This is the big time of year for artisans and craftsmakers — where all the imagination, hard work and time they’ve poured into their unique and quality creations comes to fruit.

Spruce Meadows International Christmas Market features events for the whole family. [Photo credit: Mike Sturk Photography]

Venues around the city and surrounding townsites vie with each other to prepare unique and entertaining marketplace settings to attract visitors and shoppers. In addition to a wide variety of booths, most of them feature seasonal entertainment, catered food courts and events like visits from Santa or sleigh-rides in the snow (or hay-rides if a warm Chinook wind whisked all the snow away.) A general admission covers the cost of the venue and entertainment.

The largest of these events are not dedicated solely to local artisans and craftsmakers. Some of them are, like the ACAD student show and Bragg Creek Artisan Fair (listed below.) But the really big events mostly feature work from farther afield. So, if you’re dedicated to the 100-mile principle of supporting local economies and smaller regional businesses, you would be better off with studio tours and affiliate gallery shows. That said, the advantage the larger shows have is quantity and variety, and quite a lot of the exhibitors are Canadian, if not Calgarian.

If you like to turn your Christmas shopping into more of an adventure, though, don’t be afraid of driving off to Bragg Creek or the Leighton Centre, or taking in some student work at ACAD.

Here are some of the best on offer:

SPRUCE MEADOWS INTERNATIONAL CRAFTS MARKET at Spruce Meadows Exhibition Hall. November 18th – 20th and November 25th – 27th.

Exhibitors come from all over the world, so this is not a local craftsmakers only event by any means. That said, some local artisans and certainly, many Canadian craftsmakers do rent space for their wares, and with the economy in its present state, it’s better to support these industries.

Booths feature art, crafts, apparel and food, both for enjoying onsite or ready for gift baskets. Musicians, dancers and other entertainers perform onstage, and carol singers wander through the crowd. Ice carvings, fire pits and other entertainments are available outdoors.

General Admission costs $8.00
Seniors and children 12 and under are free.
A 6-time multipass can be purchased for $20.

8011 Spruce Meadows Way, SW (off the Marquis de Lorne Trail)
Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2J 5G5

The Red Arrow Express provides free transportation from the Somerset/Bridlewood LRT station (the last stop on the southward LRT line.)

ALBERTA COLLEGE OF ART AND DESIGN SALE OF STUDENT WORKS

ACAD’s student works range the gamut of jewellery, ceramics, glassmaking, prints, photographs and paintings. Hundreds of pieces are on offer from every department of study in ACAD.

The show runs Thursday, 24th November, from 3:00 pm to 9:00 pm;
Friday, 25th November, from 1:00 pm to 9:00 pm;
and Saturday, 26th November, from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm.

It gets very busy, so try to make it there early for the best selection.

There is no admission fee, and accepted forms of payment are cash, debit, Visa and Mastercard.

1407 – 14th Avenue, NW
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
T2N 4R3

FESTIVAL OF CRAFTS:

The Festival of Crafts show is an exhibitors tour event. Artists and craftsmakers sign up and pay a booth rental fee to a promoter, who rents venues and buys advertisements in various different locations in Canada. As with the Spruce Meadows event, there is no indication how many of the craftsmakers are local.

It is held at the BMO Centre in Stampede Park, a huge exhibition hall, and there are hundreds of small companies, producing almost every type of craft you can dream of, signed up.
Thursday, 1st December, 2011 – Sunday, 4th December, 2011

Thursday 10:00 am – 9:30 pm
Friday 10:00 am – 9:30 pm
Saturday 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
Sunday 10:00 am – 5:00 pm

The BMO Centre is part of the Stampede Grounds complex, and probably one of the easiest to find venues in all of Calgary. The Victoria Park LRT station lets you off almost right at the door, but if you plan to drive, be sure to reserve some money for parking.

Admission Fees:

Adults $7
Seniors (65+) $5 Youths (13-17) $5
Free for children 12 and under unlimited free
re-admission

BRAGG CREEK ARTISAN MARKET:

The Bragg Creek Christmas Craft Sale is a wonderful excuse to drive out and enjoy the breathtaking beauty of the eastern Rockies 20 minutes south of Calgary. Bragg Creek, on the Elbow River, a beautiful village surrounded by pine forests close to the McLean Creek Recreational region of the Kananaskis. If Allan Bill pond is frozen, there is usually a skating rink cleared near the picnic tables, and Elbow Falls lose none of their beauty. Cross-country trails abound, and then, there is this wonderful craft fair to enjoy.

It runs:

Saturday, 19th to Sunday, 20th November, 2011
from 10 am to 5 pm daily at the Bragg Creek Centre,
23 White Avenue
Bragg Creek, Alberta, Canada
T0L 0K0
(Google-Earth Coordinates: 50° 56′ 59.63″ N 114° 33′ 42.61″ W)

LEIGHTON ART CENTER:

Sadly, the Leighton Art Centre near Priddis celebrated its 2012 Christmas in the Country Art Sale extra early this year, (on November 4th – 6th, and the Remembrance Day Long Weekend), but the Fall into Winter Art Exhibition and Sale continues until the 16th December, 2011. The center, itself, is in a gorgeous wooded area of the foothills just south of Calgary, and well worth the drive, if you can get out.

You may also want to take part in a wonderful one-day Beeswax Candle-Making Workshop with Mechthild Reinders, which includes a variety of candles, including chandelier tapers appropriate for a Chanukah Menorah.

Saturday, 26th November, 2011
10 am – 4 pm
$65 + GST ($70.)
Leighton Weaving Studio

Driving to the Leighton Centre is an adventure. Fortunately, they provide excellent downloadable directions on their website.

Good luck with your shopping, and may your days be merry and bright!

The University College of London recently undertook an experiment where subjects were given brain scans while they viewed a 10-second interval progression of projected images of paintings by Old Masters such as Constable, Bosch and Ingres.

The results showed that blood flow to the medial orbitofrontal cortex, the part of the brain associated with pleasure and desire, increased by ten percent — a reaction similar to falling in love.

The subjects of the experiment were chosen for their lack of arts education and exposure so that their responses would be similarly unschooled and unaffected by current fashion or critical discourse. There was no variation in response between images of landscapes, portraits, still life paintings, or abstract works. Paintings which were considered more aesthetically challenging, however — images by artists such as Bosch, Damier or Massys, in which the cerebral message of the work overruled the sensual content or the beauty of its visual presentation — generated less of a response which signified pleasure.

The scientist who oversaw this experiment was Professor Semir Zeki, chair of Neuroaesthetics at the University College of London. The experiment is up for peer review and is expected to be published in a scientific journal.

This story was originally reported by Robert Mendick, a senior staff reporter at The Telegraph, London, England, on 08 May, 2011, who also took the opportunity to interview such expert art educators such as Dr Stephen Deuchar, director of the Art Fund, a philanthropic group which purchases works for museums and public exhibition venues, with an eye to the effects of funding cuts to various arts programs by the current Conservative government in Britain.

In the provinces of Alberta and British Columbia, similar funding cuts are at issue, and studies like these may help to generate sympathy for continued support of public arts financing.

In Calgary, concerned parents and students have formed the organization Save Our Fine Arts (SOFA) in order to deal with the issue of consistent funding to fine arts education in the public education system. The question is whether studies like this will help to garner increased support from parents who Hon. Dave Hancock, MLA Education, has emphasized are the ones who must lobby for allocation of resources toward fine arts in the Public and Catholic school systems.

The problem with the study is that it is so limited in its scope, in that it used the works of only thirty painters. Also, the mandate of fine arts has expanded far beyond the requirement that it be of aesthetic pleasure to the beholder. Since the advent of Modernism, beauty can stand in a place of secondary relevance to a work’s value and may not factor into the appreciation of the work at all. Artists such as Marcel Duchamp, Jean-Claude Riopelle, John Cage and Francis Bacon have challenged the notion of what constitutes a work of art and what constitutes beauty, so that now, in the Postmodern/Contemporary era, a work can be entirely conceptual or ephemeral.

Zeki’s study confirms what arts educators have always known, that beautiful images generate pleasure and a sense of well being. The study could have gone so much further. It would’ve been interesting to evaluate the results from expanding the experiment in these ways:

1. Using artists, themselves, as well as those who work in related fields such as art criticism, art education and art therapy.
2. Utilizing works from the Modern, Postmodern and Contemporary fields of art in which aesthetic response is not the primary consideration — for example, Nicole Dextras’ Ice Typography.
3. Providing straightforward point-and-shoot photographs of scenes similar to those depicted in the paintings as a contrast to the actual work of art; ie., is it the aesthetic beauty of the image which provides the heightened response, or the artistry?

It would be especially interesting to see if there is a similar physiological response when people have taken the time to educate themselves in art, or if the effects are more subtle.

— 30 —

Crossposted to SimoneKeiran.com

Stillness of Things

November 27 – December 23rd, 2010

“The images in Bill’s new works are about slowing down the viewer’s intake of imagery of domesticity and nature. Multimedia works dealing with associative recall present layered painting and silk-screening.”

Herringer-Kiss Gallery
709A – 11 Ave S.W.
Calgary, AB, Canada T2R 0E3
P: 403.228.4889
F: 403.228.4809

Hours: Tuesday to Friday from 10 am to 5:30 pm
Saturdays: 11 am to 5 pm
Appointments available upon request.

Call for Proposals: Contemporary Latin Artists Exhibition

Deadline: Monday, March 22, 2010

An exhibition of work created by contemporary Latin artists will be showcased in the Window Galleries throughout the months of October, November and December 2011. EPCOR CENTRE for the Performing Arts invites artists of Latin heritage currently residing in Calgary, Alberta to submit proposals for this group exhibition through the Visual and Media Arts department.

Please note: If you are applying for the Contemporary Latin Artists Exhibition call for submissions and a call through the regular programming please provide separate application forms.

Notification: Artists will be notified about the status of their proposal by June 2, 2010.

Window Galleries:

These seven window spaces are located across from the Max Bell Theatre. Four of the windows are conducive to sculptural/installation work, three of the windows are more suited to 2D artwork. Each window is painted theatre black, they all have different measurements, with some equipped with lighting and power sources. Artist honorariums are paid for the Window Galleries. Exhibitions will be promoted through digital media (email and the EPCOR CENTRE for the Performing Arts website).

Please note that the Window Galleries are located in high traffic areas, members of the public from all ages and backgrounds will be viewing the artwork.

All Submission must include the following information to be considered:

1. Application form.
2. Proposal (maximum of 2 pages): Clearly outline your proposed exhibition or project. Include any special installation requirements.
3. Artist Statement: (maximum of 1 page).
4. Curriculum Vitae: (maximum of 3 pages).
5. Image list (included on the application form).
6. Support Material: A CD with no more than 15 JPEG images (300 dpi and sized to 800 pixels maximum) and/or a DVD for video (no longer than 5 minutes in length). All images must be numbered and labeled to match the corresponding image list.
7. Self-addressed stamped envelope: submissions will not be returned without the SASE. Postage must be valid for mailing from within Canada.

Please ensure that your name and title of the proposed project is clearly marked on each part of the submission, including all support material. DO NOT SEND ORIGINALS, PROPOSALS WITH STAPLES OR FOLDERS. Note that the EPCOR CENTRE for the Performing Arts is not responsible for the loss or damage, however caused, of materials submitted in support of an application.

PLEASE NOTE: Slides, website address, printed images and VHS tapes will not be reviewed.

Please address your submission to:

EPCOR CENTRE for the Performing Arts
c/o Tammy McGrath: Visual & Media Arts Programming
205-8th Avenue SE
Calgary, AB
T2G 0K9

For more information please email: tmcgrath@epcorcentre.org

APPLICATION FORM (Contemporary Latin Artists Exhibition)

The EPCOR CENTRE for the Performing Arts Window Gallery

Checklist:

• Application Form
• Proposal
• Artist Statement
• CV
• Support Material
• Self-addressed stamped envelope

Please note that incomplete submission packages will not be reviewed.

Applicant Information:

1. Name:
2. Mailing Address:
3. Phone/email:
4. Please indicate if you are applying on behalf of a collective, group or as an individual artist (if applying on behalf of a collective or group please include the names of all of the participants):
5. Please provide a brief summary of your proposal:
6. Please provide a brief artist’s bio:
7. Image list or DVD description (must include title, date, medium and dimensions – include list on a separate piece of paper if necessary):

CANADA + JAPAN YOUNG PRINTMAKERS
EXCHANGE EXHIBITION

March 10th – April 30th, 2010

Fine Arts Dean’s Office Gallery (Craigie Hall D Block)
Hours: Monday to Friday 8:30 AM – 4:30 PM
and the University Theatre Gallery (Mezzanine)
Hours: Monday to Friday 1:00 PM – 4:30 PM
University of Calgary Campus

University of Calgary Professor, William Laing, and Professor Hideki Kimura of Kyoto City University of the Arts have curated an exchange exhibition featuring works by 57 artists, to showcase Fine Art Printmaking in its myriad forms and uses. Artists from the University of Calgary Fine Arts Printmaking Department, ACAD, Burnt Toast Studios and the Alberta Printmakers Society are represented from Calgary, and work from twelve universities in Japan are represented. The show travels to Calgary from its last exhibition in Kyoto, June 2009, and gives young and student printmakers an international venue.

THIS EXHIBITION IS FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.
For more information (403) 210-7576

REEL ARTISTS FILM FESTIVAL:
Journey Through the World of Visual Art

March 25th – 28th, 2010
All films are screened at the Stanford Perrott Lecture Hall
The Alberta College of Art and Design,
1407 – 14 Avenue, NW
Calgary, Alberta

Eleven documentary films about contemporary art and some of the strongest artists in it will be screened at the Reel Artists Film Festival this March. The creative nonfiction presentations will showcase the talents of Colette Urban, Yoshitomo Nara, Louise Bourgeois, Yayoi Kusama, François Sullivan, Ernst Beyeler (an art dealer), Takao Tanabe, Guy Maddin, Andrea Zittel, Monika Sosnowska, Chuck Close and Antony Gormley. Eleven films will be shown over the four-day festival.

As part of the festival, the Illingworth-Kerr Gallery will host a 3-day intensive workshop, LIVE CINEMA: Real-Time Narratives with Mia Makela (SOLU), and a Scriptwriting Workshop with Noam Gonick and Joshua Wade. Both workshops seem very detailed and comprehensive for people who are interested in filmmaking.

This festival promises to be extremely rewarding, especially given that admission is free. Check out the program schedule at the Canadian Art Foundation or at Alberta College of Art + Design.

Cross-posted to Calgary Festivals and Calgary Film.

Weekend at the Museum
March 13 & 14, 9am-5pm
Free for members

Mark your calendar for the first Weekend at the Museum when the museum throws open its doors to children and their parents for a big hands-on, multimedia event. All three public exhibition floors will be open for musical and theatrical performances, workshops, storytelling, hands-on art based activities, yoga sessions and a chance to go behind-the-scenes to see the hidden treasures at Glenbow.

For schedule of events, click Weekend at the Museum.

Visual Arts related workshops which look interesting include:

A step-by-step puppet workshop with Calgary’s Old Trout Puppet Theatre, where children can design a face and construct a body to create their very own marionettes. All supplies provided. Age 7 +
1:00 – 4:00 pm,
Location: Morris Schumiatcher Activity Room (3rd Floor)

Explore Glenbow’s Modern and Historical Art Galleries and learn how to interpret art using the five senses at the Ways of Looking at Art. Age 5 +.
10:00 am (about a ½-hour long.)
Location: Modern and Historical Art Galleries
(2nd Floor)

Use a variety of wired materials to create equestrian sculptures, modeled after the impressive barbed-wire bronco by artist Jeff DeBoer. All supplies provided. All Ages.
9:00 – 12:00 am
Location: Ranching Gallery within the Mavericks Gallery (3rd Floor)

Design a poster that would inspire newcomers to immigrate and explore the Canadian West. This activity is themed to the Newcomers Gallery within the Mavericks Gallery. All supplies provided. All Ages.
9:00 – 12:00 am
Location: Morris Schumiatcher Activity Room(3rd Floor)

A special session of Sketch Club to learn the fundamentals of drawing and explore Glenbow’s artifacts with trained instructors. All supplies provided. Age 5 +
1:00 – 5:00 pm
Location: Art of Asia Gallery
(2nd Floor)

Create works of art all day at the drop-in in the ARC Discovery Room. (2nd Floor) All Ages.

Other events of interest include a Songwriting workshop with Kris Demeanor; Storytelling with Heather John, a Cree, utilizing the First Nations gallery; Yoga for Kids in the Asian Art Gallery; Treasure Hunts; A Look Behind the Scenes with Blackfoot Elder Clarence Wolfleg Sr.; Geodes and Minerals; World of Knights; and Hands-On Artifacts in the Mavericks Exhibition.

Family prices: (2 adults, up to 4 youth) $28
Adult (18+) ……………………… $14
Senior (65+) ……………………. $10
Student (with valid ID) ………… $9
Youth (ages 7-17) ………………. $9
Glenbow members and children under 6 are free.
Annual Family Membership (2 adults, up to 4 youth) are $90.

Nicola Garvin
Membership & Annual Giving Coordinator
Phone: (403) 268-4165
E-mail: memberships@glenbow.org

Glenbow Museum
130 – 9 Avenue S.E., Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2G 0P3
Email: info@glenbow.org; Phone: (403) 268-4100; Fax: (403) 265-9769.

X-posted to Calgary Music and Calgary Theatre.

at TRUCK Artist-Run Centre Gallery, Main Space
The Grain Exchange Bldg. (Lower Level)
815 – 1st Street SW
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
(403) 261-7702

Chris Millar’s mixed process acrylic paintings riff on pop culture. Rime appears to be a psychedelic riot of comic book, video game and B-movie or pulp Sci-Fi imagery, combined with a Sci-fi narrative.

From the sample, it’s hard to say whether this will be a pastiche train wreck, or a wild and trippy adventure, but one thing it doesn’t look like is dull. This show probably won’t appeal to those who require art to be properly housetrained and vaccinated.

Viewers who attend the show can submit their votes for a “Viewers’ Choice” prize of $1000.

"Le Défi" by Marina Dieul, Montréal, Québec; mixed media oil on panel, 76 x 61.

The Kingston Prize was founded by Julian and Kaaren Brown of Kingston, Ontario, in order to encourage a vibrant and creative tradition of portraiture in the country.  Although the paintings are rooted in subjective realism, a very traditional form of art, the artists themselves push the boundaries of materials and presentation, and produce an enjoyable variety of work.

Review of the Exhibition at the Art Gallery of Calgary posted here.

"Charged Particles in Motion" by Kent Monkman, 2007; acrylic on canvas, 48” x 72”. Collection of Jennifer and Stephen Dattels

The Triumph of Mischief in on until April 15, 2010 at the Glenbow Museum, 130 – 9 Avenue S.E., just 1 block southwest of Olympic Plaza.  It features a selection of Monkman’s  paintings, limited edition tintype photos, as well as multimedia and mixed media installations.

Treason of Images is hosted by the Trépanier-Baer Gallery. It primarily features paintings and limited edition tintypes, as well as a piece from his performance work, Dance to the Berdache.

Simone Keiran’s detailed review of Monkman’s work is posted online at KENT MONKMAN: Western Art, Colonial Portrayals of First Nations Peoples and “The European Male.”

Be sure to visit Monkman’s website for a closer look at his past and future pieces.