Northern Exposure at BBG

Toronto, October 17: Ever wonder what it would be like to attend a wedding above the Arctic Circle? Have you ever had the opportunity to taste northern delicacies prepared by a renowned northern chef? And what about musical instruments unique to the north? Ever attend a concert where all of the instruments were creations of those native to the north? And what of the formal garb worn to celebrate special occasions in that distant land?

By the way, we are not speaking of the Canadian north. Bezpala Brown Gallery has the honour of hosting an exhibition unlike any that has been held in Canada previously. With the organizing prowess of the Trade Commissioner of the Republic of Sakha-Yakutia of the Russian Federation in Canada and the financial assistance of Silver Bear Resources Inc., we have been able to attract visual artists, costume designers and musicians widely known and celebrated by the Sakha people. And to add a Canadian flare, we have works of 17 northern Canadian artists and sculptors to help us examine the similarities and differences between the Canadian north and our northern Russian counterparts.

While the exhibition runs from October 15^th to 30^th, the event to attend will be held on October 22^nd from 12 to 3 pm. We will feature improvisations by Claudia & Herman Khatylaevs, performing on more than 15 traditional Yakutian musical instruments; re-creation of a Sakha wedding to showcase celebratory Yakutian costumes designed by Avgustina Filippova; traditional Sakha delicacies created by celebrity chef Innokentiy Tarbakhov (chef to the last three Presidents of the Republic); and the visual artworks of Mikhail Starostin (etchings and oils), Andrey Chikachev (prints)and Evgenia Arbugaeva (photography) among other Sakha artists. We contrast these artworks with the work of 17 Inuit artists including Annie Pootoogook (etching and aquatint), Shuvinai Ashoona (etching and aquatint), Kavavaow Mannomee (lithograph)and Nuna Parr (sculpture).  Attendees will have the opportunity to purchase originals and giclées from several artists. The Khatylaevs, Mr. Starostin. Ms. Filippova and Ms. Arbugaeva will be in attendance to discuss their creations.

A precursor to this event was already positively reviewed in the Globe and Mail (http://www.bezpalabrown.com/files/Northern_Russian_Artists_Make_Tracks_article.pdf) and there is now much more to see and hear.

BBG also wishes to acknowledge and thank our other sponsors to this exhibition: CERBA (Canada Eurasia Russia Business Association) and Yakutian media sponsor Zhurfix.

The provenance of Sakha (Yakut) people of Siberia, Russia is still much of a mystery. Their language belongs to the Turkic group. Their origin is still a much debated subject among historians and archeologists. Yet, much of Sakha cultural background is referred to Olonkho, the oldest epic arts of the Turkic-Mongolian peoples, proclaimed by UNESCO a Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity (http://www.unesco.org/culture/intangible-heritage/35eur_uk.htm).

For the first time in Canada, the audience will experience the world of Northern Russian aboriginal art featuring Mikhail Starostin, Andrey Chikachev, Gennadiy Dubovoy, Mikhail Simonov, Tujara Markova, Valeriy Bessonov, Maria Gulyayeva, Olga Rakhleeva, and Anna Petrova. As well, a burgeoning photographic talent, Evgenia Arbugaeva, will present her newest collection - vivid depictions of Siberian life - showing why she has received awards in Moscow, Paris and New York.

FREE ADMISSION.
Wine and cheese will be served.

Press Release for You First

You First at the Orange County Center for Contemporary Art, October 1 through October 29. Opening night reception 5:00 p.m. Performances begin at 7:00 p.m. For more information visit www.occca.org and www.uforafest.com. OCCCA is open Thursdays and Sundays from noon to 5:00 p.m and until 9:00 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays. Located at 117 N. Sycamore, Santa Ana, California, in the Santa Ana Artists’ Village. Contact: Rob Mintz or Dalibor Polivka , Email:uforafest@yahoo.com   Ph: 714.667.1517 

Artists Rob Mintz and Dalibor Polivka present You First, an exhibit arriving with more than fifty attractions! Dive into the think tank if you dare! Featuring young partisans of the real from the nation’s top schools —-  plus a cadre of international art luminaries* —- You First presents authentic & genuine Relational Aesthetics: art in the here and now! See it, feel it, think it through! The great dream belongs to everyone! Glimpse the new paradigm. It’s no longer business as usual. (Exhibit may contain language not suitable for children under eighteen years of age.) See poets, slaves, soap-sellers, lovers, inmates, outcasts, scientists, city planners, a guy reading a newspaper, a woman in a tree! See artists, documentarians and photojournalists at the height of their game. Art is more than just another facet of life: it’s the name of a hope, reaffirming the social bond.  During the opening, choreographer Sheron Wray and her dance troupe will improvise interactively with the audience. On the same night, You First will present Zoe Gruni’s performance piece, Urban Jackalope, first seen at the Biennale di Venezia, plus the dance stylings of Derek Fleming of Soul Train fame. Milan Kovac, the Consulate General of the Slovak Republic, will present documentation of  Slovakia’s humanitarian aid in troubled regions of the world.  You First has received the kind endorsement of the French critic and curator Nicolas Bourriaud who coined the term, “relational aesthetics.”Another true art luminary, Alfredo Cramerotti, a UK-based artist, author and curator, represents himself with a collaborative blog and videos about the radical European art fair Manifesta. Best-selling social visionaries Michiel Schwarz & Joost Elffers’ will reveal new symbols for a sustainable future. NYC’s favorite rock and roll fashionista, Jordan Betten, will demonstrate how to dress for the party. Marc Pally, a high-power hyphenate, is both the artistic director of Glow (an all night event held in Santa Monica) and an LA-based artist showing sensitive, stylized drawings of a human face, wry, melancholy and somehow heroic. Max Presneill, mercurial director of the Torrance Art Museum, exhibits brooding, painterly explorations of cognition and experience. Arie Galles, a professor at Soka University, artist and gallery director, bears witness to the Holocaust in a series of large-scale drawings of maps and aerial photographs from military archives. Art collectives are a fascinating phenomenon —- and there is none more elusive than Finishing School, masters of street-smart provocation.  The artists in You First are graduates of the most prestigious art programs in the nation, among them Art Center, Art Institute of Chicago, Cal Arts, California College of the Arts, Cornell, Cranbrook, Harvard, Mills College, MIT, New York Academy of Art, Otis, Rhode Island School of Design, Rutgers, San Francisco Academy of Art, and Yale. The participants in You First come from the United States, Italy, France, England, Sweden, and Slovakia, nomadic citizens of the planet Art. A complete exposition about You First, the ideas and personalities that shaped it —- and the Ufora project in general —- will be unpacked in a forthcoming book by the curators.

* The art luminaries include: Base Design, Jordan Betten, Nicolas Bourriaud, Finishing School, Derek Fleming, Arie Galles, Zoe Gruni, Milos Koptak, Marc Pally, Max Presneill, Michiel Schwarz & Joost Elffers, Karen Smith & Ida Hledikova,  Stealthart,  Wolfgang Steahle, Ta Tu, and Sheron Wray.

The University of Toronto’s Visual Studies Thesis Class is coming together with UFashion to present…
COAT OF THE CAT (A Fashion Story)- a night of shopping, runway, art videos and live performances by Afi Babybrown and the Voodoo Children from Saturn. 
January 21st, 20118pmHart House Debates Room
All the proceeds will go towards the Visual Studies Thesis fund for their end of year art show.

Hurry and buy your tickets fast, as advanced tickets are limited until Jan 1st! Advanced list will extend until January 14th.
Advanced tickets $10 (until Jan 1st) Advanced list $12 (until Jan 14th) Tickets at the door $15
Check out www.thisisthesis.com for more details (click on events)
Come shop, mingle, ooh and ahhh! See you then!

Queen West Art Crawl 2010.  Along Queen Street West, from Bathurst to Roncesvalles.  Friday September 17^th – 7pm-12am.  Saturday September 18^th & Sunday September 19^th – 11am-11pm. 

Queen West Art Crawl (QWAC) is a three-day celebration of multidisciplinary creativity and collaboration along the hippest street in Canada.  At the Outdoor Art Show & Sale, Trinity Bellwoods Park will host 250 artists as they exhibit their jury-selected works, as well as live music, local food vendors and a Kids Zone.  From Bathurst to Roncesvalles, art crawlers can find exhibits, installations, performances, workshops and much more in galleries, studios, businesses and public spaces.  The theme for the 8^th Annual QWAC, “Intersections” will be represented by a wide variety of multi-disciplinary collaborations, engaging installations and innovative art mash-ups all weekend long.  Special 2010 programming includes Art Battle – thrilling, live competitive painting during the opening night gala at the Gladstone Hotel, the QWAC Symposium Series, The Parkdale Prom and the Parkdale Night Crawl.  www.queenwestartcrawl.com

WORLD REFUGEE WEEK CELEBRATIONS
For Immediate Release | Contact Graham Thompson 
Email: refugeeweek2010@gmail.com
Web: www.refugeeweek.com

WORLD REFUGEE WEEK 2010, A FESTIVAL OF THEATRE, DANCE, MEDIA AND MUSIC - FREE ADMISSION

International NGOs and activists gather for a festival of theatre, dance, media and music from June 16-20 at Library and Archives Canada, 395 Wellington Street Ottawa. “Live performances start at 3PM daily within a theatrical backdrop of large scale portraits and video displays involving artists from Africa, Canada, Central Asia and the Americas,” says organizer Graham Thompson. “We have fashion from East Africa, folk music from Venezuela, belly dancing from Persia, spoken word from Darfur, revolutionary song writing from Guatemala, body painting from Sudan and feminist poetry from Afghanistan.” 

Mixed with the installation of film loops and colourful banners, the paintings of Hawa Kaba, Hamid Ayoub, Sherry Tompalski, Martin Mbesha and Victor Fuentes will set the stage for talks by Hy Shelow of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Dr. Adnan Turegun of the Centre for International Migration and Settlement Studies, Dr. Susan Walsh of USC Canada, Philip Landon of the World University Service of Canada, JP Melville of the Coalition of New Canadians for Arts and Culture, Jayne Stoyles of the Canadian Centre for International Justice and Dr. Hamdi Mohamed of the Ottawa Community Immigrant Services Organization.

As well, the multimedia event will feature readings by Dr. Monia Mazigh from her book Hope & Despair: My Struggle to Free My Husband, enactments by Sarah Mahoney from the classic drama Lemkin’s House, video testimonies by local refugees who have survived wars abroad and performances by lawyers of Peter Showler’s play Excluding Manuel. 

The 3-year old collaborative project, which was exhibited last year at the Parliament of Canada, can be viewed on Youtube, FLICKr,  MySpace, FaceBook and Twitter. The detailed events schedule and the links to the social media sites are available through www.refugeeweek.com.”

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If you would like more information about this topic or to schedule an interview contact Graham Thompson at 613-253-7007 or refugeeweek2010@gmail.com