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Gallery to promote contemporary art

Roxanna Thompson
Northern News Services
Thursday, June 26, 2008

LIIDLII KUE/FORT SIMPSON - The theme of this year's Open Sky Festival is being explored at Fort Simpson's new art gallery.

The festival, which runs from June 27 to 29, will include the official opening of the Open Sky Gallery on Saturday from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

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Suspension, a piece by Canadian artist Lyn Fabio, will be among the works on display in the opening exhibition at the Open Sky Gallery in Fort Simpson. - photo courtesy of the Open Sky Creative Society

The first exhibition the gallery is hosting is Craftwork-Craftmanship: Process as Ritual.

With its opening, the gallery will become the first and only artist-run, year-round public exhibition venue for contemporary art in the territory, said Michael Blyth, the artistic director and co-ordinator for the festival.

"Even the Prince of Wales doesn't do this," said Blyth.

Although there are other venues for art in the territory, none have as much of a professional focus. Existing venues are unable to support artists through exhibition fees and promotional work - something the Open Sky Gallery will be able to do, Blyth said.

Opening a gallery is something the Open Sky Creative Society has wanted to do for awhile and now has the capacity to take on, he said. The gallery, currently located in the basement of the village office, will be moved to the Heritage Centre when it opens.

"This is our trial run," Blyth said.

The gallery will host six exhibitions a year, at least one of which will be from the territory.

In addition, approximately once a year, there will be an exhibition of works done by artists and craftspeople from the Deh Cho.

"We do want to see work from all across the country but we do want to make sure we're presenting our own," he said.

The opening group exhibition, which will run until August 8, includes pieces by local artists Lucy Simon, Phoebe Punch and Julia Tsetso along with four other Canadian artists. The exhibition, which is one of the highlights of this year's festival, will explore the theme of craftwork and craftmanship.

The exhibition examines the traditional stereotypes of arts versus crafts and how that has changed, Blyth said.

The artists have made pieces that would traditionally be called crafts because they are useful items such as vessels, clothing and blankets. Each item, however, challenges its traditional use.

"They're done in a way that people would feel apprehensive using it in that manner," he said.

"We're making something for the artists, the people and the audience to think about."

The theme is relevant for the Deh Cho because crafts are still thought of as more domestic than arts, said Blyth. Now, however, any craft that someone puts a lot of work into should be held at the same level as something traditionally viewed as art, like a painting, he said.

The difference with craft items in the Deh Cho is that the ritual behind them, such as preparing hides, has a cultural significance said Blyth.

"There's a connection to the culture and the land," he said.

Visitors to the festival have the opportunity to try a number of different crafts through the workshops held over the weekend.

Other festival highlights will include the performances on Friday night at Thomas Simpson school and performances by Diga and the Root Sellers, said Blyth.

One change to this year's festival will be the number of participants from outside the territory.

More than 50 delegates from across Canada will be in Fort Simpson to attend the annual National Aboriginal Arts Administrators and Funders Gathering (NAAAFG) which is taking place June 30 to July 2.

"They're all people who're passionate about aboriginal arts," said Lynn Canney, executive director for the Open Sky Creative Society.

The gathering connects people who are working on behalf of aboriginal artists. Many of the delegates are artists in their own right and will be taking part in the festival, said Canney.

This is the first time the gathering has been held in the territory.

"This we hope puts the NWT on the map," Canney said.