Group of Seven Roadshow: Art and Public Culture 1920 - 2005
Symposium October 20-22, 2005
Art Gallery of Ontario, Jackman Hall & University of Toronto Art Centre,
Toronto ON

Registration
Full Symposium  OAAG Members $95   General $125
Or
Keynote Address only Thursday, October 20, 2005 $10
One Day Attendance Friday, October 21, 2005          $85
One Day Attendance Saturday, October 22, 2005     $40

For more information or to register please contact Suzanne  
Carte-Blanchenot at 416 598 0714
or go to the official symposium website  
http://www.oaag.org/groupofseven/symposium

This three-day symposium for educators, curators, artists and fans will  
explore the Group of Seven’s role in securing a place for art in  
Canadian public culture. From Arthur Lismer's leading work in arts  
education to the establishment of public galleries across the country,  
the Group of Seven defined and enriched notions of Canadian identity.  
The symposium will bring G7 educators, historians and fans together for  
a multi-disciplinary round-up addressing the Group’s ideas about art in  
the public realm -- then and now.

The Group of Seven Project 19202005 celebrates the 85th anniversary of  
the first art exhibition of paintings by the Group of Seven in 1920,  
and has been organized in collaboration by 29 public art galleries,  
including the Art Gallery of Ontario, with the assistance of the  
Ontario Association of Art Galleries.

Thursday, October 20, 2005
Art Gallery of Ontario, Jackman Hall
317 Dundas Street West, Toronto

7: 00 pm
Keynote Address
Dennis Reid, Director of Collections and Research, Senior Curator of  
Canadian Art, Art Gallery of Ontario

Friday, October 21, 2005
Art Gallery of Ontario, Jackman Hall
317 Dundas Street West, Toronto

Opening Presentation
Global Networks: The Group of Seven in a Post-National Landscape
Lynda Jessup, Professor Canadian Art History and Museum Representation,  
Queen's University

Artist Project
Simon Frank, Artist
Toronto was the headquarters for the Group of Seven. Some traveled east  
and others into the far north to capture the Canadian landscape, yet  
the city was the centre of activity and the urban environment naturally  
found its way into the Group’s work.  Environmental artist Simon  
Frank’s work embraces not only natural landscape but also the concrete  
landscape within the confines of the city streets.

Public Relations: Local Impacts of the Group Then and Now
Ivan Jurakic, Curator, Cambridge Galleries
Lise Hosein, Assistant Curator, Justina M. Barnicke Gallery, Hart House
The Group of Seven's vivid landscapes and their legacy in the creation  
of an arts infrastructures and audiences foreground the national  
ambitions of artists, galleries and communities today. Examining the  
strategies used by the Group to generate public interest in the arts in  
their regions and institution (i.e., building up a collector base,  
developing popular audience, creating an aura around their artworks,  
expanding arts education, dissemination their ideas, etc.) panelists  
will examine these strategies relates to how arts professionals see  
their institutions and artistic practices functioning vis à vis the  
public today.

Fandemonium: Group of Seven in the Public Imagination
Moderator: Janna Graham, Manager of Community Programs, Education, Art  
Gallery of Ontario
Andrew Hunter, Independent Curator
Emily Falvey, Curator, Ottawa Art Gallery
Kent Monkman, Artist
As the most widely recognized, exhibited, and reproduced of all  
Canadian artists, the Group of Seven continues to build on its strong  
fan base.  Their work is represented in most collections across Canada  
and their powerful mystique still captures the public imagination.  In  
the 85 years since its founding the Group has, individually and  
collectively achieved cult status, inspired fictions, and created an  
enduring legacy.

Teachable Moments: Place, Pedagogy and the Group of Seven
Moderator: Joyce Zemans, Director, MBA Program in the Arts and Media  
Administration Schulich School of Business, York University
Stuart Reid, Director/Curator, Tom Thomson Memorial Gallery
Anna Stanisz, Educator, McMichael Canadian Art Collection
Rachel Kalpana James, Director, South Asian Visual Arts Collective
Colin Wiginton, Educator
Peter Vietgen, Faculty of Education, Arts Education Professor, Brock  
University
In the context of the overall investigation of the Group of Seven’s  
goals and practices in positioning art in the public sphere, and their  
legacies in the public galleries of today, this “slam” -style session  
looks at contemporary teaching practices based on the Group’s ideas.   
The panelists will consider new technologies, public outreach and the  
continuing influence of the Group’s concept of place as they discuss  
pedagogical practices inspired by or in opposition to the Group of  
Seven.

Curators Tour: Lismer and Beyond: 75 Years of Arts Education at the AGO
Douglas Worts, Educator, Art Gallery of Ontario
Georgiana Uhlyarik, Curatorial Assistant, Art Gallery of Ontario

6:00 pm
Ontario Association of Art Galleries (free)
35th Anniversary Party
University of Toronto Art Centre
15 King’s College Circle
Please join us in celebrating OAAG’s past, present and future!

Saturday, October 22, 2005
University of Toronto Art Centre
15 King’s College Circle
Keynote Address: After the Group of Seven
Anna Hudson, Assistant Professor: Canadian Art History and Curatorial  
Studies, York University

Artist Talk
Bionic Forest
Brandon Vickerd, Assistant Professor Department of Visual Art, York  
University / Artist
The kinetic sculpture, Bionic Forest is modeled from the Northern  
Ontario paintings of Tom Thomson.  It consists of seven steel trees  
that sway and rustle as if propelled by an invisible (west) wind,  
reflecting the Canadian tendency to invest personal and national  
identity with the notion of landscape.

Breakout Sessions: Moderated by four invited guests and presenters
Curator’s Tour: “Through tangled brush and dewy brake”: Works by the  
Group of Seven and their Contemporaries from the Collection of the  
University of Toronto Art Centre
Liz Wylie, Curator, University of Toronto Art Centre

Symposium concludes with the Curator’s Tour.
	_________________

Additional Ticketed Event for the evening of Saturday, October 22, 2005  
at the University of Toronto Art Centre  (This event is not included in  
the Symposium registration fee) To reserve tickets, please call the  
University of Toronto Art Centre directly at (416) 978-1838.  Tickets  
are being made available to Symposium registrants at a discounted rate  
of $12.

7:30 pm 	Performance
Songs in the key of Tom
Original music and lyrics composed by david sereda and the Brush  
collective, a production of Sheatre. The Toronto premier of Songs in  
the key of Tom explores the life and art of Tom Thomson through  
anecdotes, historical facts and the music of his time and ours. Songs  
in the key of Tom is a University of Toronto Art Centre production.



Public Partners: Generously supported by the Ontario Trillium  
Foundation, the Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund, the Ontario Arts  
Council Touring and Collaborations Program, and Transformation AGO.


________________________________________________________________________ 
____________


Suzanne Carte-Blanchenot
Professional Development and Public Programs Coordinator
Ontario Association of Art Galleries
49 McCaul Street, Suite N2
Toronto, ON M5T 2W7
Tel: (416) 598-0714
Fax: (416) 598-4128
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
Web site: http://www.oaag.org