Consulate-General of Japan visits the Gallery

PHOTO – (left to right), Treasurer of Art Gallery of Grande Prairie, Ken Lumbis, Consul-General Kobayashi, Executive Director of Art Gallery of Grande Prairie, Jeff Erbach.

On March 10, the Gallery was extremely fortunate to host a visit by Consul-General Shigenobu Kobayashi, representing the Consulate-General of Japan.  Consul General Kobayashi, aware of the recent successes of the extraordinary exhibition, Itchiku Kubota, ‘ What Do the Mountain Spirits Ponder?’, wished to see the Gallery first hand and to celebrate and acknowledge the positive enforcement of Japanese culture in our community.

Consul-General Kobayashi toured all of the current exhibitions and was very taken with the Lorna Mills’ remake of the John Berger BBC documentary, ‘Ways of Something’, with our incredible Allen Sapp exhibition, and the traveling exhibitions conducted by the Gallery for the Alberta Foundation for the Arts.  The current exhibition at the Gallery in support of the traveling program is Arthur Nishimura’s ‘Mystical Landscape’.  We furnished Consul-General with, what is now a rare, copy of the Itchiku Kubota touring catalogue, and he was generous enough to provide gifts of tea, and incredible information about Japanese culture, tourism and other learning opportunities.

We’re excited at any future prospect of working alongside the Consulate-General of Japan in enabling our community to be inspired by, and learn through, extraordinary Japanese art and their rich culture.

Consulate-General of Japan – www.calgary.ca.emb-japan.go.jp/itprtop_en