
Canada Council for the Arts
The Canada Council for the Arts is a federal Crown Corporation created by an Act of Parliament in 1957. The role of the Council is to foster and promote the study and enjoyment of, and the production of works in, the arts. To fulfill this mandate, the Council offers a broad range of grants and services to professional Canadian artists and arts organizations in dance, integrated art, media arts, music, theatre, visual arts, and writing and publishing. It also promotes public awareness of the arts through its communications, research and arts promotion activities.
The Council administers the Killam Program of scholarly awards, the Governor General's Literary Awards and the Governor General's Awards in Visual and Media Arts. The Canadian Commission for UNESCO and the Public Lending Right Commission operate within the Council. The Canada Council Art Bank, which has some 17,400 works of contemporary Canadian art in its collection, rents to the public and private sectors.
For more information:
Carole Breton
Public Relations Officer
1-800-263-5588 or (613) 566-4414, ext. 4523
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Grace Thrasher
Arts Promotion Coordinator
1-800-263-5588 or (613) 566-4414, ext. 5145
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