Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Gallery 101 – Every Gallery Needs Walls

We all know about the importance of non-profit artist-run centers in the contemporary art scene. Gallery 101 (together with the Enriched Bread Artists (EBA) I would say) is one of the most important of these locations in Ottawa, with its dedication to professional presentation and circulation of visual and media art. G101 organizes a broad range of solo and curated group exhibitions of Canadian and international contemporary artists every year, like e.g. the amazing show by Daniel Corbeil.

In its 30 years history (!) the gallery has become an integral part of the city’s cultural life. Not only visual artists, but also poets, writers, curators, and musicians were involved in exhibitions, performances and events. Many of them were merging artists who have become internationally known. Unfortunately, G101has been forced to move approximately every 5 years due to gentrification.

That’s a lot – and it has an impact on the continuity of the artists’ projects and their reception. Therefore the gallery needs a permanent, stable location. “We are also looking to increase our size to address community and membership needs for exhibition, studio and workshop space, to create a resource/research room, provide space for public readings of poetry and literature, experimental music, and gallery space for local constituents.” [from the competitions web site, see below] They would like to purchase a building and have already raised $30,000 for a down payment – but that’s just a drop in the bucket with the real estate market here in Ottawa.

To increase the funds, G101 takes part at the Aviva Community Fund Competition. You can vote for the project here:

http://www.avivacommunityfund.org/ideas/acf12110

The aim: to get a funding of $100K – 150K! That would be great – good luck! I keep my fingers crossed!

http://www.g101.ca/

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