[BCMA] Art Exhibtion Examines the Legacy of 2010

[Moderated BCMA subscriber listserv.]

Last fall the Penticton Art Gallery invited artists from across the province to examine the legacy which will remain as a result of the Liberal Governments cuts to social programs and the 2010 Olympic Games. The resulting 80 submissions form the basis of our current exhibition, Legacies 2010. The exhibition continues through March 14,. 2010

 

This is not so much an anti Olympic, anti government or anti sport exhibition but rather, it asks us all to enter into a dialogue as to how this period of our history will be best remembered in five, ten or fifty years time. 

 

The visual arts both reflect and affect the social, cultural, and historical contexts in which they exist and are an essential form of communication, indispensable to freedom of inquiry and expression. Artists have long been at the forefront of social change and their legacy is not only the barometer for which the health of a society can be ascertained but it is certainly a benchmark from which historians judge and record our passing. We hope that in the years to come, the results of this exhibition will provide a memorable snapshot of this moment in our cultural history, and as history has overwhelmingly shown, it's the arts and culture which people remember and study not the winner of a gold, silver or bronze medal. 

 

It's also interesting to read the how the Province of British Columbia comes to view the roll of the visual arts and the artist. In the Ministry of Education's Integrated Resource Package published by the Ministry of Education Standards Department they state.

 

"Visual arts both reflect and affect the social, cultural, and historical contexts in which they exist. For this reason, visual arts education provides a unique opportunity to foster respect for and appreciation of a variety of values and cultures.The visual arts are an essential form of communication, indispensable to freedom of inquiry and expression. Visual literacy skills enable students to evaluate the contributions of artists in society, and to work with images to better understand social and environmental issues."

 

It is in this spirit we decided to provide an open forum for public and community discourse surrounding these important contemporary events. We invite the public down to the Penticton Art Gallery to see the results of this call for entry and to enter into this important dialogue whether you agree or disagree with the works presented or the premises of this exhibition we encourage your participation as indifference is the ultimate insult.  

 

The Cultural Olympiad is being promoted as a celebration of the contemporary imagination, from artistic collaborations that fuse contrasting perspectives to emerging talents re-inventing the voice of contemporary Canada. Is VANOC's promise to re-inventing the voice of contemporary Canada accurate and if so, how democratic will that voice ultimately be?

 

The Penticton Art Gallery invites you to join us for our own Cultural Olympiad to celebrate the importance of the visual arts as an essential form of communication, indispensable to freedom of inquiry and expression. We hope the resulting exhibition and the dialogue which results will provide future generations with an opportunity to see where we were at this important point in our history and help them understand the circumstances behind all which follows as a result.

Artist Statements


Carol Hermesh ~ Summerland, BC

Sometimes We Dream

 

I can remember as a child that I had my own Olympic Dreams. My passion for horses and everything to do with them sparked a deep desire within me to someday compete at the Olympic show jumping level. It was extremely difficult for my parents to explain to me at the age of ten that they could not afford it. The cost of attaining such a goal could never and would never be within their means. So I moved on and began to swim competitively. Again I dreamt of someday attaining my Olympic dream. This time it was my coach who sat me down and explained that in order to attain such a dream I was already far behind others who had begun their journey at the tender age of five. My own younger brother missed his Olympic swimming qualification goal by mere 100's of a second. Another friend of ours did eventually qualify for the Canadian Olympic team - only to have her hopes dashed by a political boycott of the Olympics.

 

Nowadays I find that I have no interest in what is and always was a political arena of conflict, exclusivity, wealth and supremacy. I was far too young to understand the truth.

 

I find it ironic that VANOC has sought to undermine the influence of art by using their wealth and power to bully artists into submission.

 

Bill Horne ~ Wells, BC

Farmers Say Restore Arts Funding!

 

I started this series to illustrate our interconnectedness at a time when the BC government has made drastic cuts to arts funding, diverted gaming money from non-profits, and is trying to pit artists against the neediest of society.

 

I also wanted to break some insidious stereotypes: of working class people as "red necks" who aren't involved in the arts; of the arts as inherently "elitist". It seemed like a good time to revive that rusty, but trusty concept of solidarity.

 

I'm very proud of all the people in these photos, and grateful for their participation in this project. I hope that renewed solidarity between cultural workers, labour and people in the hinterland will be a "Legacy" of 2010.

 

Cimarron Knight ~ Vancouver, B.C.

Art Savings Piggy Bank

 

'Artists are the song birds of humanity. Help feed an artist for just pennies a day'.

 

Starving artists. Once a stereotype soon to become a reality? 

 

With increasing limitations to our personal freedom, arts and culture is one of the few vehicles we have left as a society for independent thought and expression. Despite living in an age of incredible technological advances that includes the speed of shared information and social networking, there has been a huge impact upon us culturally. We are currently in the dark ages. Through mainstream culture and mass marketing, we are being 'dumbed' down. Financial survival, flu pandemic scares and terrorism is keeping us in a state of fear and anxiety. Increasing limitations to our freedom of movement and speech is turning us into a society of the silenced. Collectively, we are becoming the 'norm'.

 

Artists are the song birds of humanity. We are the voices that hold up a mirror and present the world from a different viewpoint. Whether our beliefs, politics and aesthetic tastes as a society are the same or different, we need to have the choice to decide whether we want to engage with or reject the dialogue that is being presented. Cuts to arts and culture funding is silencing our voices. We are being guaranteed a legacy of lack of critical thinking, lack of independent thought and lack of imagination and creativity. Collectively, we need to insure that our society's song birds don't become extinct. We need to become Citizens of the Arts.



For further information please contact:

Paul Crawford Director/Curator
The Penticton Art Gallery
199 Marina Way
Penticton, B.C. V2A 1H3

Phone: (250) 493-2928
Fax: (250) 493-3992
Web: www.pentictonartgallery.com
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