[BCMA] ARTS RELEASE: New exhibition by nationally-recognized Canadian artist makes debut at Kelowna Art Gallery

[Moderated BCMA subscriber listserv.]

Dear Media Partners, 

 

The Kelowna Art Gallery is pleased to announce a new exhibition opening this May; Barbara Astman: Dancing with Ché: Enter through the Gift Shop. Barbara Astman is a major nationally recognized senior Canadian artist, based in Toronto, and the Kelowna Art Gallery is the first ever venue in which this installation will be shown. The exhibition will be on view from May 7-July 31, 2011. While not opening for a few months, it is my hope that the advance notice allows us to secure editorial content in your summer issues. The media release is included below; I have also attached a PDF of the media release, the artist's CV, and some low res images. More images are available if required, as is the artist's CV. 

 

The exhibition will be of a simulated gift shop, full of Ché Guevara souvenirs - none of which are for sale. It will be interesting to see how a souvenir shop with nothing available for purchase goes over at the height of our busy tourist season! 

 

I will be following up to gage interest for inclusion in upcoming issues or for spring/summer feature pieces in broadcast media. 

 

Kind thanks, 

Kris Johnson
Marketing & Events Coordinator
KELOWNA ART GALLERY 
1315 Water Street, Kelowna, BC V1Y 9R3 
T: 250.762.2226 x 305
M: 250.212.6508
F: 250.762.9875
www.kelownaartgallery.com <blocked::http://www.kelownaartgallery.com/>  



 

Media Release

For Immediate Release 

Kelowna Art Gallery hosts national debut of a new exhibition by Toronto-based artist; Barbara Astman: Dancing with Ché: Enter through the Gift Shop

On view May 7-July 31, 2011

 

February 28, 2011 - Kelowna, BC: A portion of the Kelowna Art Gallery will be transformed into a faux gift shop for the duration of a new exhibition by Toronto-based artist Barbara Astman. Barbara Astman: Dancing with Ché: Enter through the Gift Shop makes its national debut at the Kelowna Art Gallery May 7-July 31, 2011. Key chains, playing cards, coffee mugs, t-shirts, and other souvenirs featuring the recognizable face of revolutionary Ché Guevara will be on display; however, viewers may find themselves aggravated and confused when they discover that none of the merchandise is actually for sale. 

 

Barbara Astman: Dancing with Ché: Enter through the Gift Shop was born of the artist's fascination with "Ché chic"- the vast number of reproductions of Ché's visage on a variety of souvenir items she saw while on a trip to Cuba. Also in North America, Guevara's face appears on any number of items which are purchased with pride and displayed as status symbols, fashion statements, or declarations of political ideology. The singular image used in this exhibition was taken by the artist while she was dancing to Latin music and wearing a Ché t-shirt. Astman thus co-opted Ché's celebrity and power, making them temporarily hers. She then emblazoned the image on all of the items she had fabricated for the installation. 

 

The sub-title of the exhibition, Enter through the Gift Shop, is a send-up of the title of the 2010 Banksy film Exit through the Gift Shop. We are frequently bombarded by opportunities to buy memorabilia when departing a museum, a big art show, or a concert. In this case, the artist invites the viewer to enter through the gift shop-but the exhibition and the gift shop are one in the same. Viewers will likely experience an overwhelming desire to acquire proof of having actually seen the installation; it is in our nature as consumers. Barbara Astman: Dancing with Ché: Enter through the Gift Shop will be at the Gallery during the height of Kelowna's tourist season, when visitors will be buying souvenirs of their summer vacations. But, no souvenirs will be available from this exhibition, and it will be interesting to see our visitors' reactions.

 

The Barbara Astman: Dancing with Ché: Enter through the Gift Shop opens to the public on May 7, 2011 and will be on view through July 31, 2011. The Kelowna Art Gallery is located at 1315 Water Street, in the heart of the Cultural District in Downtown Kelowna. For hours of operation, public programs, or more information about current exhibitions, visit the Kelowna Art Gallery online at www.kelownaartgallery.com <http://www.kelownaartgallery.com/> . 

 

- 30 -

 

 

For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact: 

 

Kris Johnson, Marketing and Events Coordinator

Kelowna Art Gallery

W 250.762.2226 ext. 305 

kris at kelownaartgallery.com

 

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