The MacKenzie Art Gallery in Regina has begun reviewing 2,000 pieces in its collection after returning a stolen statue to India, CBC News reports. The issue includes work donated by the gallery's namesake, Norman MacKenzie, who collected objects in China, Syria and other countries. The review will also look at North American Indigenous objects in the collection, said John Hampton, the gallery's director. It's unclear how long the investigation will take but the gallery is looking for funding to hire someone dedicated to the task, Hampton said.
The Jean Paul Riopelle Foundation is transferring its plans for a centre in Montreal to the Musée des Beaux Arts in Quebec City, the Globe and Mail reports. It was originally to be built as a Riopelle wing at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, but plans were cancelled by the museum's financial pressures during the pandemic. The plan would see a donation of art worth $100 million plus cash of $20 million toward construction of a space honouring the late Quebec modernist. Donations are coming from five founders of the foundation, Vancouver home builder Michael Audain, Quebec philanthropists André Desmarais and France Chrétien Desmarais, mining executive Pierre Lassonde, and the artist’s daughter, Yseult Riopelle. The Quebec government is chipping in $20 million.
The Art Gallery of Regina is closed from Dec. 6 to Jan. 12 for renovations to the gallery's ceiling and walls. The space will reopen Jan.13 with a new exhibition by Katherine Boyer, Where the Sky Carries the Sun.
Qaumajuq, Winnipeg's Inuit art centre, and the University of Winnipeg will host Auviqsaqtut: the 22nd Inuit Studies Conference from April 6 to April 9. The conference coincides with the closing week of INUA, Qaumajuq's inaugural exhibition. The call for papers and proposals has a deadline of Dec. 15. Find more details here.
Hill Strategies – an Ontario arts research firm – has put out a report analyzing public engagement in the arts emerging from the pandemic. Key findings are both positive and negative. A negative finding was that 56 per cent of pre-pandemic arts attendees expected to wait before returning to indoor arts performances, and 49 per cent expected to wait before returning to museums and galleries. Also, 37 per cent of Canadians planned to reduce their entertainment spending after the pandemic. Optimistic findings include recent surveys that show Canadians miss arts activities and are eager to return. As well, spending on arts and culture goods and services has increased steadily ever since it dropped sharply in the second quarter of 2020.
The Edmonton Arts Council has announced the 2021 recipients of the Edmonton Artists' Trust Fund awards. The $15,000 awards recognize emerging and established artists across disciplines. Among the 20 recipients are multidisciplinary artist Dwayne Martineau, illustrator Emily Chu, mosaic artist Erin Pankratz, lens-based artist Gabriel Molina, muralist and painter Layla Folkmann, Métis art educator Melissa-Jo Belcourt, multidisciplinary artist Natalie Meyer, muralist and sculptor Steven Teeuwsen and interdisciplinary artist Yong Fei Guan.
