1. Director’s Meandering Preamble
 As we all know, NAC runs on the fumes of dashed Bingo Hall hopes, stray olives in otherwise empty pizza boxes, and the faint hope that our efforts to share ideas with our community in innovative ways aren’t being wasted like a cry in the wilderness falling on the apathetic ears of a whiskey jack. We don’t run on much. But we wouldn’t run at all without our volunteers. These are members who give their time and energy, often after long days slogging it out at their workplace. Thankfully NAC has a good crew—that any member is welcome to join. Every year a volunteer or two distinguish themselves with an extraordinary effort. At our Annual General Meeting in December we announced the volunteers of the year for 2007. It gave our Board Directors and staff great pleasure to recognize Karrie Porter and James Desjardins as our honourees. They rocked it for us all year long. Especially last fall when we ended up buried to our eye-teeth in Hot Shots, Strutt and You Fly It!. Those things came down on us like a concrete block on a boston cream do-nut and if it wasn’t for James and Karrie we’d have never been able to crawl out. We presented James and Karrie with a bowling trophy (as is the tradition at NAC) and a photograph that Sandy Fairbairn took of the two of them at a Gallery CRAM opening. Here they are basking in the afterglow of receiving their award.
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2. Hatchery
 By Rob Elliott
In the NAC Exhibition Main Space
Saturday 19 January – Saturday 1 March
Opening Reception: Saturday 26 January at 8pm
Concealed in the skin of an information kiosk from a long-gone World’s Fair is a crude ice fishing hut flanked with kinetic trophies. The exterior, with its backlit mid-century tourism photos of happy fishermen, sporty styling, and tilted luminescent roof, idealizes the promises of the Sporting Life and Nature. The interior walls tell a different story: jabbering mechanical Billy Bass interspersed with the ghostly silhouettes of extinct Great Lakes species.
Hatchery is about the uncomfortable intersection between people and animals. All the “nature” represented in this work is an artifice, from the tourism booklet photos to the bonded wooden materials of the walls. The Billy Bass, all plastic and rubber skin, is only the most perverted example.
The nature of angling is a carefully stocked and maintained version of nature. The Great Lakes, once nearly dead, have been nursed back to a state of health, but as a near monoculture of sport fish. This conflict, that nature only exists if it can serve humans in modified form, is the spine of this installation.
- from the artist’s statement
Look for an article about Rob’s show in the Thursday 24 January edition of PULSE Niagara.
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3. (the return of) 3-D Exquisite Corpse Project
 Curated by NAC Member Christine Cosby
In the Dennis Tourbin Members’ Gallery
On display from Saturday 26 January – Saturday 9 February
Opening Reception at NAC Saturday 26 January 2008 at 8pm
Includes work by NAC members: Julia Blushak, John and Anne Carruthers, Melanie and Bev MacDonald, and Chantal Visca
In 2007, Christine Cosby launched a collaborative artist project titled 3-D Exquisite Corpse, based on the parlour drawing game but done with fabrics instead of pen & paper. Participants were provided with some basic instructions and were invited to create imaginative three dimensional body parts, which were then mixed & matched to create new exquisite corpse creatures. Artists generally worked in isolation of each other, which added to the surprise of the assembled parts. Results of the 2007 project are documented at www.swizzle.ca/pages/exquisite_corpse.html
Look for an article about Christine’s show in the Thursday 24 January edition of PULSE Niagara.
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4. Afternoons in the Karmaforest
 Painted acrylic works by NAC Member Julia Blushak
In the Dennis Tourbin Members’ Gallery
16 February to 29 February
Opening Reception Saturday 16 February from 2-4pm
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5. Ontario Arts Council Exhibition Assistance
NAC final submission deadline: Friday 8 February 2008
OAC Exhibition Assistance is a program for individuals:
Purpose: The program provides grants of $500 to $1,500 to assist individual artists with costs related to presenting their work for an exhibition. Grants are made through third-party recommenders (public art galleries, artist-run centres and arts service organizations) throughout the province. Artists must apply directly to a recommender located in the zone in which they live. Approved applications are forwarded to OAC by the recommender once the decision to award a grant has been made.
Eligibility: This program is open to Ontario-based professional visual artists, craft artists and media artists who have a confirmed, upcoming public exhibition.
Deadlines: Applications are accepted between July 2007 and February 2008. Recommenders establish their own application deadlines for Exhibition Assistance, or may decide to accept applications on an ongoing basis. Artists should contact recommenders directly for further information.
For more information, please contact:
Lisa Wöhrle, Associate Visual and Media Arts Officer, 416-969-7419, toll free 1-800-387-0058 extension 7419, lwohrle@arts.on.ca, OR Kadija de Paula, Program Assistant, 416-969-7455, toll free 1-800-387-0058 extension 7455, kdepaula@arts.on.ca OR Services in French or English are available by contacting Lia Kyranis, Program Assistant, 416-969-7461, toll free 1-800-387-0058 extension 7461, lkyanis@arts.on.ca.
Program Guidelines and Application Form:
Program Guidelines (print version)
Application (you can fill this in on your screen) (print version)
Map of Exhibition Assistance Zones (print version)
List of Exhibition Assistance Recommenders (print version)
Frequently Asked Questions (print version)
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6. The Crystal Beach Comets vs. Chart Attack Hack
Presented by the Good Times Hockey League of the Arts
Sunday 20 January 2008 at 4pm
Seymour-Hannah Sports and Entertainment Centre
240 St. Paul Street West, St. Catharines
Admission is free, but donations of non-perishable food items and warm clothing will be collected and donated to Start Me Up Niagara.
NAC director Stephen “Holy yip, yip, yip Yee-haw” Remus will be the game announcer.
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7. Get on the A List!
Be Included in NAC’s Directory of Artists
NAC is putting together a directory of our working artist members. A copy of this directory will be kept at NAC for any one wanting to see the breadth and depth of art work that our members make. Often we get walk-ins or cold calls from people interested in finding painters or filmmakers for a specific commission or project. We’ll get this directory together so we can lay it on them. We’re also going to give copies of the directory to all our donors and many of them are in the habit of collecting local work. Get in the directory and get hooked up!
All we need can be sent to us electronically. If you don’t have digital versions of what you’d like to send, bring your slides or what have you to NAC and we’ll scan them for you.
What we’re after:
- Your CV or resume
- 3-5 images of your work with at least 150 dpi resolution (images will be printed in colour)
- A one paragraph bio and artist statement
Email us the stuff to artists@nac.org with “directory” in the subject line, that’s it!
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8. Out of the Cold
This Sunday and every third Sunday until March
We’re looking for volunteers to run NAC’s shift at Out of the Cold this Sunday. We’re serving chili the third time in a row. Hey, it’s a hit and our unwavering menu is smashing those stereotypical notions of artists being creative and original—what’s dogging us since Picasso was in knee pants.
We need three people between 3pm and 5pm to set-up
We need six people between 5pm and 8pm to serve it up
We need one person overnight from 12mn until 6:30am (work the red-eye with Brucey!)
We need two people for morning clean-up from 6:30am until 7:30am
This Sunday’s feature film presentation will be John Ford’s The Searchers. The screening will begin at 9:00pm or thereabouts.
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9. Artists and the Taxman
Presented by St. Catharines and Area Arts Council
With Elizabeth Chitty and Tammy Ziegler
Thursday 29 January 2008 from 7-9pm
Admission is $7 for SCAAC members, $10 for non-members
Pre-registration is required by Wednesday 28 January
You can send an email to mz@stcartscouncil.ca or call 905-988-1888
What can you legally claim as professional expenses as a visual artist, musician, actor, dancer, etc? What is going to work best for you to keep your records under control during the year? What do you need to have ready for annual tax return? What does reasonable expectation of profit mean for artists? We will provide resources generously provided by CARO and Artbooks, share information on these topics and complain about death and taxes!
Who should come to this workshop?
Artists of any discipline who file tax returns as self-employed artists or are seeking information on doing so in the future.
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10. Trinities: Thirty-Three Years of Painting
 By NAC member Tobey C. Anderson
Curated by Marcie Bronson
At Rodman Hall Art Centre - Brock University
22 December 2007 – 24 February 2008
Closing Reception: Sunday 10 February at 2pm
Tobey C. Anderson has been exhibiting his work since 1969. He is the recipient of numerous awards and grants, most recently an Ontario Arts Council Mid-Career Artists Grant (2007), and he is represented in private and public collections. He is currently working on and touring a significant body of new work, The New American Century Project. Rodman Hall Arts Centre is pleased to present a selection of Anderson’s painted work spanning the last three decades.
Born in Washington, DC in 1946, Anderson grew up in Iowa. In 1969 he immigrated to Ontario and settled in Kingston where he spent a decade of artistic activity and employment in the Visual Arts Department at St. Lawrence College. He became a Canadian citizen in 1975.
In the late 1970s Anderson was Founding President of Kingston Artists’ Association/Modern Fuel Artist-run Centre and at the same time was President of Artspace, when he worked closely with David Bierk, Dennis Tourbin and other notables in the provincial and national artist-run network. In the 1980s Anderson returned from a hiatus in Iowa and San Diego, California before settling in St. Catharines in 1990.
Most recently, Anderson was Director of Niagara Artists’ Centre from 1990-98 before retiring to work as a full-time artist. He is actively involved in cultural development in Niagara and served as the inaugural Chair of the Culture Committee following his involvement in the development and adoption of a new Cultural Policy for the City of St. Catharines. In 2005 Anderson was the recipient of the Mayor’s Trillium Award for Artistic Excellence and in 2006 he established gallerie CRAM collective, which features contemporary artists with strong ties to St. Catharines.
- from the press release
For more information visit
www.tobeycanderson.com
www.cramart.ca
or
Rodman Hall Art Centre - Brock University
rodmanhall@brocku.ca
www.brocku.ca/rodmanhall/exhibitions/index.php
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11. Inspirational oil & acrylic paintings
 By NAC member Melani Pyke
From 1 February – 29 February
At the Kennedy Gallery (at the Picture Frame Warehouse)
387 Ontario Street, St. Catharines
Live painting demonstrations Mondays 6-8pm
Contact Info Gallery: 905-682-9229 Artist: 905-687-2527
Email: bloodlife@mac.com
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12. City Council approves consultant for City/Brock study
On Monday 14 January 2008, City Council approved the hiring of a consultant to undertake a Program, Site and Facility Management Feasibility Study for a Cultural and Academic Development in Downtown St. Catharines. Levitt Goodman Architects lead a team made up of members from multiple firms, including Martin Vinik Planning for the Arts and Urban Strategies.
“This partnership project is a cornerstone in the vision for a revitalized St.
Catharines,” says Mayor Brian McMullan. “The project’s partnership team has selected a truly outstanding consulting team to undertake the practical planning required for the success of our project. Council has shown real leadership in supporting the recommendations of the team.”
The objectives of the study include assessing the potential of moving Brock University’s School of Fine and Performing Arts into downtown St. Catharines, as well as partnering with the University’s Centre for the Arts to create an integrated arts facility that will include programming from local arts groups and events. The study will develop an Artistic Program Plan, make recommendations for site selection, establish a business plan for operations and measure the economic impact of the development.
"Brock is excited about partnering with the City not only to provide a new home for its School of Fine and Performing Arts and for the activities of its Brock Centre for the Arts, but also to create a significant 'arts hub' for Niagara as part of a comprehensive plan to revitalize downtown St. Catharines,” says Jack N. Lightstone, President, Brock University.
“We are very pleased with the depth of expertise this consulting team brings to the table for the next phase of our development process,” states David Oakes, Director of Economic Development and Tourism Services for the City. “We require expertise in arts management, architectural assessment and urban planning in order to maximize the economic opportunities that this partnership with Brock University has to offer our community.”
Levitt Goodman Architects is an award-winning architecture firm that has a proven record of designing innovative projects and tackling problems from a unique perspective. Projects include the School of Architecture in downtown Cambridge that has revitalized the area with its creative development of space for both university and community purposes.
Martin Vinik Planning for the Arts has a long history of providing planning, design and management services to a vast range of arts communities across North America. Martin Vinik is a proven expert in cultural district planning, whose list of projects includes the historic reclamation and revitalization of 42nd St. in New York, N.Y.
Urban Strategies is a full-service planning and urban design firm, with dozens of awards and an international reputation for its visionary and achievable proposals. Work with the public and private sectors has included the creation of a masterplan for Brock University.
Selection Criteria for the process included understanding of the project’s goals and objectives, appropriate methodology for the project, demonstrated ability of the team to undertake the work, and relevant experience and qualifications. The Levitt Goodman team’s bid of $250,000 matches the budget available for the study. Funds for the project are from three sources, including $100,000 from the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development and Trade; a $75,000 contribution from Brock University; and $75,000 from the cultural services budget at the City. Work on the study is expected to begin in the first week of February.
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