| ‘Tis the season, so be kind and seek out an artist, starving or otherwise, and buy an original piece of art that you can then happily give to a loved one.
Cultural workers, as the federal government refers to the more than 500,000 Canadians who work in creative-based industries, are among the lowest paid citizens in the country (do freelance writers qualify?) with incomes that hover around $30,000 per annum. This sad statistic is even lower for visual artists. At the bottom of the creative heap are crafts people, who earn on average $15,553 per year.
Quebec is the only province in Canada where average earnings of cultural workers equal the earnings of the overall population. So, for Alberta artists who don’t have any plans on moving to Quebec, December represents a once-per-year occasion to make some real money.
The galleries are open but so too are scores of artists’ homes in Calgary. Many local visual artists work out of their residences and are more than happy to hear from prospective clients who are ready to plunk down some cold hard cash. You can also check out gift fairs, farmers’ markets and local studios (such as the collection that exists in the basement of Art Central in downtown Calgary) to find locally produced art.
Even if you aren’t in the market to buy art, there's still plenty of opportunities to view it, beginning with the golden artifacts of the Sicán people in the exhibition Ancient Peru Unearthed at the Nickle Arts Museum on the University of Calgary campus.
Also speaking at Nickle Arts Museum on December 7 at 7:00 p.m. is curator Christine Sowiak, who will give a talk titled Peru Today: Locating Contemporary Art.
At the Art Gallery of Calgary is Garden, from Australia-born, Edmonton-based artist, Lyndal Osborne. Using natural materials to construct wondrous sculptures, Osborne says Garden "can represent all gardens that I have experienced both in my childhood and in my present life, for produce to be harvested each season, and as the actual material used for constructions in my art practice."
Also throughout the month of December at AGC are the paintings of Marie Lannoo in the exhibition See Nothing, See Everything.
At Triangle Gallery is the exhibition, Annemarie Schmid Esler: The Artist's Odyssey. Credited as one of the Alberta artists who helped move ceramics beyond vessels, Schmid Esler has spent the past three decades creating ceramic works that challenge the conventions of this medium.
Herringer Kiss Gallery hosts an exhibition of new works from Calgary artist and educator Marjan Eggermont until December 23. This series includes steel plates that have been marked by designs made with copper and silk-screening.
Newzones Gallery hosts the exhibition Kevin Sonmor: Recent Paintings and Angela Grossmann: Mirror, Mirror. Sonmor is an Alberta-born artist who was educated in Montreal and now exhibits his paintings across Canada. Grossmann is a well-regarded artist from the West Coast who first made her reputation with a group of rebels that included Douglas Coupland and bad-boy artist Attila Richard Lukacs. For the show at Newzones, Grossmann introduces Calgarians to her series Alpha Girls.
Paul Kuhn Gallery hosts an exhibition of new paintings by John Eisler. A collision of visual matter that coalesces on the canvas, Eisler’s paintings are an orgy of cultural elements leaving viewers to contemplate the state of our ever-changing world. The show opens on December 9 at 5 p.m.
And finally, from November 30 to December 8, to help celebrate disability arts awareness week is an exhibition of artwork in the atrium of City Hall from the folks at Studio C. A related event happens on December 4 from noon to 1:30 p.m., when a collaborative piece of art, created by more than 60 artists, will be presented to the City of Calgary.
Have a happy December – hug an artist! |
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