News – Page 12 – Art Gallery of Grande Prairie

Free Creativity Kits for the Community Once Again!

Our learning team and volunteers are busy making FREE Creativity Kits for the community, schools and organizations in Grande Prairie and the County once again! We distributed over 2000 Free Creativity Kits back in December through this wonderful Art at Home Program, which is sponsored by ATB Financial.

With the Art Gallery still being closed to the public we have partnered with Grande Prairie Family Education Society to help distribute these kits to the community. If you would like to pick up a kit for you or for your family, please contact the Grande Prairie Family Education Society at 780-830-0920 or email hubcoordinator@gpfes.com. They are open 8:30am-4:30pm M-F with convenient parking in front of their building at 9607 102 St.

We hope to distribute more kits in the coming weeks to schools and community organizations to enrich the community through the sharing of art.

If you are an organization or group wanting to participate in the initiative, please let us know how many you would like and we will be happy to deliver them to your location. Contact jamie-lee@aggp.ca or call 780-357-7480.

* Photo –Gaitane Gilje, HUB Coordinator of Family Resource Network

Here is the list of New Activities:

NEW Interactive Art at Home activity from our Permanent Collection

Here you will find a map of artworks in our Permanent Collection that preserve some of this region’s precious and wild spaces. Click on the artwork’s image to enlarge, or view the website links for more information on how to visit these sites yourself.

You can check back every week to discover more about these artists and areas.

Thank you to ATB Financial for sponsoring Art at Home!

Mapping Out the Permanent Collection

Online Artist Talk with Marlena Wyman!

We are happy to be partnering with the Grande Prairie Regional College Fine Arts department to offer a free online presentation by artist Marlena Wyman, whose artwork is currently in the Travelling Exhibition “Real Women.” Her talk will take place on January 20th at 11:30AM.

To register and receive the presentation link please email: finearts@gprc.ab.ca

Thank you to our program sponsor KMSC Law LLP

Click here to learn more about Travelling Exhibitions

‘Connect to Many Museums’ now on ‘Art at Home’!

While many museums have created new pages and projects during this period of social distancing, others have had strong online presence as an extension of their community outreach. We’ve selected those who’s experiences include art making activities and viewing special material.

As a member of the Canadian Museum Association, we hope you enjoy this adventure, discovering other museums and their incredible online art activities.

Click here to begin exploring!

Thank you to ATB Financial for sponsoring the Art at Home program!

‘The Curve’ Now on ‘Art at Home!’

Check out Looking Back, Moving Forward: Reflecting on ‘The Curve’ on Art at Home for images, activities, and interesting facts about this recent exhibition!

Thank you to the exhibition sponsors and partners:

Exhibition Sponsor

Exhibition Partner

Two Articles About our Current Exhibitions

Haley Bassett from Dawson Creek Art Gallery has written two fabulous Northern Arts Reviews about our current exhibitions! Read all about it on the exhibition pages of our website, or with the links below.

anne drew potter, Age of Innocence

Carmen Haakstad, DOMINO VI

The photographs in the article above were taken by Chic Perspective Photography

Image 1: ‘Age of Innocence’ exhibition. Artwork: ‘Disposable Bodies: Get Off The Boat’ (2010) black earthenware. By anne drew potter

Image 2: ‘DOMINO VI’ exhibition. ‘4 and 1/2 Trees’ (diptych) (2020) oil on board. By Carmen Haakstad. Photograph by Chic Perspective Photography

Free Creativity Kits for the Community

Our learning team and volunteers are busy making FREE Creativity Kits for the community and community groups such as; Alberta Health Services – Adult Program and Addictions Centre, Odyssey House, Friendship Centre and more! We hope to distribute more kits in the coming weeks to community organizations like these to enrich the community and use art making as a form of relaxation and reflection during these challenging times.

*In Photo (L-R) – Sabine Schneider, Curator – Learning, & Jennifer Coney, Purchasing Clerk, AHS- Addictions & Metal Health Northern Addictions Centre

Here is the list of activities:

Open Call for Travelling Exhibition (TREX) Submissions

The Alberta Foundation for the Arts (AFA) Travelling Exhibitions Program Northwest (TREX NW) is currently accepting submissions from artists based in Treaty 8.

The deadline for submissions is March 15^th, 2021.

For more information about submissions guidelines and requirements, please see our TREX Submission Page

Thank you to our program sponsor:

From left to right:

Tyler Los-Jones: A Slow Light, Grande Cache Tourism & Interpretive Centre, 2020

Curbside Museum, Art Gallery of Grande Prairie, 2020.

Mittinism and the Quest for Empathy: Rita McKeough, Grande Prairie Public Library, 2019

The Carlstrom Family Green Space Re-Opens

We are excited to re-open the Carlstrom Family Green Space!

At this time we have opened bookings on Tuesday-Fridays at 11:00am or 2:00pm for 1.5 hour time slots. We have implemented guidelines to keep everyone safe with sufficient time allotted to deep clean after each group. There is a limit of 8 people per booking and they must all be part of the same cohort. *A cohort, is a small group whose members are always the same people.

To book a time in the Carlstrom Family Green Space click here!

A special feature for Members of AGGP – With your membership you will have the ability to book Saturdays from 1:00 – 3:00pm in the Carlstrom Family Green Space. To become a member click here.

Art education at the Art Gallery of Grande Prairie enriches our community, encourages diversity and inspires creative learning.

Trio of New Staff to Shape Gallery’s Future

The Art Gallery of Grande Prairie is honoured to share the addition of three key new staff as it continues on a path of enriching our community through art. Each of their detailed biographies follows.

Executive Director, Jeff Erbach, elaborates on the importance of these positions, sharing “these are leadership positions in our organization, and so also for culture in our region. The gallery has ambitious plans and we’re confident we can make these real with the addition of these talented women.”

The new Curator, Exhibitions and Collections is Manar Abo Touk. Manar has worked with a wide range of artists and disciplines in a variety of settings all over the world. “My curatorial practice looks at ideas, stories, and artists that encourage diversity, artistic experimentation, and new interpretations of art in society. My role as a curator is to make a connection between art and the public and I’m very excited to continue my work at the Art Gallery of Grande Prairie and be part of this amazing team and community!”

The new Travelling Exhibition Manager/Curator is Robin Lynch. Robin, a former pre-doctoral fellow at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, is eager to join the Gallery. “I am unbelievably excited to join the already vibrant team at the gallery. I look forward to continuing the travelling exhibitions program, which provides an amazing opportunity to share stories and have conversations with a wide variety of communities and institutions.”

Lastly, the Gallery’s new Manager, Development and Administration is Brittany Kelsey. Brittany held an important role with the Philip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum, and is eager to continue to contribute to local culture. “I’m excited to build and develop the Gallery’s relationships in our community and ensure its sustainability through a diversified approach to fund development. Being part of an organization that is inclusive, supportive, and adheres to a community standard is extremely important to me. As we navigate these difficult times, I’m honoured to be a part of the future of the Gallery.”

Manar Abo Touk – Curator, Exhibitions and Collections

Manar Abo Touk is a Syrian Canadian curator specialized in international contemporary art with a focus on Canadian and Middle Eastern Art. She has an MA in Museum and Gallery Studies from Kingston University London, UK and a BA in History and Theory of Arts and Arts Administration from the University of Ottawa. Manar’s career includes work at the Canadian War Museum and Studio Sixty-Six Gallery in Ottawa, aluCine Latin Film+Media Arts Festival in Toronto and more recently as the Arts Manager and Curator at Al Riwaq Art Space in Bahrain. She is Fluent in English and Arabic.

Robin Lynch – Travelling Exhibitions Manager / Curator

Robin Lynch is an art historian, educator, curator, a Ph.D. Candidate in Art History at McGill University, and a former pre-doctoral fellow at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Since 2015, she has co-directed a curatorial research group based out of Singapore that brings together international scholars and artists to examine the relationships between art, economics, and infrastructure. She has an MA in Curatorial Studies from Bard College, NY, and has been involved nationally and internationally in the cultural sector for over 8 years with institutions such as the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Montreal; the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa; the Rennie Museum, Vancouver; Henie Onstad Kunstsenter, Norway; and the Hessel Museum of Art, NY; amongst others.

Brittany Kelsey – Manager, Development and Administration

Living most of my adult life in Grande Prairie and making it my family’s home, I’ve grown to care about our community and our cultural sector. I’ve been an active, lead volunteer on a range of events, which has included the KMSC Law charity golf tournament, the 2018 Alberta Summer Games and the 2019 Men’s and Master Men’s Canadian National Fast Pitch Championships. Prior to joining the Gallery, I served in a wide range of duties at the Philip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum, which included leading and coordinating community outreach, communications and events.

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