Exhibitions and Events in July

CURRENT EXHIBITIONS
ALMA: The Life and Art of Alma Duncan (1917-2004)
June 5 - August 3, 2015
Exhibition organized and circulated by the Ottawa Art Gallery. This project is funded in part by the Government of CanadaOttawa-based artist Alma Duncan spent her entire life creating, interpreting, observing, and rendering. With pen in hand, she traveled the world recording the beauties of the land and the stories of her models, transcending the lines between modern interpreter and visual activist. Inherently interdisciplinary, from painting and drawing to film, her varied body of work also spans numerous genres, including the machine aesthetic, puppetry, portraiture, and abstraction, and the natural world.

This retrospective, organized and circulated by the Ottawa Art Gallery celebrates Duncan's lifework, recognizing her as an inextricable part of Canadian art history

Adad Hannah: Blackwater Ophelia
May 1 - August 3, 2015
Organized by the Judith & Norman Alix Art Gallery, this exhibition differs significantly from the first time the Blackwater Ophelia work was displayed in Sarnia-Lambton. The uncanny crate, complete with a realistic range of foliage appears again, physically separate from the original tableaux vivants video. Joining these original components are a series of four photographs, all recent acquisitions to the permanent collection. This project required a huge amount of assistance from many different people across Lambton County and there is a dynamic community map of the process of creating this exhibition.

SPECIAL EVENTS

The Power of Puppetry: Artist Talk
Wednesday, July 8 @ 6:00 pm - FREE

Shawna's artistic practice crosses disciplines of art and theatre, exploring the reciprocal relationship between the puppeteer, the performing object/puppet and the audience. Shawna will speak about the fascinating world of puppetry and her research into how the imagination can manifest a sense of "life" in a performing object. Using sculptural objects and puppets to create imaginary spaces, events, and scenarios, viewers are encouraged to participate in the work, creating their own narrative paths and instigating events. As the artistic director of CLUNK Puppet Lab, Shawna and her team create highly visual theatre in which they strive to delve into the minute, intimate moments and connections of shared human experience.

Reading Out Loud: Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?
Thursday, July 9 @ 7:00 pm - FREE
with Gail Bourgeois

Reading Out Loud provides a forum for engaging with art writing beyond the publication. A popular event in many cities around the world, Reading Out Loud often features art writers or artists reading works out loud and engaging in lively discussion with the audience who also have a chance to read out loud! This edition explores the evolution of feminist theory as it relates to art history via an open reading of Linda Nochlin's seminal article, Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists? (1971). This session will be facilitated by Ottawa-based visual artist Gail Bourgeois.

Alma Duncan Talk and Tour with the Curator
Thursday, July 16 @ 7:00 pm - FREE
with Jaclyn Meloche

Where did all of the historical female artists go? Led by the co-curator, this tour will highlight how this retrospective exhibition integrates AlmaDuncan into a historical lineage of twentieth-century Canadian art, diffusing the obscurity that previously hid Duncan's talent, passion, and love of creation.

FAMILY SUNDAYS

Family Sunday: Marionette Puppet Making
July 12 | 1-3pm

Come down to the Judith & Norman Alix Art Gallery for Family Sunday and make some Marionette Puppets! Free and open to all ages!

Family Sunday: Oil Pastels 
July 19 | 1-3pm

Using Alma Duncan's 'Small World' as inspiration, and oil pastels as your medium, create your own image of the earth and its surroundings that depict what your perfect world would contain. Free and open to all ages!

Family Sunday: Still Life Drawings
July 26 | 1-3pm

Join us at the Gallery for the last Family Sunday in July for shape-based still life drawing focusing on shape, line and form. Free and open to all ages!

RAAW 2015
July 7 - July 31 | 11:00 am to 4:00 pm

We have a fresh line-up of Random Acts of Art Workshops (RAAW) for Lambton County youth ages 13-18. First offered in 2009, RAAW has grown into a cornerstone of the March Break and summer experience for area youth.RAAW places local youth into a studio-intensive environment for three days with direct access to some of the most exciting local, regional, and national practicing artists today. Workshops are free and consistently fill up, quickly spilling over onto waiting lists. Register Now!