Western Canada's art magazine since 2002
8 March 2022 Vol 7 No 5 ISSN 2561-3316 © 2022
Portia Priegert
From the Editor
It’s been shocking to watch Russia’s invasion of Ukraine over the last two weeks and, naturally, many of us will want to assist those bearing the brunt of Vladimir Putin’s brutal assaults. As people interested in the arts, we may also wonder, more specifically, how to assist artists and cultural institutions.
On that front, the Canadian Museums Association announced last week it would hold a special meeting to identify concrete actions to support Ukraine’s museum and cultural community. That news came amidst reports from Ukraine of institutions trying to safeguard collections – whether by moving precious works or barricading buildings. Already, a museum 80 kilometres north of Kyiv has been destroyed.
Media reports have also focused on international efforts to curb Russian participation in the art world. In New York, the Guggenheim announced the departure of Vladimir Potanin, one of Russia’s richest men and a close associate of Putin. Potanin, according to the The Art Newspaper, has served as a trustee for two decades and has funded exhibitions of Russian art. Another oligarch, Petr Aven, the chair of Alfa-Bank, Russia’s largest commercial bank, has departed as a trustee of the Royal Academy of Arts in London. As well, Phillips, a Russian-owned British auction house, is facing calls for a boycott.
The invasion also has implications for the Venice Biennale, which opens in April. Organizers say they will work to ensure the Ukrainian pavilion proceeds as planned, although featured artist Pavlo Makov was still in Ukraine. Meanwhile, the Russian artists and curator for Venice have stepped down to protest Putin’s actions.
What is happening in Canada? I’ve seen no reports of oligarchs in Canada’s cultural boardrooms, but certainly any art market connections with Russian money would be well severed, given the seriousness of Putin’s actions and the potential for the invasion to spiral into a larger conflict, even a nuclear nightmare.
In Manitoba, with its history of Ukrainian settlement, both the Winnipeg Art Gallery and the Canadian Museum of Human Rights posted messages of support for Ukraine on Instagram. The Art Canada Institute, an online book publisher in Toronto, was also quick off the mark with a mailer about Ukrainian Canadian artists, including Taras Polataiko, William Kurelek and Edward Burtynsky. The institute’s founder, Sara Angel, relayed a plea from Olesya Ostrovska, the director of one of Ukraine’s large arts venues, asking artists and galleries to promote peace by posting the Ukrainian flag and using “the facades of your offices and other available spaces for artistic and symbolic actions.”
It would be good to see galleries providing more information about Ukrainian art and artists – perhaps public talks as fundraisers for humanitarian aid would be one place to start. I came across a list of arts organizations, mostly in Europe, offering residencies to Ukrainian artists. This seems like something that Canadian art communities could do too, either through established residency programs or ad hoc residencies in suitable spaces.
Cash donations to assist humanitarian efforts in Ukraine are welcome too, of course, although it’s wise to avoid scams by choosing organizations with a reliable track record, such as the Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders. Reportedly, thousands of Canadians have made donations through Airbnb by booking rooms in Ukraine with no intention of staying. In the arts context, the online craft marketplace Etsy may be a way to offer artists direct assistance. While some Etsy shops in Ukraine have closed, sales appear to be happening. And Etsy, according to a blog by CEO Josh Silverman, has cancelled outstanding fees owed by sellers in Ukraine. It’s unlikely sellers can ship goods given the conflict, but digital downloads for patterns, colouring books pages and the like, are one feasible option, as are outright gifts. If anyone gives this a try, please add a comment below to let others know how it went.
We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments section. What are you – as an individual or an organization – doing to aid Ukraine? This is information that could be helpful to others.
Moving now to a quick recap of this issue of Galleries West: Look for two stories about Canadian art collectors from opposite ends of the wealth spectrum. Paul Gessell writes about a show of works collected by the Sobey grocery family at the McMichael Canadian Art Collection near Toronto, while John Thomson looks at work amassed by Gerd Metzdorff, a Vancouver flight attendant who used his per diems to buy art.
In Edmonton, Fish Griwkowsky pens a lively account of a show by Liz Ingram and her partner, Bernd Hildebrandt, while Calgary’s Zoltan Varadi explores Sandra Sawatzky’s hand-stitched panels depicting contemporary anxieties. In Toronto, Camille Georgeson-Usher reviews Indigenous artist Robert Houle’s retrospective at the Art Gallery of Ontario. And, in Winnipeg, Alison Gillmor writes on Manuel Mathieu, a Haitian-born artist based in Montreal exhibiting at the Plug In Institute of Contemporary Art.
We will continue watching the situation in Ukraine as we work on stories about Stan Douglas, Shelley Niro, Kelly Richardson and others for our coming issue.
Until next time,
CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE: Camille Georgeson-Usher, Paul Gessell, Alison Gillmor, Fish Griwkowsky, John Thomson, Zoltan Varadi
We acknowledge the support of the Government of Alberta Media Fund, the Government of Canada Special Measures for Journalism Fund and the Canada Council for the Arts.
