MEET THE AGGV’S NEW EDUCATOR OF SCHOOL AND FAMILY PROGRAMS
We sat down with Jeri Engen, our new Educator of School and Family Programs, to learn about her experiences in Art Education and her new role.
ORIGIN STORIES OF A FAMILY NATURE
By Cheryl L’Hirondelle
kinanāskomitinawaw – thank you to the lək̓ʷəŋən People, whose land the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria is on and whose language and stories engage with this place more eloquently and accurately than these words and this short story can ever hope to. Regardless, thank you to the dedicated and caring AGGV staff and curator Jaimie Isaac for inviting me to share.
SPACE TO CREATE: WINTER IN THE STUDIO
By Hilary Potosnak
Our Fall studio classes are in full swing at the Gallery and we have our sights set on exciting classes and programming for the winter session beginning this January. Some changes have come to the AGGV Studio, most notably in the departure of our treasured instructor and Studio Coordinator, Oona McClure.
I DIDN’T KNOW I WAS AN ARTIST
By Tyrone Elliott
I’ve been Cedar weaving since I was 4. In my mind, there was a distinct disconnect between what I did and what artists did. I’ve come to learn that while not necessarily everything is art, most things, if not everything, can be made into art.
EXPLORING FANTASY & SCIENCE FICTION WITH KEMI CRAIG
Over the last few months, local film and dance artist, Kemi Craig (also Victoria’s newly selected Artist in Residence, 2022/24) has been hosting the Blackspace Sci-Fi Club at the AGGV. This exciting in-person series has been unfolding in conjunction with Kemi’s AGGV project Blueprints for the Afrofuture, which has (so far) featured a variety of virtual offerings and one in-person evening of sound and music with Hidden Variable.
Making Meaning Through Art Making
By Oona McClure, Studio Coordinator
We recognize that making art is rather magical. It provides exceptional opportunities to build skills, create connections, boost confidence, explore ideas, and express feelings. It also offers a space to learn about ourselves and others as well as fostering meaning and inspiration.
Intimate Pedagogies in the Feminist Art Field School
By Dani Neira
I took the Feminist Art Field School from my kitchen table. I’d watch the weekly conversation as I cooked myself spaghetti, have my morning coffee during our synchronous Thursday sessions, and talk lesbian haunted houses over drinks with friends. My kitchen table, a place I associate with nourishment, care, and conversation, became the intimate space through which I learned.
School Workshop, Snapshot: Mandalas, Music and Movement
By Alex Chen
“I don’t sing.” That’s what a majority of students admitted to me during a school workshop. However, perhaps to their surprise, by the end of our hour-long workshop, the students were not only using their voices and bodies to make art, they were taking chances expressing their artistic observations, collaborating with their peers, and having fun doing so! In this year’s iteration of the AGGV’s School Workshops, spanning October to December, Jennifer Van de Pol (AGGV Educator for School and Family Programs), a class of UVic Indigenous Education Students headed by Dr. Carmen Rodriguez de France, and myself visited young learners in schools across the Greater Victoria Area to delve into the works by local visual artist Dylan Thomas (Qwul’thilum) as well as my own artistic practice as a classical musician and opera artist in Victoria.