ART SHOW: Urban Surveillance, Migration & the Frailty of Nature

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Wednesday, April 14th, 2010
Opening Night: Friday March 5th from 7- 9pm Gallery Hours are Monday - Saturday from 10am - 5pm

Friday March 5, 2010
ART OPENING, 7pm – 9pm, artists in attendance, refreshments served
Featuring a live video performance by Jackson 2Bears at 8:30pm

Show Runs March 6 – April 17, 2010

==== PUBLIC GALLERY ====
URBAN SURVEILLANCE, MIGRATION &THE FRAILTY OF NATURE - Connecting through the environment

Drawings by Gregory Ball (Nanaimo BC)
Painting and printmaking by Fran Benton (Nanaimo BC)
Installation by Clare Singleton (Nanaimo BC)
Video/multi-media by Jackson 2Bears (Victoria BC)

About Gregory Ball
Gregory Ball was born and raised in Victoria BC. In his early teens he apprenticed as a gardener in his father’s landscaping company and worked in some of the wealthiest neighborhoods of Victoria. While gardening, Ball began to consider both the natural landscape in which he worked and the power structures that dominated them; two themes that would appear in his future art practice. He completed an Applied Art degree at Camosun College 1984, a fine art Diploma at Emily Carr College of Art and Design fine with honours in painting and drawing, 1986 and an MFA from Concordia University in Printmaking, 1994. He is a professor and currently acting Chair in the visual art department at Vancouver Island University in Nanaimo.

About Fran Benton
Fran Benton lives and works on Vancouver Island. She has degrees in visual arts from Camosun College, Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design, and the University of Victoria. Her studio practice currently includes work in video, sculpture, performance, painting, and drawing. Fran is a keen recycler and often uses found objects to create new work. She teaches art at Vancouver Island University in Nanaimo. Her teaching areas include sculpture, ceramics, contemporary art practice, and digital art processes. Fran is currently seconded to the Nanaimo Art Gallery as Curator.

About Clare Singleton
Clare's personal quest is to paint and do inquiries through art of the joy in small town life which she feels is fast disappearing. Travelling across BC and Canada regularly she finds the wild and open places
inspiring. She considers herself a story artist, documenting small town Canadiana in painting, soft sculpture and storywork. So far she has created stories about Revelstoke, Saskatchewan, Nanaimo, Youbou, Port Alberni, Bamfield, Small Town Canada, a blind man, and a junkman. She has a BFA from the University of Victoria, has exhibited around BC and is an art teacher, drama teacher, publisher, activist and curator.

About Jackson 2Bears
Jackson 2bears is a Kanien’kehaka (Mohawk) multimedia artist currently based in Victoria B.C. Canada. 2bears' has exhibited his multimedia works in solo and group exhibitions across Canada, most recently at the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria (Victoria B.C), ImagineNative Film + Media Arts Festival (Toronto O.N.), Video In Video Out (Vancouver B.C.), and at the Visual Eyez Festival (Edmonton A.B.) He has also been exhibited internationally in media arts festivals and group exhibitions, most recently at Digital Art Weeks (Zurich, Switzerland). He has also released several recordings and live performances on CD and DVD in both solo and collaborative contexts. 2bears is currently a Ph.D. student at the University of Victoria.

About Urban Surveillance, Migration & the Frailty of Nature - Connecting through the environment
Each artist deals with his/her own demons when it comes to their environment. Ball is concerned about the depletion of our rain forests and the methods used to re-forest. Benton is horrified at how urbanity overtakes nature in our suburban environment. Singleton is concerned with bird migration and her connection to the land where she lives and works. 2Bears’ installation/ interactive work explore popular mis-representations of First Nations culture and seeks to address notions of cultural belonging for Indigenous people growing up in urban environments outside traditional communities.

==== ARTS & CRAFT GALLERY ====
WE WAI KAI EXPRESSIONS
Contemporary First Nations ceramics by Debbie Dick (Campbell River BC)

About Debbie Dick
Debbie Dick granddaughter of Etta McBryan belongs to the Suknaqinx Nation located in Vernon. Debbie has lived in Campbell River since 1971. She met her husband Gary Dick direct descendant of We Kai in 1998. The Dick family belongs to the We Wai Kai Nation located in Campbell River BC. Debbie has adopted her husband’s culture which is expressed in her artwork and feels very blessed to belong to such a culturally rich family.

About We Wai Kai Expressions
These earthenware slip-cast ceramic pieces by Debbie Dick take the forms of animals, bowls, candle holders, tiled wall hangings, jewellery boxes, lamps, planters, plates, vases, mugs and platters. They are decorated with hand carved designs, some are accented with 24K Hanovia gold and are often fired 3-5 times, depending on the designs and glazes used. Designs on the ceramics include images of the celestial; the sun and moon, and creatures from the land, sea and air such as frog, man, whale, octopus, butterfly and hummingbird.

The gallery is open Monday- Saturday from 10am - 5pm

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Talks and workshops:
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CLARE SINGLETON: SATURDAY MARCH 27

10:00 - 11:30 am Youth workshop - ‘Drawing Birds and People’
Register by March 20, cost $30 includes some supplies

1:00 - 3:00 pm Adult workshop - ‘Painting Birds and People: Exploring Migration’
Register by March 20, cost $40 includes some supplies

3:30 - 4:30 pm Art Talk - ‘The Growth of Artistic Process’
Admission by donation, suggested $2 - $5

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FRAN BENTON: WEDNESDAY MARCH 31
3:30 - 4:30 pm Art Talk - ‘Against Excavation: How I Used My Art To Keep Sane’
Admission by donation, suggested $2 - $5

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GREGORY BALL: SATURDAY APRIL 17
1:00 - 2:00 pm Art Talk - ‘Transfi gurations: The Sublime and Profane’
Admission by donation, suggested $2 - $5