The view from the car

A few posts ago, the 905er asked what art related things you do during the winter.


This past weekend 905 options included the Brampton Indie Arts Festival and a Photographing your Artwork Workshop at the Art Gallery of Mississauga.


905 artist Zan, has been doing plein air from his car. He wants suggestions for interesting locations.


What suggestions do you have for Zan? Or any art related suggestions to get through the remainder of this winter?






Comfortable yet respectable from Martha Eleen's Into the 905: The View from the Car

Toronto (Star) looks toward the 905 for culture

Brampton throws an artsy bash

Feb 13, 2007 Erin Kobayashi Life Writer

It is becoming a tired cliché for the word "boring" to promptly follow the word "suburbs."

"Yes, we already know that `all culture dies in the suburbs' but what else?" says 29-year-old Richard Marsella, the founder and director of the seventh annual Brampton Indie Arts Festival, which kicks off tomorrow.

"If you are shallow enough to judge a place for its face value, which is just the way it looks, which is just a Wal-Mart (and) a bunch of homes, then the suburbs may appear boring. But if you look into every one of those homes, there is something unique happening."

A crusader for the arts in Brampton, Marsella has built a remarkably unique suburb-based arts festival that is dispelling the myth that culture doesn't exist in the 905. For four days, Brampton's Rose Theatre will revel in art by the likes of Mark Mothersbaugh and house live shows that include Final Fantasy and Andy Kim.

The festival, hosted by a puppet named Curtains and includes audio art set up in the washrooms, forces Toronto concertgoers to grudgingly make a reverse commute to the suburbs and accommodates those already there.

"I think the suburbs is rich in culture and this goes with any city," Marsella says. "You just have to look a little harder in the suburbs to find it. The suburbs is just short on venues to showcase the interesting and unique work it has but there is so much going on."

Although the arts festival will last only four days, Marsella knows the art, music and audience won't disappear once it wraps up because much to skeptics' astonishment: art lives and thrives in the suburbs. Surprise.

In fact, Marsella thinks that the infinite creativity from the suburbs has caused the emergence of independent suburb-based festivals. He mentions last summer's Beating Heart Festival, a concert series held on the concrete square of the Mississauga Central Library that staged acts like Magneta Lane and dd/mm/yyyy.

There is also Mississauga's A Month in Photography Festival, curated and run independently by Fausta Facciponte for the last two years. Her reason for creating the festival was her growing frustration with being an artist outside of Toronto and wanting to showcase regional talent.

"I thought Mississauga was lacking the support for photographic arts for emerging talent," says Facciponte. "There needs to be something more for up-and-coming artists, a place, event, spotlight to promote young talent."

Su-Ying Lee of the Art Gallery of Mississauga agrees with Facciponte and has seen a lot of DIY festivals popping up in the least likely places.

"There is a lot of effort from young people," says Lee. "We have heard of quite a few people wanting to begin a film or video festival."

However, Lee stresses that although there is plenty of talent to showcase, the festivals need more support from the corporate sector and municipal governments or they won't be able to survive. "It can get off the ground but can only continue for a certain number of years," she says.
Facciponte, who does not make a profit from the A Month of Photography Festival, relies heavily on local businesses to help support the event.

But perhaps the greatest breakthrough in the last 10 years has been festival organizers' reliance on the Internet to network with artists and connect with audiences. The suburbs, with a reputation for being sprawling spaces full of single-family homes and a car-heavy landscape, are also seen as intensely private. The Web allows those situated outside of the artistic hub of Toronto to inexpensively reach out to neighbours.

"A lot of the communication between me and the artists happens through email," says Facciponte. "The Internet has been a really important tool in all of this."

Similarly, The Beating Heart Festival's website is just a MySpace page, which keeps costs down but still allows organizers to post concert listings, publicity and spread the word to other users.

Shawn Micallef, co-founder of [murmur], a successful archival audio project curated in Toronto, is planning to set up another [murmur] project in Mississauga later this year. "I think [murmur] might help the spotlight shift from downtown," says Micallef who thinks that the suburbs are largely ignored.

He cites last fall's Nuit Blanche as a Toronto-centric event, hogged by downtown venues leaving the rest of the GTA notably absent from the festivities. "Maybe if the next Nuit Blanche is out in the suburbs, it would get people to put it on the mental radar of where art exists," Micallef says.

"The suburbs are not boring," he says. "Their stories just haven't been told as much."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ID@thestar.ca
This article from the Toronto Star at http://www.thestar.com/Life/article/180881

Will you be going to the Brampton Indie Arts Festival?
The 905er has blogged thoughts about Nuit Blanche before. Do you agree with Micallef?
What do you think?

AAHLUMNIEX

What the heck is AAHLUMNIEX?
It's work from selected artists who are alumni of A&AH

What is A&AH?
A&AH is the Art and Art History Program, established in 1971 when Sheridan College joined with the University of Toronto at Mississauga to establish Canada’s first collaborative art program between a college and university. Graduates of the program earn both a Diploma in Art and Art History from Sheridan College and a Bachelor of Arts or Honours Bachelor of Arts from the University of Toronto. Through this collaboration, students have the benefit of enrolling in studio courses at Sheridan College and art history and visual culture and communication courses at UTM.

Who are the AAHLUM in AAHLUMNIEX?
Teresa Ascencao, Atanas Bozdarov, Tonia Di Risio, Fausta Facciponte, Stephen Fakiyesi, Dorian Fitzgerald, Emily Gove, Daniel Griscti, Natalie Harder, Mari Jørstad, Linda Martinello, Jennifer Matotek, Heidi May, Steve Mazza, Monika Raciborski, Heather Saunders, Julie Saunders, Ben Walmsley, Andrew Wright

When, where and all that other stuff
Dates: February 15 to March 25, 2007, Opening Reception Thursday, February 15th at 6pm
Location: Art Gallery of Mississauga
Admission: Free
Hours: Weekdays 9 am to 5 pm, weekends 12 to 4 pm
*Call 905 896 5088 to confirm hours


What will I see if I come to the Art Gallery of Mississauga for AAHLUMNIEX?
Well, you'll see a whole lotta good stuff but, here's a small sample for your viewing pleasure...

Teresa Ascencao
Portrait of a Young Bullfighter, 2000
Super 8 film











Dorian Fitzgerald
The Roses, 2006
acrylic and caulking on canvas
102 x 80 inches
















Ben Walmsley
Helen II, 2006
oil on wood panel
60 x 30 inches















Andrew Wright
Stand
C-Print
30 x 40 inches











Jennifer Matotek
Why Overweight Preteen Girls with Glasses Often Like Unicorns, 2006
DVD

Write - Cause - Reaction

Have you heard of Cause Reaction?

Cause Reaction is an online magazine featuring the latest and greatest of art and culture in Mississauga.

Okay, well... striving to feature the latest. Cause Reaction is in need of writers in touch with the activities, happenings and news-from-the-ground in Mississauga.

From Cause Reaction:

"What Mississauga lacks in many critical departments, such as public transit, late-night restaurants and adequate media, it makes up for in its people. Creatives, thinkers and people looking to have fun abound in this city, with artists, writers, photographers, filmmakers, actors and musicians bursting at the city’s limits.

It is the goal of Cause Reaction to support this growing community by providing like-minded individuals with the information they need to stay abreast and get involved. While this is the primary objective of the site, it is also important to promote dialogue about important Mississauga issues and to inspire residents to try things they never thought were possible in the city.
If you have any suggestions on how we can make Cause Reaction better, please email us at causereaction@gmail.com."

I know you have something to say! Write for Cause Reaction! To become involved contact marissa@causereaction.com

www.causereaction.com

Does art freeze?

The 905er wants to know, do you seek culture in these days of scarce sunlight, slushy walkways and icy roads? Do you prefer to stay cozy at home or enjoy skating and tobogganing?















What are you doing this winter and is art involved?

Doris McCarthy Book Launch & Screening

Doris McCarthy: My Life
BOOK LAUNCH & SCREENING
(Artist in attendance)

Date: Sunday January 28, 2007
Hours: 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Location: Art Gallery of Mississauga, 300 City Centre Drive
Admission: Free

Doris McCarthy: My Life
By Doris McCarthy with Charis Wahl

“(Writing my) autobiography drove me back to the diaries that have sat idle on my shelves for years and made me relive the passions, the heartbreak, and the raptures. It gave me back my girlhood and the years when I was discovering my artist’s eye and the heady joy of creation. I suffered again through my thirties, when I was desperate with frustrated love and when, too briefly, I knew fulfillment. Writing gave me a second chance – not to change things, but to savor them. That is a great gift.”
~ Doris McCarthy

Join the Art Gallery of Mississauga on Sunday January 28th in celebrating the launch of Doris McCarthy’s newest publication. Doris McCarthy will be in attendance to greet guests and introduce the autobiography followed by a screening of the 1989 award-winning docu-drama Doris McCarthy: Heart of a Painter.

Doris McCarthy: My Life is an intimate glimpse into the life and work of a Canadian icon. At 96, McCarthy remains one of Canada’s great living artists. A recipient of the Order of Canada, Order of Ontario, Fellow of the Ontario College of Art and an Artist of Honour with the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, her art has been exhibited around the globe. An avid traveler who taught art for forty years, Doris paints (and lives, and writes) with a joyful energy that is unparalleled.

Doris has ties with the Art Gallery of Mississauga extending back to her 1999 traveling exhibition of watercolours, The View from Here: A Retrospective of Watercolour Paintings by Doris McCarthy, curated by Stuart Reid. She was also the focus of a 1991 travelling retrospective exhibition Feast of Incarnation; Doris McCarthy, initiated by the Art Gallery of Mississauga’s current Curator, Robert Freeman when he was Director/Curator at the Gallery Stratford.

An essential piece of Canadian, artistic and women’s history, this memoir marries the best of McCarthy’s previous writings with exciting new material and traces a compelling woman’s life from energetic early childhood to reflective old age, summing up her observations of the world and her place in it. McCarthy is a woman utterly at ease with who she is and with the life she has led.

Black and white photographs
$19.95 CDN/$17.95 US ISBN: 1-897187-16-5
5.5”x8.5”, 240 pages, paperback

For more information on programming and activities at the Art Gallery of Mississauga please contact Suzanne Carte-Blanchenot at (647) 892-4603 or (905) 896‑5076 or suzanne.carte-blanchenot@mississauga.ca.
To view the Gallery’s website please visit www.artgalleryofmississauga.com

300 CITY CENTRE DRIVE, MISSISSAUGA, ONTARIO, CANADA L5B3C1
TELEPHONE (905) 896-5088 FAX (905) 615-4167
WEBSITE: WWW.ARTGALLERYOFMISSISSAUGA.COM

Art Gallery of Mississauga’s outreach programming is generously supported by the Ontario Trillium Foundation.

A Workshop for artists!

Digital images are an easy & useful method of promoting and sharing your artwork. Learn how at the Art Gallery of Mississauga.

Photographing Your Artwork Workshop
Saturday February 17, 2007 9:30 am – 12:00 pm
Sunday February 18, 2007 9:30 am – 12:00 pm

Art Gallery of Mississauga300 City Centre Drive, Mississauga ON L5B 3C1

Registration fee: Art Gallery of Mississauga Members/ Visual Arts Mississauga Members $30
Students $30
General $45

Click for registration form
Photographing your artwork is a two-day professional development workshop that will introduce participants to the tools and techniques in creating the visual components of a submission package. Participants will receive an overview and resource manual consisting of operating a digital camera to utilizing lighting techniques, equipment and correct exposure to achieve professional looking results.

Workshop 1: How to Digitally Photograph your Work
Saturday February 17, 9:30 am – 12:00 pm
Art Gallery of Mississauga
This workshop is a practical information session with hands on training to digitally photograph your work in creating documentation and submission proposal packages to galleries, funders and residencies. Focusing on lighting techniques the course will teach participants how to successfully document two and three dimensional work as well as capturing performances and events.

Workshop 2: Creating a Digital Submission Package
Sunday February 18, 9:30 am – 12:00 pm
Art Gallery of Mississauga
By providing professional portfolio guidance participants will enhance the necessary skills in creating a digital submission package. Exercises will cover the handling and organization of digital files from re-sizing and cleaning up images to the creation of the final CD.

Learning Objectives:
Examining the tools of the trade
Lighting and light sources
Camera techniques: How to utilize them
Discover the fundamentals of composition and shooting detail work
Working with digital files
Scanning from photographs
Creating a professional CD of images

Instructor
Chris Blanchenot is an artist, communication assistant for Canadian Actor’s Equity and principle of Carte-Blanche Photography. After earning a BFA at the University of Windsor Blanchenot went on to study and teach at Louisiana State University.

Teaching photography, printmaking and framing courses for Dundas Valley School of Art and Burlington Art Centre for over five years Blanchenot has a breadth of experience and expertise.

He has documented events and exhibitions for such galleries and associations as The Power Plant, Mercer Union, Museum of Canadian Contemporary Art (MOCCA) and Ontario Association of Art Galleries (OAAG) and as well as contributing to C Magazine and This Magazine.

To register or for more information please contact Suzanne Carte-Blanchenot at 647-892-4603 or 905-896-5088 or suzanne.carte-blanchenot@mississauga.ca

New Outreach initiatives

Blackwood Gallery
University of Toronto at Mississauga















The Art Gallery of Mississauga and Blackwood Gallery are pleased to announce the appointment of Suzanne Carte-Blanchenot for the position of Arts Outreach Coordinator in the Mississauga Region. This position has been made possible with a grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation.

Having identified a gap in the dissemination of visual arts to the Mississauga community, the Art Gallery of Mississauga and the Blackwood Gallery have worked collaboratively to develop a vision that strives to mend that gap. Through financial assistance from the Ontario Trillium Foundation, a new outreach program will commence the building and delivery of innovative arts initiatives to the community. The Outreach Coordinator will work jointly with the Art Gallery of Mississauga and the Blackwood Gallery to develop and implement a youth and community Outreach Program.

Suzanne Carte-Blanchenot brings with her several years of experience with not-for-profit galleries including as Director on the boards of Mercer Union and Hamilton Artists Inc. and having held staff positions at the Art Gallery of Hamilton, The Power Plant and Open Studio. Most recently, she has been coordinating Professional Development and Public Programs for the Ontario Association of Art Galleries. Suzanne’s expertise will be an asset as we embark on further expanding and engaging our audiences.

Mississauga is Canada’s 6th largest city. Over the next period, Suzanne will begin to liaise with the many community groups represented here. We anticipate generous community support in welcoming Suzanne and this initiative.

Further inquiries may be directed to:

Robert Freeman, Curator, Art Gallery of Mississauga, robert.freeman@mississauga.ca tel: 905 896 5076

or Seamus Kealy, Curator, Blackwood Gallery, s.kealy@utoronto.ca, tel: 905 828 3789


Blackwood Gallery, University of Toronto at Mississauga, 3359 Mississauga Rd. N., Mississauga, ON, L5L 1C6,
Fax: 905-569-4262, Tel: 905-828-3789
http://www.utm.utoronto.ca/services/gallery/index.htm

300 CITY CENTRE DRIVE, MISSISSAUGA, ONTARIO, CANADA L5B3C1
TELEPHONE (905) 896-5088 FAX (905) 615-4167
WEBSITE: WWW.ARTGALLERYOFMISSISSAUGA.COM

A public art gallery sponsored by the City of Mississauga, the Ontario Arts Council,
The Canada Council, Corporations, Private Citizens and its Membership

Blackwood Gallery Free Shuttle Bus!

Blackwood Gallery University of Toronto at Mississauga
3359 Mississauga Rd. N., Mississauga, ON L5L 1C6 Tel: (905) 828-3789/Fax: (905) 569-4262

18:Beckett
Free Mississauga Shuttle Bus & Tour of Exhibition by Gallery Curator Séamus Kealy:

Sunday December 17, 2006 - Tour: 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm

18:Beckett is an inter-disciplinary exhibition project marking the 100th anniversary of the birth of Nobel Prize winning, Irish writer Samuel Beckett. The title refers to the eighteen years marked since Mr. Beckett’s death and the eighteen sites this project encompasses. These sites are an artist lecture, eight artist projects, six weekly film/video art events, a film screening evening, a symposium and performance, and a publication; all of which arise out of Beckett’s influence.

Eight international artists present their work in and around the Blackwood Gallery. The exhibition highlights artistic methods that artists are exploring in relation to Beckett’s work:

Martin Arnold (Austria), Dorothy Cross (Ireland), Stan Douglas (Canada), Gary Hill (USA), Bruce Nauman (USA), Gregor Schneider (Germany), Ann-Sofi Siden (Sweden), Zin Taylor/Allison Hrabluik (Canada)

Exhibition runs from November 9 – December 21, 2006 - Free Admission
Free Mississauga Shuttle Bus & Tour of Exhibition by Gallery Curator Séamus Kealy:

Sunday December 17, 2006 - Tour: 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm

18:Beckett is an inter-disciplinary exhibition project marking the 100th anniversary of the birth of Nobel Prize winning, Irish writer Samuel Beckett. The title refers to the eighteen years marked since Mr. Beckett’s death and the eighteen sites this project encompasses. These sites are an artist lecture, eight artist projects, six weekly film/video art events, a film screening evening, a symposium and performance, and a publication; all of which arise out of Beckett’s influence.

Eight international artists present their work in and around the Blackwood Gallery. The exhibition highlights artistic methods that artists are exploring in relation to Beckett’s work:

Martin Arnold (Austria), Dorothy Cross (Ireland), Stan Douglas (Canada), Gary Hill (USA), Bruce Nauman (USA), Gregor Schneider (Germany), Ann-Sofi Siden (Sweden), Zin Taylor/Allison Hrabluik (Canada)

Exhibition runs from November 9 – December 21, 2006 - Free Admission

BUS SCHEDULE Sunday December 17, 2006

12:00 pm pick up Cawthra Community Centre (front doors), 1399 Cawthra Road
12:20 pm pick up Square One - Go station terminal, 100 City Centre Dr. (Rathburn Rd. & Duke of York Blvd)
12:40 pm pick up South Common Mall (bus terminal), 2126 Burnhamthrope Rd W.
1:00 pm drop off Blackwood Gallery (Kaneff Centre), UTM 3359 Mississauga Rd N
3:00 pm pick up Blackwood Gallery (Kaneff Centre), UTM 3359 Mississauga Rd N
3:20 pm drop off South Common Mall (bus terminal), 2126 Burnhamthrope Rd W.
3:40 pm drop off Square One - Go station terminal, 100 City Centre Dr. (Rathburn Rd. & Duke of York Blvd)
4:00 pm drop off Cawthra Community Centre (front doors), 1399 Cawthra Road

Funded by The Canada Council, Ontario Arts Council, Connaught Fund (University of Toronto), Humanities Centre (U of T), Culture Ireland, The University of Toronto at Mississauga, Foreign Affairs Canada, The Centre for US Studies (U of T), Irish Embassy (Ottawa), The Gladstone Hotel, Goethe Institut Toronto, Department of English and Drama (U of T)
Further information and shuttle schedules at www.blackwoodgallery.ca or call 905 828 3789.

Calling all Art & Art History Alumni

ATTENTION GRADUATES OF THE ART AND ART HISTORY PROGRAM
OF THE UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO, MISSISSAUGA AND SHERIDAN COLLEGE.
Call for submissions:
Dear Alumnus,

AAHlumniex, an exhibition of recent work of graduates from the Art and Art History Program, to be held in the Art Gallery of Mississauga
from February 15 to March 25, 2007.

Deadline: Friday, December 29, 2006.
Please include the following with your entry: There is no entry fee. Documentation for one (1) or two (2) of your recent works available for exhibition, in the format of slides, CD, or DVD, (no web sites), with the titles, sizes, media, year, retail value, installation guidelines, a
1 page C.V., and a Self-Addressed Return Envelope.

Selected works must be delivered to the Art Gallery of Mississauga by Monday, February 5, 2007.
The gallery is located at:

300 City Centre Drive
Mississauga, Ontario,
L5B 3C1, Canada
Attention: Robert Freeman, Curator

Work must be delivered in the format intended for exhibition in packaging suitable for safe handling, temporary storage, and return. Work may picked up at the close of the exhibition after March 25, 2007.

A two-person jury comprised of Robert Freeman, Curator of the Art Gallery of Mississauga, and Seamus Kealy, curator of the Blackwood Gallery, will meet in mid December 2006. The artists selected for exhibition will be notified by January 15, 2007.

Artists in the exhibition will receive the CAR/FAC group show fee, be highlighted in the publicity, and receive a special invitation to attend the opening with the community and students and faculty of the Art and Art History Program.
The opening of the exhibition is on February 15, 2007 and the exhibition continues to March 25, 2007.

On behalf of the Art Gallery of Mississauga and the Art and Art History Program we look forward to the participation of our alumni in this celebratory exhibition.

Robert Freeman, curator, Art Gallery of Mississauga
Seamus Kealy, curator, Blackwood Gallery
Louise Noguchi, co-coordinator, Art and Art History Program

300 CITY CENTRE DRIVE, MISSISSAUGA, ONTARIO, CANADA L5B3C1
TELEPHONE (905) 896-5088 FAX (905) 615-4167
WEBSITE: WWW.ARTGALLERYOFMISSISSAUGA.COM

A public Art Gallery sponsored by the City of Mississauga, the Ontario Arts Council,
The Canada Council, Corporations, Private Citizens and its Membership

Entry forms now available!

Click here to go to the Art Gallery of Mississauga web site and down load a pdf entry form.

Two Call For Submissions! Art Gallery of Mississauga

Call For Submissions

What is Mississauga?

The Challenge…to create an artwork that defines Mississauga. The artwork can be in any media. The only restriction is the size. The artwork must be 12 inches by 12 inches (overall size) for two dimensional works and for three dimensional works must be able to fit into a 12 inch cube.

What is the true nature of Mississauga? What is Mississauga to you as long time resident or as a newcomer? What is Mississauga to you as a young person or as a senior citizen… as a Christian, a Muslim, a Buddhist, a Hindu, a Jew or a Sikh (no matter what your religion)?

The artwork does not have to be representational and in fact we discourage pictures, or photographs of the Civic Centre (or the Mayor). What we want are thoughtful and perceptive works that define the City as it is to you. They can be conceptual, abstract or illustrative. They can be new media works or traditional paintings. They can be critical or positive, introspective or universal. They should reflect your artistic style and/or even you cultural background. What we are after is a variety of works from a cross section of the Mississauga Community.

Entry Fee: $15 per work (a two work maximum)

Selection of Works: The entries will be juried. The selected works will be shown at the Art Gallery of Mississauga from March 29, 2007 to May 3, 2007. Artist fees will be paid to all of the artists whose work is selected.

Eligibility:Artists must live in Mississauga or have a significant connection to the City.

Entry Forms: will be available by February 1, 2007 at the Gallery and from our website. Forms and entry fees must be received by Friday, March 9, 2007.

Delivery of Submissions: Artworks are to be brought to the Gallery on Wednesday, March 21, 2007 between 3pm and 7pm.

Submission Format:

• The artwork must be ready to hang.
• Framed if it is a work on paper.
• An artwork may not need a frame but it must have hanging hardware on the back.
• If special installation instructions are necessary they must be provided on submission.
• All of the information pertaining to the artwork must be provided on submission… artist's name, title of the artwork, date completed (it should have just been created 2006 or 2007), media, size (it should be 12" x 12" in most cases), value of the work and whether it is for sale
• If there is an explanation/statement of the artwork required this must also be supplied on submission
• All works will be for sale unless noted as not for sale (NFS) and the Art Gallery of Mississauga will retain 20% of the sale of the artwork.
• Any electronic or new media works must be entered with the necessary equipment to be viewed (format must be consistent with other media formats 12" x 12")

Pick up of works not accepted:The judging will take place on Thursday morning, March 22nd and the works not selected can be picked up on Friday, March 23rd from 9am to 5 pm.

An opportunity for all works entered to be viewed:Works not selected will be photographed (with the artist's permission) and available for viewing on a CD during the show.

Art Gallery of Mississauga Blog Photo Contest

Competition open to all Mississauga Secondary School students

How to enter:

1. Go to the Art Gallery of Mississauga blog at http://905arttalk.blogspot.com/, read the postings and think about Mississauga. What do you see here? What don't you see? What would you like to show the world about Mississauga?

2. Pick up your digital camera, camera phone, film camera or Polaroid and just take a photo! (Entries must be converted to digital files).

3. Send your submission via email to suying.lee@mississauga.ca. Include your image (jpeg format), a short paragraph about your photo and a completed entry form. Click here to down load pdf entry form.

By entering this contest, you consent to have your photograph posted on the Art Gallery of Mississauga blog and used for promotional purposes.

Selected entries will be posted on the Art Gallery of Mississauga blog and the winners will receive a one year membership to the Art Gallery of Mississauga.

For questions or more information call the Gallery at 905 896 5088 or email suying.lee@mississauga.ca

My City

A few things to appreciate about Mississauga:

1. It's generally a clean city.

2. There's a system of nature trails woven in among the streets, neighborhoods and subdivisions. Now is the time to enjoy the gorgeous fall foliage while you walk, jog or bike the trails. http://www.sportsmississauga.org/trailblazer.htm

3. It's an extremely culturally diverse place.

4. Parking is most often free and easy.

Something to consider, I hear that only 20% of eligible voters in Mississauga exercise this right. Monday November 13, 2006 is Municipal Election Day. What will you do?
Need more information about voting in Mississauga? http://www5.mississauga.ca/vote/

George Hunter
Mississauga-Sawmill Creek in Autumn, 1982
colour photograph
33 x 43 cm
Collection of the Art Gallery of Mississauga
Donated by Patricia Stevenson, 2004

Art for everyone, on the street and everywhere, anytime

Did you attend Toronto's first Nuit Blanche?
Nuit Blanche is a concept that began in Paris and now takes place in Rome, Brussels, Madrid and Montreal.

Nuit Blanche is a sleepless night of artistic expression meant to make contemporary art more accessible to one and all. From sunset on Saturday, September 30 to sunrise Sunday, October 1, 2006, an estimated 425,000 people were out on Toronto streets to encounter the city in a unique way and explore Toronto through publicly commissioned art installations, all-night exhibits, live performances, and creative programs featured throughout the city. Taking place in museums, galleries, institutions, and unusual spaces, or familiar spaces experienced in unusual ways, each featured free art programs all night long. For one sleepless night Toronto became the artistic playground for a series of exhilarating contemporary art experiences.

Among the highlights of the night into day hours of Nuit Blanche, for this suburban art blogger, were partying in the ballroom with 10 year old dj's, wandering through the thick fog at philosopher's walk, entering Instant Coffee's Dark Disko yurt, going for a night swim at 3am and experiencing a strangely juxtaposed doom metal performance in front of the William Ashley store in Yorkville. The night presented a (mostly) democratic opportunity to access contemporary art. Children were out on the streets way past bedtime with their families. We all had wonder in our eyes.

No doubt I was not the only suburban attendee at this event. Occasionally the Art Gallery of Mississauga does attract visitors from Toronto but, why not more?

Does Nuit Blanche place Toronto as a "world class" city? Would the City of Mississauga and it's citizens ever support an event like this? How would you make art accessible to everyone in Mississauga?

What about drawing?

With the expansion of methods and materials, including new technologies used as art mediums, how do you feel about good old fashioned drawing?

Drawing continues to be accessable to everyone. The popularity of zines and d.i.y. culture seems to have contributed to a resurgance of interest in drawing. Can we credit the Royal Art Lodge for renewing interest in drawing?













Artist at Work, Art Gallery of Mississauga
The public are invited to view artist,
Aleks Bartosik create a drawing on the Gallery wall:
Thursday, September 21 beginning at 12:30 pm.
Friday, September 22 from around 2-3pm
Saturday, September 24 from around 1-3pm
Sunday, September 24 from around 1-3pm
Tuesday, September 26 from around 1-3pm
This work will be part of the exhibition Dancing to the Invisible Piper: Canadian Contemporary Figurative Art on view until October 29.

The figure in art

When you think of figurative art, what images come to mind?
Is it anything like this?




To find out what some contemporary Canadian Artists are doing with the human figure visit the Art Gallery of Mississauga between September 14 and October 29, 2006.

To hear more about this topic come to the opening reception on Thursday, September 14 at 6pm. Curator, Robert Freeman will give a free talk at 7:30pm.

(Image of work by Richard Stipl, from Dancing to the Invisible Piper: Canadian Contemporary Figurative Art at the Art Gallery of Mississauga, September 14-October 29, 2006)

Where in the 905 is art?

Hello, are you out there? Please send word!
Where in the 905 (area code for suburbia, regions west of Toronto) have you found art, especially visual art? What's happening here, in the suburb which seems to be defined by it's location west of Toronto?

Is there an art community in Mississauga?
Hoping to hear from you...
Sincerely, The 905er

Which do you consider legitimate art forms?

Is what this guy doing art? Is spray paint on public walls art?










What do you think of the term graffitti art? What is urban art?


(Red Wall Project, Art Gallery of Mississauga, Sculpture Court)







Is there a heirarchy of mediums?

Is a paint on canvas equal to spray paint on wall?

(Image by Tony Scherman from Dancing to the Invisible Piper, Art Gallery of Mississauga, September 14 to October 29, 2006)

Got questions about the art works shown here? Click on the image information to learn more.