CUAG Connects

This week, all you Carleton students are wrapping up your final assignments of the term and getting ready to head into exams. Why not take a night (or two) off to go to one of the unique art events that are happening around Ottawa this week? Electric Fields kicked off yesterday, and there are definitely more events and parties happening for the media arts festival in case you missed the launch.

Tonight for Electric Fields, musicians Roger Tellier-Cragi, Martin Bedard, and Jean Francois Laporte will perform Church Music, which will fill up the basilica space of St.-Brigid’s Centre for the Arts with experimental music blasting from ten-speaker surround sound. This ain’t your everyday church concert, so don’t miss it! Thursday, November 24th. St.-Brigid’s Centre for the Arts. 9PM, $10.

On Friday, Electric Fields continues with the theme of sound and space with Swim Sound, a “truly immersive experience” (haha), which responds to Ottawa’s first municipal pool. This event really sounds incredible: the audience comes in a bathing suit, and Carleton prof Jesse Stewart and new media artist Rob Cruickshank will fill the space with percussion and electronic experimental sounds. The unique space of the indoor pool (think echoes on ceramic tiles and the way sound is distorted underwater) provides a concert venue unlike anything you’ve ever seen (or heard!). Check out this blog for more of an explanation. Friday, November 25th, Champagne Bath (302 St. Patrick St.). 10PM, $10.

Also on Friday, SAW Gallery is hosting its annual fundraiser, SKETCH. The selection of prints, drawings, and paintings will be huge this year, and there are two ways to purchase: either off the wall or through a silent auction. The works in the auction are by more well-known artists from Cape Dorset, who have kindly donated their pieces. It’ll turn into a party (like all great events at SAW), but get there early for the best picks! Friday, November 25th. Galerie SAW Gallery (Artscourt - 67 Nicholas St.) 8pm - 2am. $2.

Saturday is filled with craft fairs for all your holiday shopping needs. Both Idle Hands in Chinatown and the Hintonburg Artisan Craft Fair will be on from 10am to 5pm, so there is plenty of time to get to both. I also heard that Michaels is having a 75% off custom framing sale this weekend, so you can buy a print or drawing from the craft fair and get it framed on the cheap! Saturday, November 26th. Idle Hands at St. Luke’s Anglican Church (760 Somerset Ave. West) and the Hintonburg Artisan Craft Fair at the Hintonburg Community Centre (1064 Wellington Ave. West). 10am-5pm. FREE.

On Saturday night, head to the Canadian Museum of Civilization for another Electric Fields event. Ottawa’s very own A Tribe Called Red DJ collective will be bringing their monthly Electric Pow Wow to the CMC’s Grand Hall for some awesome dancing and singing! Their innovative combination of Aboriginal music and electronic beats always makes for a crazy fun time, and I can’t wait to see how their sounds transform the space of the museum. Saturday, November 26th, Canadian Museum of Civilization (100 rue Laurier, Gatineau) 10pm. $10.

Two more quick events: Rob Macinnis will give an Artist Talk at 7pm on Friday evening at the Red Wall Gallery. His photographic series of barnyard animals, entitled “The Family Farm Project,” draws parallels between the consumption of animals and the fashion world’s consumption of the body. And don’t forget to check our Caesar Daman’s show, “Migration/Memory” at Gallery 101 before it closes on Friday!!

I think that’s plenty to keep you busy this weekend, so spend the rest of the week studying!!! Don’t forget to let us know what you thought of the shows, parties, and happenings via twitter.

There are lots of great happenings to choose from this week, so I’ll give you all the details and then you can decide where to get your prescribed (by me!) dose of art goodness. We’ve got a horse in the race this week: on Sunday afternoon, you can hear Montreal painter Anthony Burnham give an artist’s talk on his show Even Space Does Not Repeat. 

Before that, however, drop by Thimblecakes for a (gluten-free!) cupcake and photography show by local artist Diane Bond. Her images are beautifully composed: personal objects like cups, old books, and tools cover tables dappled in sunlight. These images are juxtaposed with perhaps unfamiliar sights of bone decorated tents and dramatic cliff faces. One photograph - a dreamy view through a glass window to a vividly green backyard - could signal a longing for new places and the memories that tie us to our home. Why not ponder while eating a cupcake (or two!)? Diane Bond at Thimblecakes (369 Bank St.), November 14 - 21. FREE.

On Saturday, another local artist (and Carleton professor!), Cindy Stelmackowich, will be leading a workshop as part of her new show at the Bytown Museum. Dearly Departed investigates nineteenth-century mourning traditions in visual material and the written word. The exhibition arose from her residency at the Bytown Museum last winter, where she was interested in the museum’s collection of Victorian memorial and bereavements objects and garments. Her new sculptures and digital prints will be on display until January. The workshop this Saturday allows visitors to participate in one of the traditions in the Victorian cult of mourning: hair sculptures. Don’t worry, the hair is synthetic. This will be a fascinating exhibition, and her investigations into memoria and the archive reminds me of the work of Mona Hatoum or Iris Haussler, Saturday, November 19, noon to 4pm. Artist’s Talk, Catalogue Launch and Big Hairy Workshop -Dearly Departed: Cindy Stelmackowich. (Oct 19 - Jan 8). Bytown Museum. 

All weekend long, Inside Out will be screening films at the National Gallery of Canada for the Ottawa-Gatineau LGBT Film and Video Festival. The British film The Night Watch (UK, dir. Richard Laxton) will open the festival, and the programme is filled with feature films, shorts, and docs. There are also some excellent parties to look forward to, including ‘Steers & Queers’ on Saturday night at SAW Gallery. The Ottawa-Gatineau LGBT Film and Video Festival. National Gallery of Canada. Nov 17-20. PLUS ‘Steers & Queers’ Saturday, November 19. 10pm-1am. SAW Gallery. Tickets $5 at the door.

On Sunday, don’t forget to head over to our CUAG for Anthony Burnham’s Artist Talk at 2PM. Burnham’s stylistically diverse practice investigates the possibilities of painting as a conceptual practice. Don’t know what that means? Can’t see how conceptual art and painting can co-exist? Like Burnham, are you wondering, “What is there left to paint, really?” Come on Sunday to ask him yourself! Anthony Burnham Artist’s Talk, Carleton University Art Gallery. Sunday, November 20 at 2pm. FREE. 

You can have a couple days off during the week in order to prepare for next weekend’s mammoth Electric Fields Festival of sound and space. This year, the organizers at Art Engine have commissioned artists to develop projects for sites around Ottawa. The opening party is on Wednesday at the Bytown Museum to launch Polytectures, a “soundwalk” around the city of Ottawa by Antoine Bedard that explores the relationship between music and architecture. This is a seriously cool idea, and as a lover of all things urban, musical, and art (obviously), I’ll definitely be there. Electric Fields Launch Party. Wednesday, November 23. Bytown Museum. 5pm. FREE. 

These events are pretty spread out through the week, so technically, you could go to each and every one! Don’t forget to let us know what you thought of the shows, parties, and happenings via twitter. 

Installation is wrapping up here at CUAG! There have been some bumps along the road, but all three new exhibitions, People Like Us: The Gossip of Colin Campbell, Anthony Burnham: Even Space Does Not Repeat, and “Truly Canadian”: Inuit Art and National Identity will be ready for the big opening next Monday evening! It’s been so great seeing the three (very different!) shows come together, and it wouldn’t have gotten done without everyone here. So obviously, the official opening is on the list for this week, but let’s see what else there is out there!

Tonight, there are a couple great events happening around town. The National Gallery will be screening West Wind: The Vision of Tom Thomson from producer/director Peter Raymont. Group of Seven member Tom Thomson is probably the most well-known Canadian artist. His landscape paintings of Algonquin Park are incredibly popular, and wrapped up in ideas of the Canadian wilderness and national identity. He died in a mystery (canoeing is dangerous!), and this new documentary will cover the art and life of this painter. (Get there early for a seat!) Thursday, November 10th, National Gallery of Canada auditorium, 8pm. $5 adults and $4 students.

Also tonight, there is a Support Local event happening at Octopus Books called ‘Art & Ice Cream.’ The art is from local watercolour painter Doug Wilkinson and the ice cream comes care of local food celeb Pascale (of Pascale’s All Natural Ice Cream). Good thing this fall has been unseasonably warm! This event combines my three favorite things: art, ice cream, and books. If I wasn’t going to the Tom Thompson doc, I’d be there from start to finish! Thursday, November 10th, Octopus Books (116 Third Ave.) 6-9pm. FREE.

All weekend long you can check out the first anniversary show of the Ottawa-Gatineau Printmaker Collective at Orange Art Gallery. Lots of great art, artists, and wine! Thursday, November 10th (Vernissage at 6pm) to November 20. Orange Art Gallery (23 Armstrong Ave.). FREE.

Jeez, we’re still on Thursday with three events in!

On Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, there will be a show of ceramic arts called 260 Fingers (26 clay artists and potters from eastern Ontario and Western Quebec). There iwill definitely be some good finds here, so why not start your holiday shopping early! Friday, November 11th to Sunday, November 13th, 10am to 5pm, Glebe Community Centre (Lyon and Third Ave.) FREE.

At La Petite Mort Gallery, the bad boy of the Ottawa art world, there will be an exhibition of Juan Carlos Noria’s spray paint paintings. His paintings are full of dark and powerful imagery like heads and bodies exploding with colourful objects. Check it out if you’re in the Market this week. Friday, November 11th - Thursday, November 17th, La Petite Mort Gallery (306 Cumberland St.), FREE.

One more mention for the Official Opening of CUAG’s three new shows, Campbell, Burnham, and “Truly Canadian.” Stop by on Monday evening from 6pm onwards for some really amazing contemporary Canadian art and a glass of wine! Monday, November 14th, Carleton University Art Gallery (St. Patrick’s Building), 5pm, FREE.

Don’t forget to RSVP to our Facebook event for the official Opening of our shows Campbell, Burnham, and “Truly Canadian” on November 14th. And if you ‘Like’ our new official CUAG Facebook page, your name will be entered in a draw for a FREE DRINK at the Opening.