Here and There- Printmaking Exchange Show

HIFA Printmaking Department Gallery • Wuhan • May 2017 Gordon Snelgrove Gallery • Saskatoon • October 2017

Statement

Here And There / Me in Foreign Land

Future artists are shaped by the discussion revolved around their work of art in a unique way. For this, we put two groups of artworks from two different origins together and exhibit them in two cities. This means that half the pieces will be shown in a place that is completely alien to their origin. As the result, discussions will take place and the local audiences will undoubtedly experience the unique cultural exchanges. The clash between audiences and artists' minds and cultural backgrounds will create an exciting and unpredictable development for future arts.

In 21st century, we bathe in the light of globalization caused by Internet and Multi-media. Many issues regarding nationality, ethnicity and culture that have been brought up by globalization, are now manifesting on art works in both direct and indirect manner. Artists with distinctive backgrounds are thinking about the same topic. It is necessary for a piece of art to be viewed by a culture different from its origin. Regionalism was in the attention of many contemporary artists today. Art works with peculiar styles from another region are usually favoured by the public and are also considered the vehicle of authentic and unique experience.

How to define the characteristics of local art? A sound cultural context is the key to a good piece of contemporary art, and is based on localized artistic language unique to its origin in most cases. In this exhibition, there are artworks from artists of different national and cultural backgrounds with similar means of expression but are all unique in their own ways at the same time. I hope this pluralism in art and diversity in expression will bring contemporary art a more colourful future.

Student artists are now facing an international art intercommunion and artworks that were developed in different environments. Not only our students can promote their own ideas and understandings of art, but they can also form a stronger bond between artwork and its local environment.

The exhibition will be held in Department of Printmaking of HIFA in May 2017 and in Gordon Snelgrove Gallery of University of Saskatchewan in October 2017. Through these two events we hope to expand our cooperation further in the future. Canada herself is a multicultural and multiethnic country who wishes to learn from China, while we hope our artists in China who were under heavy influence of traditional culture could benefit from a truly diverse culture. The goal is to find traces of your own in an art piece from a different region and obtain a better understanding of local art works, as well as to better spread the local art style in this eye-opening event.

Curatorial Concept

This project aims to build a friendship between HIFA and University of Saskatchewan and commences new connections between Canadian and Chinese student printmakers. We ask that all printmaking students of both schools make submissions for this exciting multicultural exchange exhibition that will explore all printmaking media. In building new relationships between the two schools, we wanted give complete freedom to the participating artists to develop and present prints with their own themes and aesthetic approaches that best represent them to the other institute's faculty and students. To combine student's prints from both institutions in one exhibition, we would like to create a dynamic "conversation" between the two cultures and educational backgrounds to inspire each other.

Gallery Space

The Gordon Snelgrove Gallery is located in the Murray Building alongside the Department of Art and Art History, University of Saskatchewan. And is both a teaching facility and public gallery. It provides a venue for new work by artists and curators both within the department and operates as a site of direct exchange with the local arts ecology.
The gallery was named in honour of Gordon Snelgrove (1898–1966), a painter, faculty member and possibly the first art historian in Canada to receive a PhD in his discipline. The gallery also maintains and displays works by graduating students from the Department of Art and Art History Collection.