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The Art Gallery of Grande Prairie is pleased to announce that Derrick Chang has been hired as Curator, Exhibitions and Collections.

“Returning to Alberta is something of a homecoming for me, I was born and raised in Calgary so I’m a Prairie boy at heart,” said Derrick.

Derrick Chang is an art historian, educator and a writer with a Masters in Curatorial Studies from the University of British Columbia. Through his research he has worked with artists that are recognized locally, as well as on a national and international level.

“Our community is incredibly lucky to have attracted Derrick from his work in Vancouver,” said Executive Director Jeff Erbach.

“Derrick is passionate about his work, well connected throughout Canada, well versed in a variety of disciplines and is notably drawn to a wide diversity of perspectives. He’ll have a lasting impact on our Gallery and we’re incredibly excited about the future,” he added.

Derrick’s position as the Curator, Exhibitions and Collections, will see him lead the planning and organization of the acquisition, storage, preservation and exhibition of work by individual artists and groups of artists for the Gallery. He will also work closely with the Gallery’s Learning area to promote audience development and arts education connected to exhibitions, our Permanent Collection and other arts activities.

“I’m looking forward to creating new dialogues with the community through my position at the Gallery. In the spirit of artistic and cultural inclusiveness my goal is to provide ambitious and innovative programming that enriches the experience of the Gallery’s growing audience,” Derrick added.

Derrick began as Curator at the Gallery on November 1st, 2017.

We’re pleased to announce that Grace Larson, who attends Composite High School, will be participating in Maskull Lasserre’s upcoming exhibition, Immovable Objects, Unstoppable Force.

As part of the Gallery’s ‘Young Curator Program’, Grace will work directly with Gallery experts in organizing the exhibition.  Already in the planning stages, Grace has said, “I’m very excited to be working with the gallery on this show and learning about the curatorial process!”

Executive Director, Jeff Erbach, is equally delighted, “We’re incredibly excited about having Grace join our staff in curating Maskull’s work.  Her perspective and voice in the process is a welcome addition and I know that Maskull, the artist, is really enjoying our conversations.  It will be exciting to see how Grace and Maskull launch this exhibition and the decisions they arrive at.”

The Young Curator Program is a new initiative from the Gallery, which matches a young person from the community with the Gallery’s professional Curatorial staff for hands-on professional development.  Through the program, the young guest curator gains valuable insights into design, planning, collaboration, art theory, interpretation and how to manage a project from development to installation and exhibition.  The Program aims to build leadership in our community, to create exciting opportunities at the Gallery for young people and to provide unique developmental opportunities.

Grace Larson is a grade 10 student at The Grande Prairie Composite High School. She is an honour roll student and is active in the community, participating in Interact, the Teen Advisory Board at the Grande Prairie Public Library, and the Composite High School First Responders team.

Immovable Objects, Unstoppable Force opens January 12, 2018 and runs until April 8, 2018.

A collaborative night between the Art Gallery of Grande Prairie and Grant Berg Gallery, both galleries will feature artworks by Robert Guest.

Opening Reception
Thursday, November 9th, 2017
7:00 pm
Grant Berg Gallery, (9907 100 Ave Unit 3, Grande Prairie, AB)
This event is open to the public and everyone is welcome to attend.

The AGGP is opening Robert Guest: Details and Discoveries, with artworks from its Permanent Collection, and GBG has an exhibition of Robert’s artworks for sale.

About Robert Guest (1938 – 2017)
Born in Beaverlodge, AB, Robert Guest had a long history in the Peace Region and will be remembered as a passionate artist dedicated to his craft and to helping others to discover their artistic voice.

Grande Prairie-based visual artist and writer Cindy Hansen offered a poetic response to her visual experience of Lyndal Osborne’s exhibition Metaphors for Evolution during the Art Gallery of Grande Prairie’s opening on September 29, 2017.

View the Full Poem Here:

the silence of repetition by Cindy Hansen – a reflection of Lyndal Osborne’s, Metaphors for Evolution Sept.2017

BIO

Cindy Hansen resides in her home town of Grande Prairie, AB. She enjoys working as an Administrative Assistant, camping, photography, spending time with family and friends, and being creative in all aspects of life. Cindy Hansen’s poetry has been selected for the 2015, 2016, and 2017 Anthology of Creative Writing published annually by the Poetry Institute of Canada.

[ Personal Statement: ] “Poetry has always been quite a personal thing for me. I relate it a lot to storytelling and journaling. I like to be very descriptive when I write. My hope is that the reader will be able to fully experience every aspect of what I am writing about. Using each of the five senses is key for me. I think as writers, we all have a very unique style of capturing our audience. Coming from a very artistic background, I enjoy making reference to colors, nature, and the processes of creative hobbies.”