The major focus of this open panel discussion, as well as the actual Record of Events exhibition, is to generate contemporary dialogue around the concept of the art or exhibition “opening” event. In many circumstances the “Opening” event is often viewed as banal or superfluous in relation to the creation, exhibition and viewing of artwork. Alternately to this view, this panel will explore how the opening itself represents a complex and rule regulated structure that often establishes hierarchies, affirms political or intellectual agenda’s, represents inclusive and exclusive undertones and should be viewed as a complex activity that in many ways mirrors the structures of the creative world many of us operate within.
The panel is open to the public with many of the Artists from A Record of Events in attendance and will take place in the Harcourt House Exhibition space on Tuesday July 22nd from 6:30 – 8:30 PM
The panel will be moderated by A Record of Events Curator and Artist, Jesse Sherburne and is comprised of four esteemed guest speakers.
The panel guests will be:
Richard Brown – Artist, Educator and Chair of Visual Arts at the Alberta College of Art + Design. Simone Gareau – Franco-Albertan Anthropologist at the University of Alberta’s Campus Saint-Jean Dr. Arlene Oak – Associate Professor in Material Culture & Design Studies, University of Alberta Kristy Trinier – Contemporary artist, cultural director, writer and researcher as well as a Curator at the Art Gallery of Alberta.
We look forward to seeing you there!
Biography: Richard Brown
Richard Brown is a visual artist who has worked and taught in Winnipeg, New York City and Montreal. He is currently the Chair of the Fine Art Department at ACAD, and resides in the “little Greenland” district of Calgary.
Biography: Simone Gareau
Simone Gareau is a Franco-Albertan Anthropologist who has concentrated her research and interest in the specialized areas of symbolic interaction, performance, communication, ritual activities, aesthetics, and ethnomusicology. She is employed at the University of Alberta’s Campus Saint-Jean as an Anthropology Instructor, a position continuously held since January 1991, and also teaches occasional courses for the Department of Anthropology at the University of Alberta.
Simone currently teaches a wide range of introductory and senior level courses in French in various fields of social-cultural and linguistic Anthropology, Gender Studies, Popular Culture, Anthropology of Art and Religion to very diverse groups including francophone seniors and many international students.
Simone received both her M.A. in Anthropology/
Simone has been going to art openings with her husband Blair Brennan since 1978. Simone and Blair have 3 daughters who are all involved in theatre (acting, dancing, directing, writing, producing) with their own “openings”. An average of 6 art openings a month for 36 years (more than 2500 openings) and hundreds of theatre/dance opening nights easily provide Simone with ready access to her on-
going fieldwork and research, and experience in navigating and understanding the social complexities
and symbolic interactions of art openings. And she always avoids the cheese trays!
Biography: Arlene Oak
Associate Professor – Material Culture & Design Studies
Arlene’s work is in the field of material culture studies (in which objects are studied in relation to the behaviours, beliefs, and values of people). Arlene’s chief area of research is the relationship between objects, language, and forms of personal, social and cultural identity. Her work especially focuses on the design process, to consider how objects, from clothing to buildings, are created through situations of interaction, interpretation, negotiation, and criticism. Her work investigates the relationships that exist between past and contemporary aspects of creative practice, and so she uses perspectives and methods associated with social psychology, anthropology, and social history in her work (e.g. conversation analysis, ethnography, and oral history/narrative analysis).
Arlene’s background includes a PhD in Social Psychology from Cambridge University, an MA in the History of Design and Material Culture from the Royal College of Art, and a BFA in Design and an MSc in Clothing and Textiles from the University of Alberta.
PhD Dissertation Title: Identities in practice: Configuring design activity and social identity through talk.
MA Thesis Title: Graphics Recording Change: The Beatles album covers as a shift in cultural forms from Modernism to Post-modernism.
Biography: Kristy Trinier
Kristy Trinier is a contemporary artist, cultural director, writer and researcher based in Edmonton, Canada. She is a Curator at the Art Gallery of Alberta.
Her studies include a Bachelors degree in Visual Art and English from the University of Victoria, Canada, and a Masters Degree in Public Art from the Dutch Art Institute (DAI, ArtEZ Hogeschool voor de Kunsten) as a Huygens scholar in The Netherlands. She is undertaking PhD studies at Europäische Universität für Interdisziplinäre Studien (European Graduate School).
As a contemporary artist, Kristy works with video, sound, and sculpture installation and has exhibited internationally. She has presented art projects as part of the following institutions: Walter Phillips Gallery, Mediamatic Cultural Institution (NL), Trondheim Kunstmuseum (NOR), photoMiami Art Fair (USA), and Kunsthalle Fridericianum (DE), among others.
Kristy professionally specializes in cultural administration, policy and program development; proposal writing and strategic research for cultural funds development; art direction and consultation. Previously she held a role at The Banff Centre as a Campaign Grant Writer and Researcher, and was the Public Art Director at the Edmonton Arts Council, managing the City of Edmonton’s Public Art Collection and related public art programs.
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