art + people = x
art + people = x
The University of Lethbridge is renowned for its excellent art collection. People on campus and throughout the city take pride in knowing that a wonderfully diverse range of art work is housed here. The high profile of the collection also means that there are many rumours that circulate about it. One of my favourites is that the collection is stored in a vault under the lake. Given that it is important to maintain constant humidity and avoid catastrophic damage, why would we store a collection of art under a body of water? This kind of outlandish story does not concern me because it adds to the interest in the art collection, but I am concerned when I hear that people think the collection is inaccessible and people are not able to see and engage with the works. The truth is quite the opposite: the U of L Art Gallery has a remarkable record of providing access to the collection with our innovative on-line database; supporting class visits and other tours – 2486 participants in 48 different events; 72 works loaned to other galleries in 2011 including to Paris and New York; touring our own exhibitions; and including 103 works from the collection in our exhibitions on campus last year.
There are many ways that the art collection plays an active role for people on campus and in the local community. In order to help make these connections more visible, and to encourage new routes of access, Josephine Mills started the art + people = x series in 2009. An idea that grew from an interest in supporting research by local artists and at the same time creating a project that would allow the broader public to have a sense of the importance that public art collections play in generating ideas and sparking artist’s creative practice.
Archives
2013
(art + people) x science = x “Drawing the Canada-Wide Science Fair 2013″
2012
On Landscape Images by Dr. Josephine Mills, Director/Curator, University of Lethbridge Art Gallery, from the Fall 2012 issue of SAM-Southern Alberta Magazine, November 20, 2012
Revising the Canonical Landscape Form by Elizabeth Diggon
The Art of Caring for Collections, from the Spring 2012 issue of SAM-Southern Alberta Magazine, April 23, 2012
2011
The Important Things to Know About Eating and Drinking (In Lethbridge): A Project by Lisa Hirmer and Andrew Hunter as Dodolab, from the Fall 2011 issue of SAM-Southern Alberta Magazine, November 21, 2011
A little history on the prairies: Essay “Home Pain” by Jim Coutts, from the Spring 2011 issue of SAM-Southern Alberta Magazine, March 28, 2011
2010
joy: the x factor by Emily Luce, Faculty, Fine Arts, New Media Department, from the Fall 2010 issue of SAM-Southern Alberta Magazine, October, 28, 2010
Snap, Crackle, Pop, from the Winter 2010 issue of SAM-Southern Alberta Magazine, February 27, 2010
2009
Knowing/Gnawing: Darcy Logan and works from the University of Lethbridge Art Collection
Knowing/Gnawing, from the Fall 2009 issue of SAM-Southern Alberta Magazine, October, 30, 2009