grunt gallery Legacy Fund:
Beat Nation Prepares to Head East: Tania Willard, Co-Curator, Recalls Where It All Started
Grunt gallery is committed to working with emerging artists, curators and innovative ideas to create high impact exhibitions and projects. An example of this is Beat Nation, which originally took form at grunt gallery in 2008 as a website project curated by Tania Willard and Skeena Reece.
“I have worked with grunt over the years as a curator-in-residence, publications designer, editor, and conference organizer, and I think all of this has really helped me in being able to continue to work in the arts and have a unique perspective,” said Tania Willard, co-curator for Beat Nation. “I owe grunt my art life. There are not that many places or spaces that nurture emerging artists and curators, while at the same time being a place for established and senior artists.”
The “Beat Nation – Hip Hop as Indigenous Culture” website evolved into an exhibition that was presented at SAW gallery and later at grunt gallery on June 26, 2009. Over the years, Beat Nation has seen various incarnations and been presented in an array of venues including PuSh Festival, New Forms Festival and many more. This December, Beat Nation is leaving Vancouver and heading eastward.
“The never-ending project [and] idea that was Beat Nation started with grunt’s online projects, which I helped curate. This project is now touring as a large scale exhibition co-curated with Kathleen Ritter of Vancouver Art Gallery,” said Willard. “It all starts at grunt, where seeds that are always being planted sometimes grow into these beautiful creatures. Kusktemc (thank you).”
Beat Nation will be exhibited from December 14, 2012 to May 5, 2013 at the Power Plant in Toronto, Ontario, one of Canada’s leading galleries for contemporary arts. Plans are currently in the works to take this tour to even more galleries in North America, details to be determined in the near future.
If you are a supporter of grunt and have appreciated the work we do to continue our innovative programming, then please consider giving to our Legacy Fund. The grunt gallery Legacy Fund is a permanent endowment, managed by the Vancouver Foundation, with the purpose of providing a strong and stable base of funds that financially supports grunt and the artists we serve. Your contribution to the Legacy Fund helps provide us with the means to assure our long-term viability.
A chance to double your support:
Grunt gallery is eligible for support from the Canadian Heritage Endowment Incentives Program through which we will receive a match on your donation to the endowment. All funds received before November 21, 2012 are eligible for this matching program. Last year, our campaign raised $3,500, which was matched by over $2,800 from the Heritage program for a total of $6,300. This year we are hoping for an even stronger response. For more information you can contact Operations Director Meagan Kus at 604.875.9516
Or click here to donate!
Please note: The Vancouver Foundation will issue you a tax receipt for your donation.
We have currently raised over $3,000, please help us reach our goal of $5,000!
