Three local artists chosen for long-term live arts project at Remai Modern
For immediate release — June 7, 2021
SASKATOON, CANADA — Three artists have been invited to participate in a new pilot project at Remai Modern. This innovative project will unfold over a 10-month period, as artists work to develop new work culminating in a public performance.
The cohort includes Monique Blom, Michel Boutin and Alasdair Rees, who were recommended by an internal committee from a pool of twenty submissions.
“In recent years, there has been an observable shift towards performance and performance-based practice in contemporary art. Since Remai Modern opened its doors, we have strived to develop a vibrant program of live art that highlights the many ways artists are working in performance today,” said Troy Gronsdahl, Associate Curator (Live Programs). “Performance-based works tend to be ephemeral, often only lasting for the duration of a single performance or event. The intention of this new project is to engage with artists over an extended period of time to develop deeper relationships with the museum and our audiences, and to offer sustained support for artists to really dig into their practices.”
Gronsdahl will work in collaboration with each artist to develop an individual project plan that will include a program of activities including research, peer mentorship, public engagement such as artist talks or workshops, and the development and presentation of new work. In addition to financial and production support, the artists will have access to museum resources and professional development opportunities. The project begins immediately and continues through March 2022. Visit remaimodern.org and watch Remai Modern’s social media channels for regular updates on the artists and their projects as they are developed.
About the artists
Alasdair Rees is a writer and performer based in Saskatoon. In his work, he investigates the connections that knit together the human world, the natural world and the world of words, while foregrounding his lived experience as a queer person. He has integrated his poetry into compelling performance and moving image works. He was Saskatchewan’s first Youth Poet Laureate and has been published by Moeubius, GUTS magazine, Urbania and Metatron Press. His first book, Mon écologie, comes out in June 2021.
Michel Boutin is an artist, arts educator and cultural animateur. Boutin has exhibited his work publicly for more than two decades and has presented his work at museums and galleries throughout the province. Boutin is an active supporter of contemporary art and artist-run culture and is the artistic director of the Indigenous People’s Artist Collective of Prince Albert (IPAC), which he co-founded in 2005. Boutin was the 2017 recipient of the Saskatchewan Arts Award for Individual Leadership.
Monique Blom is an artist and educator living and working in Petrofka. Her practice springs from a desire to explore human relationships as part, or as apart, from nature. Blom’s performance work examines the relationship between women, domesticity, and the landscape with recent projects at Princeton University and Nuit Blanche Saskatoon, as well as performances in New York City, Mexico City , Orlando and Tampa.
About Remai Modern
Remai Modern is situated on Treaty 6 Territory and the Traditional Homeland of the Métis. We pay our respects to First Nations and Métis ancestors and reaffirm our relationship with one another. Remai Modern is a new museum of modern and contemporary art in Saskatoon.
The museum is committed to affirming the powerful role that art and artists play in questioning, interpreting and defining the modern era. Open since October 2017, Remai Modern is the largest contemporary art museum in western Canada and houses a collection of more than 8,000 works, including the world’s foremost collection of Picasso linocut prints. Remai Modern would like to acknowledge the contributions of the Frank & Ellen Remai Foundation, the Canada Council for the Arts, SaskCulture through the Sask Lotteries Fund, SK Arts and the City of Saskatoon.
For additional information contact:
Stephanie McKay, Communications Manager
306.975.2242
smckay@remaimodern.org
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