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Thanks to DHLawrence on SSP:
City readies for Biennale exhibit debut
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City readies for Biennale exhibit debut
July 28, 2008
KEVIN SWAYZE
RECORD STAFF
As workers at the Cambridge Galleries push to crate items to display at the world's premiere architectural show in September, work is underway on a pitch to bring the big show to Cambridge.
Within two weeks, containers will be on their way to Italy for delivery to the Canada Pavilion at the site of the Venice Biennale.
Cambridge Galleries -- part of the city's library system -- created the show 41 Degrees to 66 Degrees regional response to sustainable architecture in Canada.
Since the three-year-old show was chosen in February to represent Canada, curators have been reshaping it so it fits into the permanent Canada Pavilion at the Biennale site in Venice, said Mary Misner, gallery manager.
It's the first time Cambridge Galleries has created a show that's going on an international stage. "This is a significant opportunity. We hope we will make our community proud . . . and will make the country proud too," Misner said.
The Biennale is held in odd-numbered years. There's talk of creating a travelling version that will come to North America in even-numbered years.
Showcasing the Cambridge exhibit at the Venice Biennale gives a leg up to a city proposal to give it a permanent North American home, boosters say.
"I really believe this opportunity, what it signifies, does in fact position us with a fantastic opportunity to develop plans for this larger relationship that could benefit Cambridge," Misner said.
In April, city council agreed to contribute $40,000 to an $80,000 feasibility study to bring the Biennale to Cambridge. A report was originally scheduled to go to council by September.
Changes in the Italian government delayed starting the study, said Greg Hayton, chief librarian. Until Hayton had a letter from the sitting culture minister saying the option remained on the table, he held off on hiring a consultant to look at benefits, challenges and costs of hosting a Biennale every other year.
"What I'm confident about, is they are open to discuss the concept with us," Hayton said. He hopes to have a consultant hired by early next month. The report will be done late in the fall.
For now, that's a background issue for Misner as she works to get 41 to 66 to Venice. Getting it across the Atlantic and Mediterranean isn't her biggest worry. Delivering the crates the last few kilometres is.
"It has to go in by boat. Canada Pavilion is on an island."
The basic theme of the show remains -- how Canadian architecture is shaped by geography between 41 to 66 degrees of latitude -- but the presentation has transformed under the watch of curators John McMinn and Marco Polo.
The new show will still have models and pictures on walls, like the show that spawned it. It will also include projected images and multimedia displays to create an "interactive and dynamic" presentation that draws visitors along a serpentine path through the asymmetrical, glass-walled Canada Pavilion.
Misner said companies like Christie Digital of Kitchener have loaned high-tech projection equipment. Others supported the event with donations, like the Aeroplan flight rewards program, which helped purchase flights for gallery staff. Companies helping the event go to Venice will be thanked at a party in August, before the exhibit opens to the public in Venice on Sept. 14.
Federal grants have helped pay for the trip, along with local tax dollars from the gallery budget. Misner won't reveal costs, because all donations and expenses haven't been tallied.
When Misner drives to and from work these days, she plays a learn-to-speak-Italian CD.
And when she gets to her desk, Biennale issues await her attention.
"This is certainly the most important thing on my to-do list every day."
kswayze@therecord.com
Thanks to DHLawrence on SSP:
City readies for Biennale exhibit debut
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
City readies for Biennale exhibit debut
July 28, 2008
KEVIN SWAYZE
RECORD STAFF
As workers at the Cambridge Galleries push to crate items to display at the world's premiere architectural show in September, work is underway on a pitch to bring the big show to Cambridge.
Within two weeks, containers will be on their way to Italy for delivery to the Canada Pavilion at the site of the Venice Biennale.
Cambridge Galleries -- part of the city's library system -- created the show 41 Degrees to 66 Degrees regional response to sustainable architecture in Canada.
Since the three-year-old show was chosen in February to represent Canada, curators have been reshaping it so it fits into the permanent Canada Pavilion at the Biennale site in Venice, said Mary Misner, gallery manager.
It's the first time Cambridge Galleries has created a show that's going on an international stage. "This is a significant opportunity. We hope we will make our community proud . . . and will make the country proud too," Misner said.
The Biennale is held in odd-numbered years. There's talk of creating a travelling version that will come to North America in even-numbered years.
Showcasing the Cambridge exhibit at the Venice Biennale gives a leg up to a city proposal to give it a permanent North American home, boosters say.
"I really believe this opportunity, what it signifies, does in fact position us with a fantastic opportunity to develop plans for this larger relationship that could benefit Cambridge," Misner said.
In April, city council agreed to contribute $40,000 to an $80,000 feasibility study to bring the Biennale to Cambridge. A report was originally scheduled to go to council by September.
Changes in the Italian government delayed starting the study, said Greg Hayton, chief librarian. Until Hayton had a letter from the sitting culture minister saying the option remained on the table, he held off on hiring a consultant to look at benefits, challenges and costs of hosting a Biennale every other year.
"What I'm confident about, is they are open to discuss the concept with us," Hayton said. He hopes to have a consultant hired by early next month. The report will be done late in the fall.
For now, that's a background issue for Misner as she works to get 41 to 66 to Venice. Getting it across the Atlantic and Mediterranean isn't her biggest worry. Delivering the crates the last few kilometres is.
"It has to go in by boat. Canada Pavilion is on an island."
The basic theme of the show remains -- how Canadian architecture is shaped by geography between 41 to 66 degrees of latitude -- but the presentation has transformed under the watch of curators John McMinn and Marco Polo.
The new show will still have models and pictures on walls, like the show that spawned it. It will also include projected images and multimedia displays to create an "interactive and dynamic" presentation that draws visitors along a serpentine path through the asymmetrical, glass-walled Canada Pavilion.
Misner said companies like Christie Digital of Kitchener have loaned high-tech projection equipment. Others supported the event with donations, like the Aeroplan flight rewards program, which helped purchase flights for gallery staff. Companies helping the event go to Venice will be thanked at a party in August, before the exhibit opens to the public in Venice on Sept. 14.
Federal grants have helped pay for the trip, along with local tax dollars from the gallery budget. Misner won't reveal costs, because all donations and expenses haven't been tallied.
When Misner drives to and from work these days, she plays a learn-to-speak-Italian CD.
And when she gets to her desk, Biennale issues await her attention.
"This is certainly the most important thing on my to-do list every day."
kswayze@therecord.com