Art Gallery of Mississauga

Art Gallery of Mississauga
Established 1987 (1987)
Location 300 City Centre Drive,
Mississauga, Canada
Coordinates 43°35′20.07″N 79°38′37.96″W / 43.5889083°N 79.6438778°W / 43.5889083; -79.6438778
Type Public art gallery
Curator Stuart Keeler
Website www.artgalleryofmississauga.com

The Art Gallery of Mississauga (AGM) is a public, not-for-profit art gallery in Mississauga, Canada. It is located at the Mississauga Civic Centre right on Celebration Square across from Square One Mall. The Gallery is open every day and offers free admission and guided tours.

The AGM holds approximately 18 exhibitions a year on a rotating basis. In 2012, the AGM opened the XIT-RM Project Space, an exhibition space sponsored by the RBC Foundation that is dedicated to emerging regional artists. Notable exhibitions include: Contemporary Jamaican Art circa1962 | circa2012, Lise Beaudry: Sur la glace | Standing on Ice (Winner, BMW Exhibition Prize 2012),[1] Genius Loci, 011+91 | 011+92, F’d Up!, The Sahmat Collective: Art and Activism in India Since 1989 (from The Smart Museum of Art, University of Chicago),[2][3][4] Fausta Facciponte: Six Characters in Search of a Photograph,[5] and Joy and Sorrow: Photographs and Films by Elisa Julia Gilmour and Ben Freedman[6]


History

In 2010 Stuart Keeler joined the AGM as Curator and Director of Programmes.[7] Since arriving, Keeler has tried to grow the sense of contemporary currency and experimentation at the gallery, increasing its public profile; attendance reportedly has doubled.[8]

In 2014, the AGM launched an extensive re-branding campaign, characterized by a new design created by The White Room in Toronto. This campaign has received international recognition in design magazines,[9][10][11] and a finalist in the Graphis 2015 annual design competition.[12]

Permanent Collection

The AGM’s Permanent Collection numbers over 500 works by regional and national artists. In 2013, the AGM launched a digital archiving project, funded by the Museums Assistance Program and the Museums and Technology Fund, which created an accessible online database which was launched on the AGM website in 2014.[13]

Because of space limitations, the Gallery had a moratorium on collecting since 2008. In 2014, the AGM presented a new collections policy, focusing on digital and lens-based works, with a particular focus on regional artists, iconic Canadian works and works by artists representing the social fabric of Mississauga.[14]The AGM's Permanent Collection was made accessible on an online archive in December 2014. [15]

Expansion

Long considered “the best kept secret in Mississauga” due to the lack of visibility of its location inside the Civic Centre,[16] in 2011 the AGM commissioned Lord Cultural Resources to conduct a facility expansion plan, with the objective of potentially moving the gallery into a new building to increase visibility and exhibition. space[17] The Lord Cultural study reported that, despite being in the sixth largest city in Canada, the AGM was the smallest public art gallery.[18] In June 2014, AGM Director | Curator Stuart Keeler and Board President Mike Douglas appeared before Mississauga City Council to request support for a facility expansion. Gallery visitors have grown in the past several years, from just under 19,000 in 2011 to over 30,000 in 2013. Options presented include an expansion of the AGM’s current facility in City Hall and a new home in the Living Arts Centre across the street. City Council was supportive of the request, and asked staff to examine feasibility.[18]

Roots and Branches | Education

The AGM acquired a grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation to fund educational and engagement programming from 2013 – 2014. Roots and Branches is a comprehensive, hands-on approach to learning that facilitates free visits by Artists in Residence, who collaborate with Teachers to deliver lesson plans and visual art-inspired activities that extend standardized curriculum, while exposing students to critical processes in contemporary artistic practice.[19]

The programme as well provides free Tours of the Gallery with free Bus Transit to and from the school site and the Art Gallery of Mississauga.[20]

Artist in Residence

Cindy Blazevic: PillBilly Fantasia, 2012. XIT-RM, AGM

In 2013, the AGM hired artist Camille Turner to be Mississauga’s first ever Artist in Residence.[21] Turner is interested in the hidden histories of Mississauga. Her projects for the AGM include the (un)settler Community Journal Project[22] and the 5&Dime walking tour, exploring strip malls as cultural spaces.

XIT-RM

The XIT-RM is a project space dedicated to showcasing the work of emerging artists in the GTA and Mississauga region. Six artists are selected annually by the gallery’s curatorial team to exhibit work that honours the mission and mandate of the AGM, with an emphasis on contemporary art and critical engagement.

Funded by the RBC Foundation, each exhibition features its own opening and is accompanied by a published catalogue with a curatorial essay.[23]

References

  1. ↑ . Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival.
  2. ↑ Schechter, Fran. "Sahmat Inspires". Retrieved 2014-08-19.
  3. ↑ "AGM Hosting the Only Canadian Stop of The Sahmat Collective". Retrieved 2014-08-19.
  4. ↑ "The Sahmat Collective". Retrieved 2014-08-19.
  5. ↑ . Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival.
  6. ↑ . Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival.
  7. ↑ "Art Gallery of Mississauga Welcomes R. Stuart Keeler". Akimbo. Retrieved 2014-08-19.
  8. ↑ Leah, Sandals. "Stuart Keeler Named Director of Art Gallery of Mississauga". Canadian Art. Retrieved 2014-08-19.
  9. ↑ "Razzle, Dazzle ‘Em". Applied Arts. Retrieved 2014-08-19.
  10. ↑ "Art Gallery of Mississauga identity". Communication Arts. Retrieved 2014-08-19.
  11. ↑ "Art Gallery of Mississauga". Designedge Canada. Retrieved 2014-08-19.
  12. ↑ "Art Gallery of Mississauga Identity". Graphis. Retrieved 2014-08-19.
  13. ↑ "Allegory of the Cave, Opening Reception". Akimbo. Retrieved 2014-08-19.
  14. ↑ "Art Gallery of Mississauga needs your help". The News Mississauga. Retrieved 2014-08-19.
  15. ↑ "Art Gallery of Mississauga: Permanent Collection". Retrieved 2015-01-02.
  16. ↑ "Art Gallery of Mississauga facing identity crisis". Brampton Guardian.
  17. ↑ "Facility Planning Study for the Art Gallery of Mississauga". Akimbo. Retrieved 2014-08-19.
  18. 1 2 Clay, Chris. "Gallery Just Too Small, AGM Officials Say". The News Mississauga. Retrieved 2014-08-19.
  19. ↑ Fisseha, Rebecca (2014-03-19). "Community profile: Art Gallery of Mississauga". Diaspora Dialogues. Retrieved 2014-08-20.
  20. ↑ "Roots and Branches". Retrieved 2014-08-19.
  21. ↑ "Social Work". Mississauga Life. Retrieved 2014-08-19.
  22. ↑ Paterson, David (2014-07-06). "Dear diary: Journal project peers into the mindset of a city". Retrieved 2014-08-19.
  23. ↑ "AGM Exhibit: XIT-RM". Retrieved 2014-08-19.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Art Gallery of Mississauga.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Wednesday, September 16, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.