photo by Alastair MacKay. Author Nino Ricci reads from The Origin of Species, winner of the Governor General's Award for Fiction.	photo by Alastair MacKay. Performance artist Rebecca Belmore during the Sense of Place tour at the Thunder Bay Art Gallery

photo by Alastair MacKay. Alistair MacLeod reads from his short story "The Boat."

Photos by Alastair MacKay

The Thunder Bay Art Gallery audience was silent as acclaimed Canadian author Alistair MacLeod, in his soft lilting voice, read from his short story “The Boat,” in amongst the pieces of the touring Sense of Place printmakers exhibition. The award-winning MacLeod, author of two short story collections and the critically acclaimed 1999 novel No Great Mischief, was here along with fellow writer Nino Ricci and internationally known performance artist Rebecca Belmore.

The powerful sense of place is at play in the work of all three artists. Ricci, winner of the Governor General’s Award for Fiction twice, opened the night with a reading (off his iPad!) from The Origin of Species, taking us back to the 80s and the place we all know as The Galapagos. Originally from nearby Upsala in northwestern Ontario, Belmore shared a couple of her videos documenting her live performances which she referred to as works made in a very “particular” place. 2008s Making Always War was performed on the UBC campus in response to the dead soldier count climbing to 100 in Afghanistan. Victorious was created during Hive 2, a theatre festival in Vancouver, just days after Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s official residential schools apology.

MacLeod, considered by many to be one of Canada’s greatest prose writers, ended the formal part of the evening with his reading from his compelling short story “The Boat,” which creates a strong sense of place and the emotions tied to the harsh realities of a fishing family in Cape Breton. When Ricci responded during the Q+A as to why small towns work so well in fiction, he mentioned that he thinks an “intimate sense of place” can be created when we travel back to the small places, villages and towns of our roots. And during this evening, thanks to the artists sharing their works, an intimate sense of place was created for a few hours, with memories lingering for much longer.

Sense of Place is currently showing at the Thunder Bay Art Gallery until February 26, organized and circulated by the Windsor Printmaker’s Forum. www.tbag.ca

Sense of Place opened in Thunder Bay February 13, 2012 with an artist talk by local printmaker Brian Holden

Sudbury Printmaker, Brian Holden explains a printmaking process.	Audience assembled to hear artist talk from area Printmaker Brian Holden.

All images ©Alastair MacKay
The Sense of Place Exhibition opened at the Thunder Bay Art Gallery with a talk by local printmaker, Brian Holden.

The Sense of Place Exhibition will be on view at the Thunder Bay Art Gallery from January 13th to February 26th, 2012.

The Ontario Trillium Foundation is an agency of the Government of Ontario

WINDSOR
PRINTMAKER’S
FORUM
presents the annual

Student Juried Exhibition

CALL FOR ENTRY
SUBMISSION DEADLINE
MARCH 21, 2012

ELIGIBILITY
Submissions are open to all high school students in Windsor, Essex and Kent County.  Eligible work must be an original creation produced within the 2011-2012 school year.

MEDIA SPECIFICATIONS
All works submitted must be unframed.  All works on paper will be accepted including digital, painting, drawings, photography, book works, 3 dimensional and all print media.

Size of 2 dimensional work is limited to 20” x 24”, three dimensional work is limited to 2 cubic feet.

A maximum of 3 works per student is allowed.

MEMBERSHIP
To encourage all schools to participate in the Works on Paper student exhibition, WPF is waiving exhibition fees.  However, to help support us in our costs for this event, please consider becoming a member of our artist-run studio.  Membership for a school entitles your art students to 3 weeks of exhibition time and also allows up to 5 students to attend workshops, taught by professional artists, at a 10% discount.

SALES
All works must be for sale.  Student is responsible for pricing.  Work not priced will not be accepted.  All sales will be handled by WPF on a 30% commission.

PRIZES
Prizes will be awarded for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place.

LIABILITY & CONDITIONS
Care will be taken in handling all entries; however WPF will not assume responsibility for loss or damage during installation.  All works must be retained for the duration of the exhibition.  Participants agree to allow WPF to reproduce their work for promotional and educational purposes.  A representative from each school will be responsible for delivering and picking up the artwork.

Entry form:

Entry Deadline
March 21, 2012
Submissions must be received at WPF between 10am – 5pm

Opening Reception and Awards
April 1, 2012 at 2pm

Exhibition Closes
May 2, 2012