Welcome to Palimpsest: the not~ so ~blank slate
This show will run from Friday, August 2nd, 2024, to Sunday, September 29th, 2024.
Show Opening Event: August 10th, 2024, from 2-4 pm.
Please read our general submission guidelines. Please see our website for submission guidelines.
SHOW INTENTIONS:
Throughout history, war and dominant cultures have attempted to silence ‘the other’s’ voice. Books have been burned, hard drives wiped, and sacred manuscripts written over, leaving only fragments of messages and meaning. At the same time, humankind valiantly attempts to preserve traces of culture and history despite an overwhelming tide of new information that overwrites old information.
From the ever-changing layers of artworks that continue to evolve as they are impacted by the environment, to people’s interventions leaving only traces of history, we also ask the question: what was lost and what can be found in the traces that have been left behind?
This erasure of the past may have either a beneficial or a negative impact. We are looking for artwork that is interested in exploring the connections between the past and present. Artwork with a sense of history, and an exploration of layers of meaning.
The theme of the exhibition is an opportunity to question our relationships; with ourselves, each other, the animal kingdom, and the planet, and explore how those relationships are constantly being written over, leaving only traces of the past. What is left for the curious are faint threads to follow and unravel.
Palimpsest: the not~so~blank slate invites artists to submit work that reflects traces of the past in their own work, whether it be through mark-making, repurposing, erasure, patinas, and layers to the broader questions about history, loss of culture and voice.
We invite you to add your voice and narrative to those of fellow artists, exploring the richness of culture, gender, race, or spirituality that continues to survive despite attempts at erasure or censorship, and to contribute to a larger conversation on the walls of our gallery.
All work will be juried by an independent juror: Regan Rasmussen. Regan is a contemporary artist whose process is informed by the phenomenology of living experience and human interactions. She explores themes and narratives through drawing, ceramics, printmaking, and installation. Regan holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in studio and visual arts-based research from the University of Saskatchewan, the University of Manitoba, and the University of Victoria.
Our goal for 2024 is to enhance our visual art exhibits by asking our artists to suggest song pairings that inspired their work or speak to it in some way. We create the playlists on YouTube and make them available to the public via a link on our website. We are interested in listening to the playlist our artists choose of music which has influenced and inspired their investigation into the theme of ‘Palimpsest: the not ~so ~blank slate’. Your participation in the music selection activity is optional and the juror will not see your choice describe why you chose it.