Zhang Song Tao : A Corner

AKA Artist Run Centre • Saskatoon • February 2017

Statement

AKA will be the host for Chinese artist Zhang Song Tao for a residency organized by Kyuubi Culture curator Xiao Han and the Department of Art and Art History at the University of Saskatchewan. Zhang will be working in AKA and PAVED's Event space with corresponding public events to be announced.

Artist Biography

Zhang Song Tao graduated from Hubei Institute of Fine Arts with a Bachelor Degree in 1993 and subsequently obtained a Master Degree in 2002. He is currently the director at the Sculpture Department of Hubei Institute of Fine Arts, and an Adjunct Professor at Department of Art and Art History at University of Saskatchewan. Zhang is also actively involved in the promotion of sculpture art and is a director of China Sculpture Institute. Zhang’s work been exhibited in more than 30 art events in China and abroad, including Belgium and South Korea.

Curatorial Concept

As the very first Chinese art exhibition curated by Kyuubi Culture and exhibited in Saskatoon, A Corner Marks Kyuubi Culture’s establishment as a cultural exchange platform between China and Canada. Zhang Song Tao, one of the esteemed sculptors in China, has brought along a brand new artistic experience to AKA Artist-Run Centre. AKA Artist-Run Centre provided excellent gallery space for this exhibition, it also shortened the distance between the artist and the audience. AKA is situated at the centre of 20th Street: Saskatoon’s former China Town. Even to the present day, this district still retains the cultural atmosphere unique to early Chinese immigrants. This exhibition is not merely a consolidation between the artwork and gallery space, but one of Kyuubi Culture’ s contribution to the integration of contemporary art into the local community culture. After this visit, Zhang Song Tao was appointed as an Adjunct Professor at the Department of Art and Art History at U of S.

Gallery Space

Founded in 1971 by Dorothy Boerma, Lorna Russell, Ann Newdigate, Jo Claire, Betty Meyers and others, The Shoestring Gallery was among the first in Saskatchewan to prioritize exhibitions representative of the province’s Indigenous and Ukrainian communities. In 1982, the gallery was accepted as a member of the Association of National Non-Profit Artists’ Centres, changing its name to Also Known As (AKA) Gallery.