Animation

Panel Discussion
Thinking Place, Thinking Region in a Globalized Environment

Saturday, September 13, 2014 | 2 pm – 4 pm

Valiant Corporation Suite, 3rd floor Also known as Northeast corner (third floor)
Third Floor

Critically engaged and always engaging, AGW panel discussions showcase artists, curators, scholars, and more. Together, panellists provide an expanding context through which to interpret the work in the Collection as well as in our changing exhibitions.      

Join artist David Thauberger, curators Sandra Fraser and Timothy Long, with Srimoyee Mitra, Ted Fraser and Michael Hall, for a lively discussion about the role of place in Thauberger's art, and contemporary art practice, and explore their views on why region and place matter in an increasingly globalized world. FREE admission!

Sandra Fraser has been Associate Curator at the Mendel Art Gallery since 2010, and previously held the position of Curator at the MacLaren Art Centre. Fraser has a Masters in Art History (York University) and a certificate of Museum Management and Curatorship (Sir Sandford Fleming College). She has organized exhibitions of contemporary artists, including Karilee Fuglem, Sadko Hadzihasanovic, Tony Romano, Olia Mischenchko, Karine Gibloulo, as well as thematic exhibitions.

Ted Fraser, an independent curator in Toronto, served as executive director of the London Regional Art and Historical Museums (1996-98), director of Confederation Centre Art Gallery and Museum (1990-95), and curator at the Art Gallery of Windsor (1971-87). Among Fraser's notable contributions to Canadian art history are exhibitions about Harold Town, R.L Bloore, Kenneth Lochhead, George Ackermann, Harold Klunder and Roly Fenwick.

Michael Hall completed his BA at the University of North Carolina and MFA in sculpture at the University of Washington. As a sculptor, Michael has exhibited widely in both the US and Canada. A highly sought after speaker, he has lectured at over one hundred cultural institutions and universities. He has also authored numerous museum catalogues and a collection of critical essays. In addition to directing the graduate sculpture program at the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan, Michael has taught sculpture in several American universities. He collects folk art, and The Hall Collection of American Folk Art is on permanent display at the Milwaukee Art Museum. Today, Michael produces sculpture in his Michigan studio, and he is adjunct curator of American Folk Art at the Columbus Museum of Art in Ohio.

Timothy Long has been Head Curator at the MacKenzie Art Gallery since 2001. Born and educated in Regina, he has worked on a number of landmark exhibitions of Saskatchewan artists, including: Tactile Desires: The Work of Jack Sures (2011); Joe Fafard (2007); Regina Clay: Worlds in the Making (2005); and Marilyn Levine: A Retrospective (1998). His recent publications include: After Presence: Problems of Presence in Contemporary Art (MacKenzie Art Gallery, 2013) and The Vaults: Art from the MacKenzie Art Gallery and University of Regina Collections (with Stephen King, University of Regina Press, 2013).

Srimoyee Mitra is a curator and writer. She has worked as the Art Writer for publications in India such as Time Out Mumbai and Art India Magazine. From 2008-2011 she was the Programming Co-ordinator of SAVAC (South Asian Visual Arts Centre) in Toronto where curatorial projects included Crossing Lines: An Intercultural Dialogue at the Glenhyrst Art Gallery, Brantford. Mitra has participated in conferences across Canada, most recent ones include Emerging Approaches to the Sustainability in Art, part of the major exhibition Land/Slide: Possible Futures in October 2013, Critical Dialogues in Curatorial and Art Practices organized by the Ontario Arts Council in March 2013 and York University's Connect/ Reconnect in fall 2012, where she was the keynote speaker. She has been published in Scapegoat Journal, Fuse and C Magazines in Canada and is currently the Curator of Contemporary Art, Art Gallery of Windsor where her ongoing exhibition Border Cultures: Part One (homes, land) was awarded the "2013 Exhibition of the Year" at the 36th Ontario Association of Art Galleries Award.

David Thauberger is an award-winning artist, who has made a significant impact on the national scene through his work with governing boards, notably the Canadian Commission for UNESCO, the Canada Council for the Arts, and Canada Council Art Bank. Thauberger's achievements were recognized in 2008 when he was named a Member of the Order of Canada, and most recently in 2012, when he was awarded the Saskatchewan Order of Merit. His Order of Canada citation acknowledged his contributions to "the promotion and preservation of Canadian heritage and folk art in the province of Saskatchewan, in addition to his work as a painter, sculptor and educator." He received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1971 at the University of Saskatchewan (Regina Campus) where he studied ceramics with his early mentor David Gilhooly. He completed a Master of Art at California State University (Sacramento) before earning his Master of Fine Arts at the University of Montana in Missoula.