V I S UA L / MU L T IM E DIA
When I was fresh out of grad school and just starting out in a professional career in the arts, one of the most important things that propelled me along was a good dose of competitiveness with peers. My early successes were really forged out of trying to keep up with my grad school buddy Andrew Wright. He helped me with my MFA show and a year later I helped him with his. He got an art residency at the Banff Centre, and then I would set out to do the same. I’d get a solo exhibition in Toronto and he’d set out to do the same… and on it went. You don’t get anywhere without people in your corner, helping to push you along and encourage the drive it takes to get through all the rejections that inevitably comes with a career in the arts. Andrew and I are both professors now, I’m at the University of Regina and he’s at the University of Ottawa. I think we both owe each other a debt of gratitude for the fires we lit under each other’s tails in those early years. It’s a cliché in the arts to say it’s all about community, but the truth of the matter is that no one really ever makes it on their own. You make your team and you go for it together.
Rachelle Viader Knowles
community, community, community. share, share, share. be generous to colleagues, work with and for them. you are every colleague they have and they are every colleague you have. nicely you and they all fit together in a huge juicy ball of community. kick butt, invent like crazy, don't take no from anyone – even yourself. importantly, you can do many, many, many things per day, per week, per month and never get tired – the more you do, the less exhausted you become, the more energy you have, the more ideas and passion you have, the more enabled you and your pals become, the more risks you may take, the more open in heart, head and hand you may become. goodly.
Associate Professor, Head and Graduate Coordinator at the University of Regina, Department of Visual Arts
Mary Scott
Artist and writer who lives in Calgary, AB
Artists need to find creative means for matching their inner needs with the needs of their society in a way that is mutually satisfying and challenging.
Over the years I have mentored hundreds of students who wanted to become professional artists, curators, critics, etc. Several have become very successful in their field of choice. What these people all have in common is that they are extremely curious and aware of the world they want to break into. Maintaining one’s curiosity is an obvious tip. Reading, going to shows, seeing what others are making, writing, organizing, etc., is important in order to stay current. But reading beyond the boundaries of contemporary art is also crucial. This means plugging into philosophical thought, gaining a historical perspective on art, understanding political and ecological debates, or delving into other fields that attract attention or foster debate in our society, and that render a practice relevant to the community at a given time in a given place. Be aware: understand the rules used by granting agencies and the public art adjudication system, understand how the art market functions, or what journal submission procedures are. This is really about being judicious in making choices about what to put out there, who to collaborate with, and how to present one’s work. Knowing the rules always makes for a better player. Successful artists, curators and critics intuitively know all this. They relentlessly feed and grow their knowledge base and establish themselves astutely into the art world.
Annie Gérin
Department Chair and Professor, Université du Québec à Montréal, Department of Art History
arts. culture. calgary. you
stephen winter 2014
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