Two New Galleries and Many Small Fishies: Back streets and Main Street

Another one caught: Ceramic artist Sam Dickie went to Dawson City as Artist in Residence with KIAC and created a show called Stand in the Odd Gallery last fall. And then — like so many others — she fell prey to the spell of the Yukon. She and her partner and one-year-old daughter MacKenzie were on their way to property they’d recently bought near Sooke, on the West Coast of Vancouver Island, but they had their boxes rerouted here. She’d come up for a few summers, but never thought she’d spend a winter, certainly never in Whitehorse. When asked why, she squirmed a little, saying it was hard not to be cliché. When pressed, she said it was, of course, gorgeous, and that the Whitehorse arts community was active, small, friendly and accessible. Also, it was not as dark and cold as she thought it would be ….. To her delight, Jackie Ziehe’s husband (whom she calls her sweetheart, likely for good reasons such as this one) has built her new ledges in her studio so she can handle large canvases more easily ….. Lara Melnik has been “working on a series of beaded, tiny, tropical fishies. They kill my back and neck, and are extremely time-consuming, as they are all made from really small seed beads. None of the species exist in the ocean, just in my mind. I am loving them.” ….. Volunteer scenic painters needed for Guys and Dolls. Call Moira Sauer at 633-3550 ….. Joyce Majisky and Alice Angus, of red long underwear fame (first issue), had a productive time working on their film, Topographies and Tales, at the KIAC residency in Dawson City. Majisky will head to London, England in mid March to present the work with her and be part of a Creative Lab at Canada House in Trafalgar Square. Three other Yukon Films will show there as well: Alan Code’s Fitness and the Father; Andy Conners’ Shipyards Lament; and Two Winters, by Carol Geddes ….. How far north do you want to paint? Parks Canada will be hosting its second Artists in the Park program for 10 days from July 4 to 14, in Ivvavik National Park, Yukon. Placements are available for up to six artists. Priority may be given to artists currently working in the Yukon or NWT. The deadline’s just been pushed back to March 31. Contact, [email protected], for an application ….. Speaking of deadlines, Canada Council Creation Production Grants for Visual Artists applications are due April 1st, no fooling ….. KIAC Artist Residency and Odd Gallery deadline for submissions, same day, check out the KIAC website: www.kiac.org ….. Art teaches everything! Pilot program called Learning through the Arts (LTTA) cruises through its third year at Elijah Smith Elementary School. The Yukon’s Department of Education has brought the pilot in through The Royal Conservatory of Music. It’s an internationally run program with sites in the United States, England, Italy and Japan. Dancer Diane Holman heads up the steering committee. Many artistic disciplines contribute local experts: Arlin McFarlane for drama, Rhoda Mirkel for First Nations Visual Art, Mary Anne Annable-Roots for dance, Andrea McColeman for music and Helen O’Connor for visual arts. Using the arts as a vehicle they teach all facets of the curriculum. O’Connor taught anatomy to Grade 4s. They traced body forms, gluing cut-out Styrofoam bones and added muscle and digestive system collage items…… Artist-run centre is warming up. A core group of artists is forming for Gallery 204, in the alley behind the TD bank, former home of the Back Alley Gallery. Vision and mission statements are being forged and reclusive artists are being pulled out of the woodwork, dropping by the space to chat about what’s going to be going on. The gallery will provide a juried space for experimental, challenging and non-commercial work, something Whitehorse needs as its fine arts scene grows ….. Also, rumblings underground: the basement of the Hougen Centre for Art! Many people, including the Yukon Art Society, put a lot of work into laying the groundwork for this project last fall, but foundered due to “falling through the cracks” as regards to funding. The Hougen Group is donating rent and utilities, and the Yukon Arts Centre is finding funding for a renovation of the space. It will house a heritage gallery of historical objects, an exhibition space for contemporary Yukon artists and workshop space. The space will also be available for fairly low rent for groups in general, first priority being given to visual art projects …… That’s all for me for now. Thanks to the folks who sent me stuff, keep it coming! Till soon …..