Participating Artists Tour Schedule Curators' Statement: At the beginning of March, 2005, we packed a ten year old minivan with 1500 booklets, almost 200 t-shirts, and our backpacks full of clothes, and embarked on the somewhat obtusely named McCleave Gallery of Fine Art Cross-Canada Suitcase Gallery Tour. Over the next four months, we spent a week in fourteen different cities accross the country, gave curators' talks in a handful more, and passed through countless rural and urban spaces. In every city where we stopped for a week, a local artist had created an installation in a suitcase, which we carried with us during business hours, displaying it to the public on a 'by chance or appointment basis'. The suitcases that we accumulated accross the country were displayed in a huge variety of settings, some of which were previously art-oriented, like artist-run centres and children's art programs, and some of which were not, like a Vancouver law-firm, a bar in Lethbridge, or a Laundromat in Halifax. We now find ourselves in Dawson City, YT, with radically altered perceptions about contemporary Canadian art, and sixteen suitcases full of art which we have the challenge of presenting in a gallery setting in a way that respects the desire for the innovative and anti-authoritarian curatorial practices that motivated the project.
	...to visit our blog documenting the tour.
The McCleave Gallery of Fine Art was first started in the sumer of 2002 in Halifax, NS shortly after the collapse of the Nova Scotia Arts Council, ironically leaving the Nova Scotia Department of Tourism and Culture to be the only provincial funding source for a place that is becoming increasingly dependant on the tourism industry. Much like the preceeding mobile galleries that had been frequently erupting out of Halifax since the early 1990s, it seemed appropriately resourceful and practical to use a 1960's suitcasethat was found on the side of the road to house a new exhibition space for emerging artists at a time where the support for emerging Haligonian artists was fragile and scarce. The suitcase, which we have since discovered is of an incredibly generic mass-produced variety, was labeled 'McCleave' in red dymo-tape near the handle of the suitcase. Rendering this name as the previous owner of the suitcase, it was decided that it would be appropriate to name the newly-created gallery after its accidental donor. Though the gallery has operated for two years as a temporary, regional service in Halifax and in Guelph previous to the beginning of the tour, this year's exhibition season took the form of a more nomadic exhibition space, being both the gallery's most ambitious project as well as our first personal journey across Canada. Being literally immersed in this project on a very personal level with first-hand experience gave us the opportunity to connect with both exhibiting and viewing Canadian artwork while giving the inperial seeming theme of 'trade and exchange' a new omni-directional perspective on current issues such as colonialism, immigration, nomadic living, and tourism to name only a few. Despite what many people who we've met have thought, suitcase art is not a new deal. From Dada to Fluxis to Germaine koh, the suitcase has served artists as a perfect vehicle for extra-institutional art interventions, by combining practical, portable and rich symbolic value. Portable exhibition spaces are also incredibly widely used, as documented by Hannah Jickling in her online archive 'There's a New Beard in Town', springing up as a logical solution to the lack of alternative exhibition spaces experienced by artists accross the country. However, one way in which we do believe that Cross-Canada tour was different from most curatorial projects, portable or otherwise, is in the intense involvement that it demanded from us on a personal level. Being able to personally connect with almost every individual viewer and each participating artist is something that can be difficult ot do for most stationary museums and galleries. The McCleave suitcase is a workplace that is intensely personal, and the tour has been an incredible emotional and intellectual experience that has become inescapably woven into the fabric of our daily lives. Just following graduation seems lioke the perfect time to have done this project, because despite an almost complete lack of external funding, it has made us less disillusioned about art production in Canada. After spending experiencing art mostly in a university setting, where an obsession with rarefication can stunt creativity and limit possibilities, it was totally inspiring to come in contact with so many communities and individuals whose approaches towards artistic practices were both widely varied and incredibly similar. On the whole, these experiences have helped us shift to a more diffuse, collective-based mindset that is both refreshing and relaxing. Adair Rounthwaite and Michael McCormack Co-directors/curators/custodians The McCleave Gallery of Fine Art (for the ODD gallery exhibition booklet, September 2005)     Tour Schedule: Individual Suitcase Exhibitions: Jeanne Ju (Halifax, NS) Pennies Wiithout Borders (2005) Halifax ,NS - Feb 21st – March 4th, 2005 Charlottetown, PE – March 5th – 12th, 2005 Opening reception: 6-8pm, Mon. Feb. 28th, at Metro Laundry Services (the pink and white striped laundrymat, 2347 Agricola St.) Mary Carr-Chaisson (Charlottetown, PE) Untitled (2005) Charlottetown, PE – Feb, 26th – March 12th, 2005. Alma, QC – March 15th – 21st, 2005. Opening reception: 1-3pm, Sat. March 5th, at the Showcase Art Sales and Rental Division of the Confederation Centre of the Arts. Bianka Robitaille (Alma, QC) Espace fixe (2005) Alma, QC – March 8th – 21st, 2005. Ste. Thérèse, QC – March 23rd – 29th, 2005. Opening reception: 5-7pm, March 15th, at L'Atelier PRAXIS (Sainte- Thérèse, QC) Les Valises (2000, 2002, 2004) Ste. Thérèse, QC – March 16th – 29th, 2005. Montréal, QC – March 30th – April 5th, 2005. Opening reception: TBA Kit Malo (Montréal, QC) Louis Cyr’s Petri dish/ la boîte de Pétri de Louis Cyr (2005) Montréal, QC – March 23rd – April 5th, 2005. Toronto, ON - April 8th – 14th, 2005. Opening reception: March 31st at the Bread Factory on rue St. Remi. Z’otz* collective (Toronto, ON) The Nomad Pencil Sessions (2005) Toronto, ON - April 1st – 14th, 2005. Guelph, ON – April 15th – 21st, 2005. Opening reception: TBA Pearl van Geest (Guelph, ON) Bon Voyage (2005) Guelph, ON – April 8th – 21st, 2005. Waterloo, ON – April 22nd – 28th, 2005. Opening reception: TBA Natalie Reis (Waterloo, ON) Sans Étre (2005) Waterloo, ON – April 15th – 28th, 2005. Regina, SK – May 10th – 16th, 2005. Opening reception: TBA The Office Art Office (OAO) (Regina, SK) OAO Portable Promotion Sample Kit (2005) Regina, SK – May 3rd – 16th, 2005. Lethbridge, AB – May 18th – 24th, 2005. Opening reception: May 9th, conference at 7pm at the Regina Public Library Theatre followed by a reception at the Office Art Office (#301 2505 11th Ave, Regina) Kelly Andres (Lethbridge, AB) Stylette (2005) Lethbridge, AB – May 11th – 24th, 2005. Banff, AB - May 26th – June 1st, 2005. Opening reception: TBA Jen Hutton (Banff, AB) Manual (beta version) (2005) Banff, AB – May 19th – June 1st, 2005. Vancouver, BC – June 3rd – 9th, 2005. Opening reception: TBA Femke van Delft (Vancouver, BC) laptopdancing@anarcheology (1998) Vancouver, BC – May 27th – June 9th, 2005. Victoria, BC – June 12th – 18th, 2005. Opening reception: TBA Kelly Jazvac (Victoria, BC) Knock-Off Walls (2005) Victoria, BC – June 5th – 18th, 2005. Dawson City, YT – June 23rd – 29th, 2005. Opening reception: TBA Valerie Salez (Dawson City, YK) Untitled (2004) Dawson City, YK – June 16th – 29th, 2005. Opening reception: TBA Group suitcase exhibitions: April 6th - suitcase presentation and one night group show at Modern Fuel Gallery. Kingston, ON. April 23rd - 29th - Group exhibition at Artery Gallery in Kitchener, ON. May 9th – 16th – Panel Discussion at the OAO board room and portable group suitcase exhibition, courtesy of the OAO. Regina, SK. May 25th - 29th - Group show and curator's talk at the Other Gallery in the Banff Centre for the Arts (Banff, AB). Jun. 11th – 18th – Group suitcase exhibition at the Ministry of Casual Living. Victoria, BC. Sept. 22nd – October 29th – Group suitcase show and curators talk at the ODD Gallery. Dawson City, YT. Other participating venues were: The Khyber Café (Halifax, NS), Metro Laundry Services (Halifax, NS), The Confederation Centre for the Arts (Charlottetown, PE), Struts Gallery (Sackville, NB), IQ L'atelier (Alma, PQ), PRAXIS art actuel (Ste. Thérèse, PQ), VAV Gallery (Montréal, PQ), The Bread Factory (Montréal, PQ), articule (Montréal, PQ), Modern Fuel Gallery (Kingston, ON), Tequila Bookworm (Toronto, ON), Home For Creative Opportunity (Toronto, ON), SKETCH (Toronto, ON), OCAD (Toronto, ON), Pearl van Geest's house (Guelph, ON), the Guelph Farmer's Market (Guelph, ON), Artery Gallery (Kitchener, ON), The Regina Public Library (Regina, SK), The Office Art Office (Regina, SK), The Tongue and Groove (Lethbridge, AB), The University of Lethbridge (Lethbridge, AB), The Other Gallery (Banff, AB), The Britania Library (Vancouver, BC), The Britannia Public School (Vancouver, BC), The Ministry of Casual Living (Victoria, BC), KIAC kids art camp (Dawson City, YT), The Yukon Riverside Art Festival (Dawson City, YT),The ODD Gallery (Dawson City, YT). Participating Artists: Jeanne Ju (Halifax, NS) Pennies Without Borders (2005) Born in Pointe-Claire, Quebec, Jeanne Ju holds a B.Sc. in Biology from Dalhousie University, and a BFA from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, and has exhibited in Halifax, Toronto, and New York. Ju will fill a suitcase with Canadian and American pennies, whose numbers will be proportioned daily according to the current exchange rate. Through the creation of this visual metaphor, Pennies Without Borders aims to examine monetary exchange and its political implications for USA-Canada relations. Click here to view Jeanne Ju's website. Mary Carr-Chaisson (Charlottetown, PE) Untitled (2005) Mary Carr-Chaisson completed her BFA at Mount Allison University, and has exhibited in Toronto, Ottawa, and Taipei, Taiwan. Carr-Chaisson’s work for the McCleave suitcase tour will consist of a selection of about photographs of various travel-related locations around PEI, such as the sea and the Confederation Bridge. Taken with a pin-hole camera, the images are both evocative of typical tourist photography and empty of human figures, highlighting the way in which commercial tourism simultaneously erases and commodifies local history. Bianka Robitaille (Alma, PQ) Espace fixe (2005) Bianka Robitaille has completed her Masters at the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, and is currently the coordinator of IQ L’ATELIER in Alma, PQ. She has exhibited all over the province of Québec working with installation, sculpture, and photography. For her suitcase exhibition titled Espace fixe, Robitaille will place a curved, reflective surface inside the suitcase. The viewer will be permitted to look in the mirror, and to have a photo of the distorted reflection taken by the carrier of the suitcase. Through reworking the motif of the curved mirror that has reappeared throughout western art history, Robitaille deals with the mediation of the image by technology in both a historical and a contemporary context. Click here for more info on Bianka Robitaille PRAXIS (Sainte- Thérèse, PQ) Les Valises (2000, 2002, 2004) Artists: Valise 2000: Ariane Dubois, Francine Migner, Normand Forget, Hélène Lemyre, Suzanne Ferland L., Lise Létourneau, Marie-Anick Larochelle, Mélissa Corbeil et Marie-Andrée Côté Valise 2002: Christine Dufour, Michel Catudal, Paule Lasnier, Monique Auger, Diane Brodeur, Kittie Bruneau, Manon Sabourin, Fabien Bélanger et René Derouin Valise 2004: Nathalie Levasseur, Jacques Benoît, Lucie Desrosiers, Steve Lévesque, Josée Fafard, Madeleine David-Chagnon, Nancy Bourassa, Geneviève Mercure, Andrew Chartier Since the 1982, PRAXIS art actuel has served the Laurentian region as an artist-run centre based in Sainte-Thérèse, Québec. Favoring approaches that concern the interactions and relations between human beings and their environment, PRAXIS art actuel has remained an integral part of the Laurentian community with a variety of programs including exhibitions, performances, workshops, symposiums, conferences and publications. PRAXIS is currently coordinated by Robert Cloutier. In 2000, 2002, and 2004, PRAXIS has organized a series of suitcase works, hosting a collaborative installation process where the suitcase itself was divided into 9 compartments. The installation began with one artist filling one compartment, and then passed onto the next artist to fill following compartment until the suitcase was completely filled, creating a record of artistic community and collaboration. Click here to view the PRAXIS website. Kit Malo (Montréal, PQ) Louis Cyr's Petri Dish/ la boîte de Pétri de Louis Cyr (2005) Originally from Sarnia, Ontario, Kit Malo has recently returned from the Raumars artist in residence program in the Satakunta region in Finland, and lives in Montreal, working mainly with drawing painting and printmaking. In Louis Cyr’s Petri dish/ la boîte de Pétri de Louis Cyr Kit will inhabit the gallery space with a microorganism world using pen and ink drawings and prints. As the exhibition progresses, the structure of the microorganism will change and evolve within the setting of the suitcase, creating an internal narrative that becomes increasingly more complex. The ‘storyline’ of the piece will make reference to St. Henri, a locale in Montréal that is changing rapidly due to the gentrification of the city’s downtown core. Click here to find Kit Malo's website. Z’otz* collective (Toronto, ON) The Nomad Pencil Sessions (2005) Born from one drawing made on a paper plate by three hands, the Z’otz* collective consists of artists Nahum Flores, Erik Jerezano, and Ilyana Martinez. Currently they are based in Toronto where they meet weekly to collaborate on multi-media works, which include drawing, painting, collage, portable sculpture and written word. For the suitcase tour, the Z’otz* collective will construct a series of portable art pieces titled The Nomad Pencil Sessions, made of many small light-weight sheets of paper that can be folded into the suitcase. Their images explore issues of immigrant experience related to themes of mapping, travel, translation, artifacts, and urban life. Pearl van Geest (Guelph, ON) Bon Voyage: a farewell for broken hearts (2005) Pearl van Geest degrees from various universities including the University of Toronto, the University of Guelph, and OCAD, and has her work in the collections of the Macdonald Stewart Art Centre in Guelph, and the Art Bank at the Canada Council for the Arts. For the cross-Canada tour, Van Geest will fill the suitcase with packaged band-aids that are accompanied with the phrase 'leave as many kissed band-aids as you can, and take as many as you need'. The work will consist of an ongoing collaborative performance in which the gallery attendants will give the kissed band-aids away after sealing them with a gel medium. The kissed band-aids will be simultaneously collected and dispersed throughout the tour. Click here to view Pearl van Geest's website. Natalie Reis (Waterloo, ON) Sans Être (2005) Natalie Reis is currently completing her MFA at the University of Waterloo, and has taught printmaking and lithography both at Concordia University and the University of Waterloo. Reis’s collection of figurative prints will occupy her suitcase in the format of a book. Her work reflects a preoccupation with dualism, expressed in images of coupled or twined figures in the midst of actions that probe notions of interiority/exteriority and subject formation, which are linked to psychoanalytic theory. Overall, the focus of her work is to investigate stereotypical depictions of the individual and her or his alienation within a complex society. Click here to view Natalie Reis' website. OAO - Office Art Office (Regina, SK) OAO Portable Promotion Sample Kit (2005) The Office Art Office is an artists’ collective based in Regina, focused on the process and concept of the production and sale of artwork. The collective consists of Rob Bos, Tyler Banadyga, Stacey Fayant, Blair Fornwald Jason Hipfner, Andra Jurzyniec, and Carolyn Pihach, who all take turns during scheduled time slots as they collaborate on paintings in their office in a downtown office building. The OAO will fill its suitcase with photographs of work, actual paintings, inter office memos, commission contracts, sales contracts, and other such forms of self promotion. In OAO Portable Promotion Sample Kit, the gallery attendant will perform as a ‘traveling salesman’, promoting the work of the OAO at the same time as exposing the documents of the process of promotion. The OAO members have agreed to each carry a suitcase acquired on the tour for the week that the McCleave gallery arrives from 9am-5pm, meaning that all suitcase works that are involved in the tour at that time will be shown on a ‘by chance or appointment’ basis. Kelly Andres (Lethbridge, AB) Stylette (2005) Kelly Andres is an undergrad student at the University of Lethbridge who uses vintage technology and found appliances salvaged from yard sales and thrift stores to create multi-media and sound installations that deal with issues of communication. Andres’ work Stylette explores issues of technological “obsolete-ism” as a way of approaching the dematerialization of the body in contemporary feminist theory. Stylette consists of an old travel “GE Stylette” hairdryer transformed into an audio piece that can be directly experienced by the viewer. The audio element involving sounds of conversation and stereotypically feminine socializing will be accessible to the viewer/listener when they put the hair “bonnet” tube near their ear and turn the power dial to “on”. Jen Hutton (Banff, AB) Manual (beta version) (2005) Jen Hutton has recently completed her Studio Arts degree at the University of Guelph and now lives in Banff, Alberta, where she works at the Banff Centre for the arts. Her work has been exhibited in Guelph and in other locations in Ontario and across Canada, mostly in the form of site-specific installation. Hutton’s work Manual (beta version) consists of a tent, which will occupy the suitcase, addressing issues of tourism, nomadic living, and housing crises. The tent will be accompanied with an instructional manual with step-by-step instructions, showing the viewer how the assemble the tent. The work is a site-specific response to Banff, with its rapidly fluctuating and transient population. Femke van Delft (Vancouver, BC) laptopdancing@an.archeology (1998) Femke van Delft been creating large-scale installation art and performance pieces for the past 10 years, and won the People’s Choice Award at the BC contemporary art biennale in 2001. Van Delft’s suitcase work entitled laptopdancing@anarcheology, was inspired by the fact that “sex” is the most commonly used search word on the internet. Inside the antique suitcase is a vintage men’s shirt, a miniature book of Shakespeare, and a 1980’s keyboard with the letter keys arranged to read ‘e me baby e me hard’. The work examines the sex trade in a historical perspective, questioning the implications of its contemporary manifestations in virtual reality. click here to view van Delft's exhibition titled "Viewpoint Ahead". Kelly Jazvac (Victoria, BC) Knock-Off Walls (2005) Kelly Jazvac received her BAH in Studio Art from the University of Guelph, and is currently attending the MFA program at the University of Victoria. Jazvac’s suitcase project Knock off Walls will involve the peddling of low-quality imitation Jeff Wall photographs out of a shady-looking, black leather briefcase. The photographs themselves will be Polaroids of small dioramas set up to mimic Wall’s compositions. The resulting images will be overtly fake, but still easily recognizable as Jeff Wall impersonations. Knock off Walls will be a playful look at the status of an ‘art-star’, while cross-examining knock-off culture, perceptions of value and a specific aesthetic that prevails on Canada’s west coast. Click here to view Kelly Jazvac's homepage. Valerie Salez (Dawson City, YK) Untitled (2004) Valarie Salez graduated from NSCAD in 2002 and is now living in Dawson City, after completing an artist-in-residence program at the Klondike Institute of Art and Culture. She has recently been working on creating “cross-sections” or “core samples” of cultures and eras using fabric and textiles that of various patterns and designs. Her work for the suitcase tour is a “cross-section” of Dawson City, which comprises samples of fabric that have a relationship or reference to various groups and communities in the regions. The piece also contains a small music box holing more textile samples, acting as a “suitcase” within the suitcase.