Western Canada's art magazine since 2002
16 January 2018 Vol 3 No 2 ISSN 2561-3316 © 2018
From the Editor
Portia Priegert
These notes roll around frequently, so I sometimes find myself at a loss for words. But this time, it's like hitting a wall: the days are short, Victoria's skies have been low and grey all week, and I have sat too long at my computer, as my low back reminds me with increasing urgency. Ah, the glamorous life of a magazine editor.
So I played hooky. While dropping off library books, I took snapshots of an owl that had somehow flown down a dark tunnel beneath an adjacent building and was sitting in a sculpture under the library's glass-covered courtyard. It felt rather magical.
Then, it was on to the Legacy Gallery for a talk about Trans Hirstory in 99 Objects (no, that's not a typo). The show features art and archival material from the University of Victoria's Transgender Archives, reportedly the largest in the world. Who knew? It's curated by American artist Chris Vargas, who heads the Museum of Transgender Hirstory & Art, an imaginary institution that has organized previous shows in Seattle and San Francisco. I'll be writing more in an upcoming issue.
Next, I went to a documentary, The Last Dalai Lama? A follow-up to a film that director Mickey Lemle made 24 years earlier, it seems a bit cobbled together with no defining moment, perhaps apt for a film about Buddhism, yet was interesting all the same. And then another magical moment, when a fellow in a red robe emerged from the theatre afterwards, looking somewhat like a younger incarnation of the Dalai Lama.
Walking home, I noticed how seeing different things can fuel one's energy and pondered how to encourage diversity in Galleries West. Sometimes we cover shows by longtime regional artists, like Calgarian Mark Dicey, the subject of this issue's cover story. But I also look for newcomers, like Mark Ollinger, idealists like Sylvia Ziemann, cutting-edge artists like Brent Wadden, and inspiring people, like Teva Harrison, who published an award-winning graphic novel after being diagnosed with terminal cancer.
All this to say that I hope you'll find something in these stories to broaden and brighten your day. And do stay tuned for the next issue. We're working on pieces about Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, two Winnipeg artists that use drones in their work, and photographs from South Asia.
Until next time,
CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE: Sandee Moore, John Thomson, Katherine Ylitalo
