Red Deer Museum Blog - January, 2012
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Warm Reception for Uuturautiit: Cape Dorset Celebrates 50 Years of Printmaking
Uuturautiit Opening Reception
Last night visitors braved the cold to attend to provide a warm welcome at the Opening Reception for Uuturautiit: Cape Dorset Celebrates 50 Years of Printmaking. We would like to thank Mayor Flewwelling and Mr. Earl Dreeshan, MP, for remarks and everyone who attended.
Catering was provided by Boulevard Restaurant located in the Holiday Inn & Suites on Gasoline Alley, and featured a fantastic assortment of Arctic Char, Bison Wellingtons and more.
We would like to share a comment with you from Teresa Nueman, Community and Program Facilitator, Performing Arts, City of Red Deer who attended the event.
Uuturautiit Exhibition at the Red Deer Museum and Art Gallery
Before I do much of anything else this morning, I want to share with you all my excitement over the Uuturautiit: Cape Dorset Celebrates 50 Years of Printmaking Exhibition that has just opened at the Red Deer Museum and Art Gallery and runs until April 1. I was fortunate to attend the opening reception last evening and the exhibition is absolutely beautiful. This is a very important exhibition, organized and circulated by the National Gallery of Canada in collaboration with Dorset Fine Arts. It features the complete 1959 inaugural collection from this famous northern printmaking collective, re-assembled for the first time in five decades. Also featured are contemporary works from the still vibrant Cape Dorset printmaking group, some of who are original members, and many of who are second or third generation family members.
Red Deer is the only Alberta stop for this travelling exhibition. This was made possible by the recent renovations to the Museum and Art Gallery which brought our museum up to the standards necessary to host such an important show. It is an absolute must see. Making this time at the Museum even more exciting will be the addition of Cape Dorset prints from the MAG’s own collection, which will run January 28 to March 4. They have a wonderful line up of speakers, films and activities over the next two months to truly bring the experience of this wonderful Inuit art to life for our community. Visit www.reddeermuseum.com for more information.
I strongly urge you to put a visit to MAG on your calendar and take all your friends!
Teresa Neuman
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Canada’s North Comes South-National Exhibition Pays Tribute to Cape Dorset Artists
January 14- April 1, 2012
Red Deer (January 6, 2012)
Between January 14 and April 1, 2012, the MAG will host Uuturautiit: Cape Dorset Celebrates 50 Years of Printmaking, organized by the National Gallery of Canada in collaboration with Dorset Fine Arts.
This significant exhibition of some 80 works pairs the most recent and innovative work with the complete inaugural 1959 collection. Extremely rare, the latter has been re-assembled for the first time in five decades. Works represent a mix of elder, established and emerging artists. In 2009, Cape Dorset celebrated the Jubilee Anniversary of making prints, and the creation of the West Baffin Eskimo Co-operative Ltd. Kinngait, as it is locally known in Nunavut, continues to operate, providing an outlet for artists to create and market their art.
"Uuturauqtu", or "uuturautiit"in the plural (pronounced "oo-to-raw-tee"), is the Inuktitut term used for proofing a print, which is the crucial, experimental stage before the print is finalized. It means "to try different things". The artists of Cape Dorset have been combining their skill and artistry in a fascinating and prolific body of work for over 50 years, sharing their personal experiences and cultural knowledge through this vital art form.
From January 28 to March 4, 2012, the Museum will feature Cape Dorset: Selections from the
MAG Collection.Inuit communities and culture are key components in the Alberta Grade 2 curriculum. This exhibition will feature art and artefacts representative of the diversity of Canada’s North. Visitors will explore the geography, language, culture and resources of our northern neighbours.
Dr. Kathleen Swallow, a local collector in Inuit and Native Art donated her collection to the Red Deer and District Museum in 1983. Many Cape Dorset prints comprised a large portion of her donation. Lorna Johnson, Executive Director states, “The depth and quality of Inuit art in the MAG’s collection is of a national calibre. The MAG is very excited to present these works, many by the same artists represented in the National Gallery exhibition.”
During the run of these two exhibitions, the Museum will welcome Inuit artist-in-residence, Tim Pitsiulak to Red Deer. Pitsiulak, an artist from the Kinngait Studios and included in the National Gallery exhibition, will be working in the galleries between February 20th and March 2nd
For more information Contact : Karin Richardson-Mackenzie, Development and Marketing, 403-309-8446
Email: karin.richardsonmackenzie@reddeer.ca