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© Leanne L'Hirondelle, 2005. Used by permission
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by Leanne L'Hirondelle
Date: 02 December 2005
Event: Toronto
Leanne L'Hirondelle
Leanne L’Hirondelle, collections curator has received her B.F.A. from the University of Manitoba and an M.F.A from the University of Saskatchewan. She has curatored exhibitions for the Winnipeg Art Gallery, Urban Shaman Gallery, A.K.A. Artist Run Centre in Saskatoon, and the Aboriginal Sketch Club. Leanne has taught post-secondary classes in studio and Indian Art History at the First Nations University of Canada, Saskatoon campus and the University of Saskatchewan. She has served on various Boards, committees and juries and is past Director for Urban Shaman Gallery, Aboriginal Artist Run Centre. Leanne is presently working at the Saskatchewan Indian Cultural Centre as collections curator.
Abstract
Re-locating curating addresses many issues and challenges that cultural workers, both artists and curators have addressed through their practices. It creates opportunities for rethinking and redirecting curatorial practice both within the context of the gallery and outside the institution.
Briefly, my role as a curator is only fixed at the institution to which I am gainfully employed. The Saskatchewan Indian Cultural Centre has a fixed mandate and objectives that reflect the role of the institution itself as a service to the Saskatchewan's 74 First Nations. This role/job has a number of stipulations that does not lend itself to the outside work that I have done. The responsibilities of the work and collection itself do not, at this point afford itself to re-locating curatorial practice outside the walls of the building. Two projects that I have worked on relate directly to work that challenges the idea of the gallery simply as a container of artistic work and the role of the curator in representing this work.
Dislocation outside the gallery space is one strategy that challenges the notion of positioning works in the specific location of the gallery. A spin-off of this practice is the concept of inclusion-exclusion. The gallery as defined by the old adage of the cube, the container set aside specifically for the display the work of the artist whether in the form of an installation, performance, or static works. Some work due to its nature does not lend itself to this space. Perhaps because the work is aimed at a different audience, needs a specific location, or simply does not fit into a gallery.
The exhibitions Moniast:skan and Pimup Toon Kitchi Animoosh challenge the role of the curator as the go-between the artist and the audience. Moniat:skan was a temporary installation piece set-up for a specific location along the trans Canada highway. The work was constructed as a mock tourist destination aimed at the general population.
The work addressed the issue of the naming of and using Aboriginal peoples has tourist attractions. The work - postcards, a tent and a giant inflatable head where created by members of the Aboriginal Sketch Club and Society. The temporary exhibition did not need to have a gallery to program the project it in, nor was one approached. The reasons for this were simple, those involved wanted to do the project, but not want to wait for gallery approval. In this case, the loyalty was with the artists and curators involved. The audience was given easy access to the work; they did not need to physically locate themselves in the gallery to see the work since it was located outside. The presence of the curator was essential in explaining and in some cases defending the work to those who found offensive and did not accept the piece as art nor the intention of the piece as legitimate.
The gallery tends to draw a particular audience, those interested in art. The outdoor setting, art that is mobile can reach out to a wider audience, it becomes something else while retaining its status as art. My role in the project was both as artist and curator. In this role, my work crossed over the fine line between the creation process and presenting the work to a wider audience.