grunt gallery warmly welcomes two new staff member’s to their team. Cynthia Bronaugh as Archives Manager and Elisha Burrows as Exhibitions Manager.

Cynthia Bronaugh is a proud Mount Pleasant resident, she obtained her BFA in Art History from Concordia before studying Museology at The University of Western Ontario, and has gone on to work in gallery administration for over sixteen years (in Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia).  Cynthia recently left a six year run of museum and archives work to return to the world(s) of contemporary visual arts, applying her experience to grunts’ Activating the Archives initiative.

Elisha Burrows grew up in a theatre family and has lived in Vancouver, Toronto, and on Hornby Island. He has an extensive technical background in theatre, film, multi-media projects and the visual arts. Since graduating from Simon Fraser in 1997, he has worked as a theatre and film technician, DOP and director on various documentary films and as a content producer on various multimedia projects.

Join grunt on Friday, April 26th 2013 (7-8:30pm) in OTTAWA, ONTARIO
at SAW GALLERY during Northern Scene.
SAW gallery address: 67 Nicholas St, Ottawa, ON K1N 7B9

grunt gallery (Vancouver, BC) is pleased to launch their new publication BLIZZARD – Emerging Northern Artists during the National Arts Centre’s Northern Scene Festival at SAW Gallery. The 48 page colour publication has been produced by curator/designer Tania Willard from an exhibition at grunt in June of 2012. This publication features essays by Tania Willard and Candice Hopkins and artworks by Jamasie Pitseolak, Nicholas Galanin, Tanya Lukin Linklater, Geronimo Inutiq (aka MadEskimo), and director Derek Aqqiaruq.

“Northern Exposures” exhibition by curators, Candice Hopkins and Jonathan Demers will be opening at SAW that evening.

Pick up your copy of BLIZZARD: Emerging Northern Artists catalogue at the event.

Want to learn more about Northern Scene? Check out their website:

http://nac-cna.ca/en/northernscene

grunt is pleased to announce that Netherlands artist, Desiree Palmen, will be travelling to Vancouver in July to work with urban Aboriginal youth to explore their experiences and feelings in relation to Vancouver’s landscape. The artist will spend 4 weeks working with youth to paint them into a chosen place in Vancouver. These on-site painting projects will be photo-documented and these images will be publicly displayed in various locations by the fall.

Help fund this unique, collaborative project which allows Aboriginal youth to work with an experienced, international artist.
Donate here: http://www.canadahelps.org/CharityProfilePage.aspx?charityID=s33679

Help Desiree Palmen travel to Vancouver by donating your Aeroplan Miles here: http://beyondmiles.aeroplan.com/eng/charity/338

Vancouver, BC – grunt gallery is proud to announce the book launch for BLIZZARD: Emerging Northern Artists. This newly published catalogue includes essays by Candice Hopkins and Tania Willard that examine and reflect upon artwork by Jamasie Pitseolak, Nicholas Galanin, Tanya Lukin Linklater, Geronimo Inutiq (MadEskimo), and director Derek Aqqiaruq. Originally shown as an exhibition at grunt gallery in the summer of 2012, this catalogue spotlights Indigenous artists working in the North who are using their traditions to forge new ideas around contemporary art.

“BLIZZARD paints an alternate picture of the North: not a North created by paternalism, colonization and tourist board initiatives, but a distinctive place framed by compelling artists who are drawing from their experiences and influences, which include the lands and cultures of the Arctic as well as pop culture, new technology and their own interpretations of the South.” – curator, Tania Willard

Join grunt gallery and Tania Willard in celebrating the launch of this exciting new publication on Friday March 22nd, 6–8pm at grunt. Listen to the original vinyl album of famed Inuit rock band, Northern Haze, and pick up your copy of BLIZZARD.

Location:
grunt gallery, 350 E 2nd Ave – Unit 116, Vancouver, BC V5T 4R8

Learn More:
grunt gallery website: www.grunt.ca
Pre-order your copy of BLIZZARD: http://gruntgallery.bigcartel.com/product/pre-sale-blizzard-emerging-northern-artists

Special Thanks:
This publication was made possible by the generous support from the Government of BC through the Innovations program of the British Columbia Arts Council, The Government of Nunavut through the Department of Economic Development and Transportation, The Michael O’Brian Family Foundation, The McLean Foundation, Nunavut Arts and Crafts Association, Scriba International Art Society, Trench Gallery, Jasmine Redfern, all of our Indiegogo donors, the logistical support of Robert Kardosh from Marion Scott Gallery and Pascale Arpin.

Questions?
Contact Karlene Harvey, Communications Director
Karlene@grunt.ca
605-875-9516

Position Title: Exhibitions Manager

Location: grunt gallery
Reporting to: Programming Director
Hours: 40 hours per month (weekly schedule dependent on current projects); some evening and weekend work; flexible schedule

Start date: April 2, 2013
Deadline for applications: Friday, March 1, 2013 at 5:00pm

General Description of the Position:

The Exhibitions Manager is responsible for all details around the shipping, installing and de-installing of exhibits, as well as logistics management for other projects in the gallery, Media Lab (gruntKitchen) and offsite. The Exhibitions Manager reports directly to the Programming Director and is responsible for basic installation tasks such as storing, packaging, crating, shipping, hanging and lighting of exhibits, as well as exhibition maintenance. The Exhibitions Manager will also oversee logistics for any touring exhibitions. The Exhibitions Manager is also responsible for management of the exhibitions budget, contracting, negotiating with the artists over project details, and maintaining the quality and installation standards of the exhibition. This ten (10) hour a week job requires flexibility around the schedule and self-management.

Required Competencies:

– Budget Management
– Collaboration
– Commitment
– Communication
– Computer Skills
– Creativity
– Flexibility
– Installation Skills
– Reliability
– Communication Skills
– Resourcefulness
– Tolerance

General Responsibilities:

– Coordinating installations and supporting the artist with his/her vision;
– Arranging details with the artist including contracts, travel and shipping;
– Maintaining the gallery and the Media Lab;
– Participation on various committees and project groups as required;
– Working with the Program Director to obtain a good understanding of program requirements and ensuring the support of the artist;
– Managing program budgets;
– Liaising with and hiring skilled contractors to provide assistance with the installation/de-installation process;
– Other duties as required.

Required Skills and Education:

– Excellent understanding of artist-run centres
– Past experience with exhibit installation;
– Post-secondary education in an arts related program is an asset;
– Previous experience (work or volunteer) with arts organizations;
– Working knowledge of MS Office, Word, Excel, databases, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, video editing, projection, and other technical skills;
– Strong/expert communication (written and spoken) and time management skills
– Resourceful, hands-on and pro-active;
– Must be highly organized, detail oriented, committed to quality and able to work independently with minimal supervision;
– Ability to work flexible hours.

About grunt

Formed in 1984, grunt gallery has built a reputation on innovation and cutting edge program exhibitions, performances, artist talks, publications and special projects that showcase current and past work by contemporary Canadian and International artists.  We focus on work that would otherwise not be seen in Vancouver, and are proud of our ability to act as an intersection between various cultural groups based on aesthetics, medium or identity.  We consider our programming as a work in program that is always changing and is always interesting.

How to apply: All applications must be received by Friday, March 1, 2013 at 5:00pm

 If you believe that you are a good fit for us, and we’re a good fit for you, please mail or email your resume and cover letter in confidence to:

grunt gallery
116 – 350 East 2^nd Avenue
Vancouver, BC
V5T 4R8

email:  meagan@grunt.ca

grunt is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes all applicants.

Take advantage of these great deals and remember to pre-order your copy of the BLIZZARD catalogue!

Choose from the following:

BLIZZARD: Emerging Northern Artists

$16 + shipping
This catalogue looks at indigenous artists (Jamasie Pitseolak, Nicholas Galanin, Tanya Lukin Linklater, Geronimo Inutiq, and Derek Aqqiaruq) working in the North who are using their traditions to forge new ideas around contemporary art. This catalogue includes an essay by Candice Hopkins and Tania Willard. BLIZZARD looks at a younger generation of Northern Artists schooled in the traditions of their artists families, but breaking barriers by questioning relationships that tie North and South. Images and gallery documentation by Henri Robideau.

*Please note: This book is currently being printed and will be ready for mail-out by mid-March.

Purchase it here.

Vancouver Arts 3-Book Combo

$30 + shipping (reg. price $55).
This combo features Altered (2010), Access (2008), and LIVE (2000).

Read more about the Vancouver Arts Book Combo here.

Contemporary Indigenous Artists 3-Book Combo

$45 + shipping (reg. price $61).
This combo features the newly printed BLIZZARD: Emerging Northern Artists (2013), Beat Nation Catalogue (printed in Nov. 2012), and a hard-cover version of Old Growth: Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas (printed 2011).

*Please note: This book combo includes BLIZZARD which is currently being printed and will be ready for mail-out by mid-March.

Read more about the Contemporary Indigenous Artists Combo here.

Andante (a walking pace) at Richmond Art Gallery has an opening reception on Feb 2nd, 2013 (3-5pm).

The group show includes work by Cheryl L’Hirondelle, Mike Andrew McLean, Haruko Okano, Ruth Scheuing, and UWHAH (Until We Have a Helicopter). Adante (a walking pace) features a work by Cheryl L’Hirondelle that was originally commissioned by grunt gallery.

“Integral and common to the artworks in this group exhibition is the seemingly ordinary activity of walking. The title, Andante, draws from this tempo marking to mean – “at a walking pace” – a moderately slow pace that enables us to be attentive to our surroundings, literally and imaginatively. The works comprising Andante (a walking pace) are conceived as a conceptual practice, a process from which emerge diverse narratives reflecting artists’ responses to the various urban and rural landscapes they move in and consider.

The history of walking is an intriguing one with the capacity for narratives that hold cultural, political, social and spiritual meanings. From aboriginal rituals, religious and political pilgrimages, to intrepid explorers, artists, writers, and folk simply moving from one place to another, walking has inspired, challenged and been the subject of artistic investigation.

The artists presented in this exhibition explore the theme of walking to examine our surroundings, literally and imaginatively, in a range of media including photography, woven textiles, audio-visual media, sculpture, and installation.”

Visit the website for more information.

Hybrid identities in archived art

ART / (queer) intersections remembers pivotal 1990s performances

Monday, December 10, 2012
Written by Erin Flegg

Vancouver has a reputation (at least among those of us not born here) for playing hard to get. A diverse range of political and artistic communities has long thrived here, but they aren’t always easy to find.

A new series of online exhibits called Activating the Archive, from the grunt gallery, aims to draw out the vibrant histories of often marginalized groups and reacquaint Vancouver with its often radical past.

Interdisciplinary artist and scholar Christine Stoddard curated one of the exhibits, titled (queer)intersections.

The exhibit, made up of essays, video and photos, focuses on queer identity politics expressed through performance art in the 1990s.

“The ’90s for me was really when that notion of queer started to emerge as a political and identity category,” she says. “It’s taking the lesbian/gay movement and way of thinking about your sexuality and identity, and kind of opening it up to a less rigid category.”

Stoddard came to Vancouver toward the end of the 1990s, moving here with her first girlfriend to do a master’s of fine arts at Simon Fraser University. She got a job at the lesbian bar Charlie’s (“Oh god, I was a terrible server!”) and started to meet women who were also interested in exploring queer feminisms and with whom she would perform.

“That was the first time I really felt like I belonged here. It sounds sort of cheesy, but it’s true, I did.”

The grunt’s Halfbred cabaret series, featuring Oliv (above), marked an important moment in Vancouver’s queer art history, says Christine Stoddard.(grunt archives)At the time, she says, she didn’t consider herself a very radical queer. She grew up in the relatively small city of Halifax and says she was just looking for some kind of reflection of herself.

When she came out to her parents as bisexual, they had a hard time understanding, she says. They probably would have had an easier time had she used the word gay or lesbian, she reflects.

“It does confuse people when you don’t fit into a nice delineated box.”

CLICK HERE to read the entire article at Xtra West…

Donate to grunt by Friday, January 11th, 2013 through Canada Helps and you will be issued a tax receipt. Consider the monthly donation option. It’s easy, efficient, and provides grunt with steady and consistent income that helps with planning future programming!

Click HERE to donate!