Buddhism

In the Present Moment: Memories and Another Milestone!

By Marina DiMaio, Digital & Print Assets Coordinator.

Back in 2018, pretty much fresh out of grad school, I found myself at the beginning of my very first job at the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria. Through my own multidisciplinary art making, I’ve always been interested in contemplative practices, and the idea of creative process as spiritual practice. So, with the support of an Early Career Development Grant from the BC Arts Council, I had the incredible opportunity to extend and deepen the artistic research that I began exploring as an MFA student at UVic by contributing as a curatorial assistant at the AGGV to a multiphase project, by curator Haema Sivanesan, considering Buddhism as an artistic methodology.

10 Things To Know About Decorative Themes in Chinese Blue and White Porcelain

By Audrey Wang, AGGV Volunteer

With its origins in China, this quarter’s column of “10 Things To Know” will look at Chinese blue and white porcelain and its myriad decorative themes. Behind every design element are symbolic meanings relevant to the maker or to the eventual owner of the piece. What does each theme signify and what does that tell us about the piece?

Kay Larson on John Cage, 4’33” and the Lecture on Nothing

By Audrey Wang, AGGV Volunteer

Last Fall, scholars, theologists, art practitioners and followers of Buddhism gathered at the University of Victoria for a weekend of lectures and performances for In The Present Moment: Buddhism, Contemporary Art and Social Practice, A Research Convening. The opening Orion Keynote Lecture & Performance was Lecture on Nothing with acclaimed New York-based writer and art critic, Kay Larson.

Art as Practice: Buddhism’s Relationship with Place

By Nicole Achtymichuk, Curatorial Assistant at Legacy Art Galleries

The micro-exhibition, titled Art as Practice: Buddhism’s Relationship with Place combines historical Buddhist art from Asia with contemporary Buddhist-inspired art from Canada’s West Coast.

Beautiful Trouble: A Conversation Between Friends on Activism, Art and Buddhism

For the Closing Orion Keynote Conversation, we were given privy to an ongoing conversation between longtime friends – artist Suzanne Lacy and activist Jodie Evans. As they hashed out their differences in approach and opinion, lavished each other with praise and admiration, and critiqued their own areas of professional expertise, the engaged audience remained enthralled by two inspirational women, both practising Buddhists and both passionate about their work.

Art as a Spiritual Practice: Q&A with Dylan Thomas

By Marina DiMaio, AGGV Curatorial Assistant

Dylan Thomas’s work has been deeply influenced by a lifelong passion for Northwest Coast art, as well as, Vajrayana Buddhist mandalas, Celtic knots, Islamic tessellations, and many other ancient geometric art traditions.

A Glimpse into the Life and Work of Paul Horiuchi

By Marina DiMaio, AGGV Curatorial Assistant

Horiuchi was a painter and collagist whose work has become an important hybrid of Western-style abstraction, Asian calligraphy, and eastern philosophies. His body of work has helped situate an alternative narrative to the development of modern art in the Pacific Northwest, one that fully considers Japanese and North American relations.