The A Word

This week’s radio show, ladies and gentlemen, and you can listen to it here. Now, one correction: FUTUROLOGIST at AKA will close this Friday, not the Saturday. My apologies, but you can also still catch Emanuel Licha’s Striking a Pose up to this Friday, as well.

…which means I HAVE an archive, oh Jesus Mary and Joseph the carpenter, as the fifth anniversary of the A Word debuting on CFCR is coming up this Spring. With the disappearance of a number of past shows from zshare, I was asked if I could repost a few past episodes, and I’m always pleased to do that, and it’s always the interviews / conversations that people want to hear again.

So, here’s two shows from the past few months: my conversation with Megan Bocking about notions of audience – real, imagined and somewhere in between – in galleries and museums. You can listen to that here. And my conversation with curator Shauna McCabe about her exhibition at the College Gallery right now, Rural Readymade, but we also talk about a number of other shows and ideas that intersect with that engaging and lovely show. You can listen to that discussion here.

This week’s radio show is a conversation between myself and Leah Taylor, the curator of The Mechanical Self at the Kenderdine Gallery at the U of S campus. I’ve switched file sharing protocols, and you can download this week’s show here. You’ll want to use the green button in the middle, but so far as my tests have proven, there are no pop ups, glory, glory, hallelujah.

A number of other things going on right now in the community are posted below, from Rosalie Favell’s talk at the U of S to an exhibition of works by photography students from the university at SCYAP that is open now, as I passed by it today.

And some good news in the Star Phoenix, of all places (I know, I know, I said I wouldn’t read it anymore, but I read it online, so it costs me nothing, and maybe that’s better – I won’t pay for it anymore), indicating that the people of Saskatoon are not as easily misled or manipulated as some people with deeper pockets than thoughts would hope.

Here is this week’s radio show in which Shauna McCabe and I talk about Rural Readymade, but in usual fashion for the A Word, we talk about a number of other things that intersect with that, as well. You can listen to it here. I apologize ahead of time if you have to deal with any pop ups with zshare, but they seem to be going through some kind of change. Interestingly, allowing files to downloaded for free, when you’re the originator / creator, is not as easy as it used to be….

I’ve included some images below of several of the artists in this show.

Kim Morgan, (NS), Pot Shots, 2005

Adriana Kuiper and Ryan Suter, (NB), Wrong Road Again, 2010

Clint Neufeld, (SK), American Beauty, 2008

This Friday, the annual exhibition of Sessional Instructors, Staff and some Term Appointments – really, the only people NOT showing are the tenured faculty, the ones that AREN’T on sabbatical – has a mid stream reception: which means the show is up for a week more after that. Check it out, as some of the work in this show, by Tammy Lu, Steve Raynor, Frances Robson, Amira Wasfy and others is quite engaging. More information is available here.

Hello everyone. It seems – thanks to Emma on this – that zshare does NOT have my past shows anymore. I’m looking into this, but my apologies about this confusion, and I’m posting this to let you know that it’s not you, it’s me. How Valentine’s day…

…all things I talk about on this week’s show, and you can listen to it here. As promised, I’ve posted the image with information for the EYOJG events that are upcoming.

I give you a few images of one of Kai Chan’s works, looking all sexy and beautiful and engaging. This work, Aurora, is at the Mendel right now.

Here is this week’s radio show, and some images that interrelate: but you can listen to the show here, and I’d point out that I’m posting it a bit earlier than usual as Frank Shebageget will be speaking at the U of S this Thursday (tomorrow).

His work is posted above, and Frank has one of my most favourite exhibitions in the history of AKA Gallery…a space with many tongues……and in that wonderful sexy aesthetic way, I also give you an image of Kai Chan, who opens at the Mendel this Friday, as well.

There is also a worthwhile exhibition that just opened at the Saskatchewan Craft Council, and the invitation is posted below for you as well. There’s some excellent work in this show. I’m also posting up a bit early, as I talk about it on this week’s show, the poster for INHABIT, a project by the MFA students at the U of S, that is happening in the Snelgrove right now but that will end with an Open Studio night next week. The poster is below, as well, with all the information you need.

…which is one of my favourite songs by the Talking Heads, and I play it this week, as it seems appropriate when talking about Emmanuel Licha’s work at PAVED which opens this Friday. This week’s radio show can be heard here. Enjoy.

And the Canadian Romantic will be making an appearance at AKA Gallery this Thursday night, at 7 PM.

…which will mean something when you hear the show. A number of events are mentioned, from LUGO to FUTUROLOGIST to Rural Readymade. Listen to this week’s show here.

I think I may have referred to Rural Readymade as Prairie Readymade several times in the show  (what is it about shows Shauna McCabe curates that I can’t get the names right with them? An unforgivable slight, as she’s often presenting worthwhile and engaging projects….or I can claim I come up with alternate titles, as she accepts my mistakes with good humour…).

An image by Dustin Wilson, from FUTUROLOGIST

We Were Lovers, who will be performing at LUGO at the Mendel

….and you may feel free to not let the door hit your ass on the way out. But there were some significant events and exhibitions and other such things this past year (like Bronwyn Eyre quoting the CARFAC newsletter like it wasn’t a self serving, contradictory last screech of desperation), and many exhibitions in Saskatoon that directly challenged the provincial imaginary of a “new Saskatchewan”. And I play a little Tom Fun Orchestra at the end. Enjoy the last broadcast of 2011.

In terms of updates, Michael Farnan, a past A Word guest on several occasions and survivor of the MFA program at the U of S, has a new website. Check it out here.