COMING UP— Urban Infill: Art in the Core 8 is March 29-April 1. The gala opening is at the DefSup Art Gallery, 250 Park Ave, in downtown Thunder Bay from 7-10 p.m. (EST) Saturday, March 29. This year there are 18 art projects featuring work by 350 artists in 15 different venues. Donations are appreciated. The visual art exhibitions in the downtown continue through April 1. On Saturday, you can pick up your art map at DefSup and follow tour guides, dressed in
“We don’t have a lot of boundaries—we can mix things up quite a bit,” Karasiewicz said. “Our first audience is the artist. We’re not here to sell their art. We’re here to help the artist develop and promote their work. We want to see contemporary work, maybe not so saleable.” Artists are paid to exhibit, giving them a boost. The gallery does not sell the art itself. If patrons want to purchase a piece, they can talk directly to the artist, or the gallery will pass along contact information.
bright-colored raincoats, who will amuse and entertain you as you explore the Urban Infill events downtown. The commercial art galleries will have special exhibits, too, and local businesses will feature wearable art performances in their windows. There will also be music and food vendors. For more information, see www.definitelysuperior. com or visit their Facebook page. Or call 807344-3814.
MIXING IT UP
DefSup’s multifaceted approach to art also makes it a surprisingly wide-reaching community resource. Here are a few things they do: • visual art exhibits • workshops and lectures
And the word “artist” includes any media: dance, music, theater, the literary arts, light shows, multi-media shows…as well as the visual arts.
• artist’s film screenings
Since the gallery itself has only 3,000 square feet, about 45 percent of the programming is held off-site, whether in store fronts, vacant buildings, cooperating businesses or the streets.
• performance art & interdisciplinary art
Artist-run centers were funded by the Canada Council for the Arts in the 1960s in response to the need for emerging artists to have access to gallery space as well as opportunities to work together in non-traditional ways. Art museums or public galleries, as they’re often called in Canada, require that artists have a recognized body of work before they’ll offer them exhibit space. This is difficult for emerging artists who are in the process of developing that work, Terpstra and Karasiewicz said. The idea for artist-run centers quickly took off, and today, there are 175 centers in Canada. They receive support from the
Art brings li and life fe people. — brings Renée Ter pstra
• art installations • off-site public artworks and interventions • contemporary dance, music and experimental sound presentations • mentorship and education of youth • literary events and book publishing including zines, poetry and creative writing.
Canada Council for the Arts as well as provincial art councils and, often, the cities where the art centers are located. In 1988, a group of artists in Thunder Bay took advantage of this new opportunity, Terpstra said, to found the Definitely Superior Art Gallery. “The founders had a lot of work they wanted to present,” she said, but no public gallery would consider it. One of DefSup’s founding members, aboriginal artist Rebecca
The staff at the Definitely Superior Art Gallery includes Renée Terpstra, development/ administrator, left; Lora Northway, youth/community outreach coordinator and David Karasiewicz, gallery director. The gallery also draws on a strong volunteer base, including its board of directors. | STORM CARROLL Belmore, for example, used the new gallery space to present her protest performance art pieces. “They brought national and international attention, and she won the Governor General’s Award,” Terpstra said. DefSup has not retreated from that sparkling debut. In fact, this year, DefSup was
The gallery has three different exhibit spaces and presents up to 50 exhibitions, events and activities in their spaces as well as in the Waterfront District each year. | DEFSUP
awarded the Ontario Premiere’s Award for Excellence in the Arts. The award is the largest financial arts award in Canada at $50,000, Karasiewicz said. The competition for the provincial award was stiff. Ontario, the largest province, has the highest number of art centers in the country as well as the DEFSUP cont. on page 25
Wall Mural, Mac’s Convenience Store on Simpson St. | DEFSUP NORTHERN WILDS
MARCH: 2014
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