MacKenzie Annual General Meeting - Wednesday June 24th

Everyone is invited to the MacKenzie Annual General Meeting, this Wednesday evening! The AGM is followed by the Wally Dion exhibition catalogue launch, Bob Boyer: His Life's Work online exhibition launch, and Dr. Carmen Robertson's lecture entitled "Smashing China: Resistance and Engagement in Dana Claxton’s Art”.

Hope to see you then!

BAZAART updates: passes, buskers, eco-bags and more!

BAZAART passes are now available in the MacKenzie Gallery Shop!

Buskers wanted for BAZAART - no pre-registration required!

Follow this link for more info about pre-buying your pass or coming to busk at BAZAART: http://www.mackenzieartgallery.ca/News/207/

BAZAART will also feature exclusive MacKenzie Art Gallery eco-bags; these will be sold at the gates to BAZAART on Saturday for only $2 each!
Look here for more information: http://www.mackenzieartgallery.ca/News/201/

We hope to see you all at BAZAART this Saturday! Gates open at 10am, BAZAART is open until 5pm on the grounds of the MacKenzie Art Gallery. Visit the MacKenzie Art Gallery website (www.mackenzieartgallery.ca) for more information about BAZAART and other exciting MacKenzie programs and events.

Keep in mind that this Sunday, Father's Day, is also National Aboriginal Day. We will be celebrating in Wascana Park and at the MacKenzie Art Gallery!

Saturday, June 20, 2009 at 10 a.m. on the grounds of the MacKenzie Art Gallery.

Enjoy an art-filled day outdoors during the 36th Annual BAZAART Arts and Crafts Show & Sale, the MacKenzie Art Gallery's largest and most popular annual fundraiser! SHOP LOCAL, acquire one-of-a-kind creations from over 120 local artisans (including almost 30 new vendors!) and feel good knowing your $5 BAZAART admission sustains FREE MacKenzie Art Gallery attendance and programming! Experience hourly artisan demonstrations and musical workshops, and enjoy delicious food made by the locally-owned businesses featured in the BAZAART food court.

BAZAART will feature a raffle for the work of approximately 80 of the participating BAZAART vendors, making this our biggest raffle to date! Raffle tickets will be sold for $2 each, or 3 for $5. To enhance your BAZAART experience, extra bike racks and an ATM will be available on-site at the MacKenzie Art Gallery!

This year BAZAART will feature more vendor booths, more first-time vendors, and sustainability-minded
alternatives such as BAZAART eco-bags! BAZAART will also include new features such as artisan
demonstrations and musical workshops! Visitors can take in artisan demonstrations throughout the day,
including a canvas beading demonstration by Leah Dorion, a demonstration by New Dance Horizons, a pottery demonstration by Dee Funk, and more. Participants can also spend time on the Gallery lawn swaying to the sweet sounds of the Regina Folk Festival’s “Lordy, Lordy Look Who’s 40” workshop stage, which will feature Dave Lang, Library Voices, Andy Shauf, Shuyler Jansen and Kory Istace, presented as part of an exciting new collaborative partnership between the MacKenzie Art Gallery and the Regina Folk Festival. In conjunction with this partnership, the Regina Folk Festival will feature a MacKenzie Art Gallery art activity tent led by Saskatoon artist Wally Dion in Victoria Park on Saturday, August 8, 2009 and Sunday, August 9, 2009.

The MacKenzie Art Gallery is happy to announce that BAZAART 2009 is proudly sponsored by SaskTel, the presenting sponsor since 2002! BAZAART 2009 is also made possible with support from CTV, Rawlco Radio, The Regina Folk Festival and Combine Design.

BAZAART 2009 raffle contributors and participating vendors include: Parsons Dietrich Pottery, Randal Fedje Ceramics, Zane Wilcox, Feltastic Fibre - Heike Fink, Sisters Stepping Stone & Glass, Gail Daggett Jewellery, Shauna Mitru Art Glass Beads & Jewelry, Wingnut Enterprises… and many, many more!

The workshops will run from noon until 4:00pm and are scheduled as follows:

Noon - 1:00pm Whiskied, Whimsied and World-Wearied: Vocal Styles
Carl Johnson, Brennan Ross and Amanda Scandrett (Library Voices - hosts), Kory Istace, Dave Lang

1:30pm - 2:30pm Broken Prairie Scene: Spirit of Collaboration
Shuyler Jansen (host), Carl Johnson, Brennan Ross and Amanda Scandrett (Library Voices), Andy Shauf

3:00pm - 4:00pm Misery Loves Company: Lovin' and Leavin' Songs
Dave Lang (host), Kory Istace, Shuyler Jansen

Carl Johnson, Brennan Ross and Amanda Scandrett (Library Voices)

Library Voices is a ten piece pop collective from Regina, Saskatchewan. Blending tremolo soaked guitars with analog synths, vintage organs, circuit bent electronics, accordion, saxophone, and glockenspiel, their songs play out like an AM radio jingle; mixing the best of the 60's, 70's, 80's, and today.

Andy Shauf

The backdrop for Andy Shauf's childhood consisted of music at every turn to enjoy, inspire and to play, all of which he did by learning his way around every instrument that came his way. It's no surprise that Andy has been recording demos and bedroom albums as a one-man band since he was 14, but it is a surprise he concealed his love of songwriting from his friends. Andy is making his Regina Folk Festival debut this year!

Shuyler Jansen

As a career artist Shuyler Jansen has spent 17 years expanding the boundaries of his genre. Both lyrically and musically Shuyler is a throwback to an earlier era of country-folk ballad but with a grip steadfast on the fringes of rock and pop.

Dave Lang

Dave Lang is an itinerate songwriter working as the musician in residence at the Lyric Theatre in Swift Current, SK. He's written music for film and television. Neko Case covered one of his songs. He's toured with folks like John Wort Hannam, Geoff Berner, and Carolyn Mark.

Kory Istace

Kory believes in getting to the point. His writing is the same. Gritty, truthful, and without pretension, his raspy delivery commands attention while his lyrical style incites laughter, thought, and a desire to hear each song again and again.

The MacKenzie Art Gallery will also be onsite at the Regina Folk Festival presenting an art activity tent led by Saskatoon artist Wally Dion on Saturday, August 8, 2009 and Sunday, August 9, 2009 in Victoria Park.

June Shop Blog!

Some days, I think it would be great to be a kid again – especially the days when we receive new toys in the Gallery Shop! Recently, we have started carrying The Little Experience line, which includes activity kits for building, creating, knitting and stitching. Not only are the activities themselves great, but even the boxes are printed with patterns so they can be turned into something fun. They’ve also won awards from parent and children organizations; Stitch-it Donkey ($21.95), most recently won a Creative Play Award, and the Create-It Robot Kit ($21.95) comes highly commended.

While we’re talking about awards, I should mention the Automoblox line. These sleek and durable cars disassemble to allow children to get creative and design their own cars. They come in a range of colours and models and promote motor skills and problem solving skills. The Automoblox have won many awards including the Oppenheim Toy Platinum Award. Also new to the shop are Puzzibits, flexible puzzle pieces that can be shaped into 2-D and 3-D designs. We had a lot fun testing these out when they arrived in the Gallery Shop. Ranging in price from $13.95 to $32.95, the price point on these toys is pretty great too!

If you’re looking for something a bit more soft and cuddly, we have Adrienne Gibb’s Fabricawakuwaku handmade patch animals ($39.95 each). Using vintage and reclaimed fabrics these little guys – bears, monkeys, cats, bunnies and elephants – are just way too cute! Being a kid isn’t too bad!

Other news to keep on your radar: Friday, June 5, 2009 and Saturday, June 6th 2009, we are hosting our summer Member's Sale in the MacKenzie Gallery Shop! Save 20% on regular priced merchandise in the Gallery Shop simply by being a member! Also, don’t forget to stop by the Gallery Shop on Saturday, June 20^, 2009 while you’re for the 36^th Annual BAZAART Arts and Crafts Show & Sale! The Gallery Shop will be getting in on the BAZAART excitement, so step inside the Gallery and check out our special sale tables… See you then!

Rachel Molnar, Gallery Shop Manager

The MacKenzie Art Gallery encourages everyone to "SHOP LOCAL" and support locally grown artists and artisans!

Wally Dion Exhibition Catalogue Launch Wednesday, June 24, 2009 at 7:15 p.m.

We are pleased to announce the official catalogue launch for the exhibition Wally Dion, which appeared at the MacKenzie Art Gallery last fall. The catalogue provides the first serious look at this Saskatoon artist’s two major bodies of work: his large scale painted portraiture which works with themes including socialrealism and First Nations class struggles in modern Canadian life; and his recent work which involves the use of recycled computer circuit boards for large sculptural pieces.

In the catalogue essay, exhibition curator Michelle LaVallee links Dion’s work to three Saskatchewan pathfinders: Allen Sapp, Bob Boyer and Edward Poitras and discusses paintings from Dion’s Red Worker series and his new sculptural constructions created especially for this solo exhibition. She examines the major thematic and formal concerns present throughout his work and his blending of non-Aboriginal influences and Aboriginal sources that inspire him.

While his work is specific to his own investigations into identity, it is also about two cultures co-existing. Dion is part of an active culture and his interest in grids, history, “portraiture” and “work” have led to the production of two divergent yet connected bodies of work that encourage us to (re)consider subjects that are not often connected with Aboriginal people in mainstream art. LaVallee reflects on his use of material and symbolism and how, through his newest works, he has pushed his process and intent further to create multi-layered works which offer updated symbols for long-standing networks of communication and the continuity of tradition in contemporary culture. The exhibition appeared at the MacKenzie Art Gallery, Regina, Saskatchewan, from June 7, 2008 to September 21, 2008 and featured works borrowed from private and public collections.

MacKenzie Art Gallery Annual General Meeting
Wednesday, June 24, 2009 at 6:30 p.m. in the Shumiatcher Theatre

Everyone is welcome and encouraged to attend the MacKenzie Art Gallery’s Annual General Meeting as well as the free programs that follow! MacKenzie Art Gallery Annual General Meeting followed by Bob Boyer: His Life’s Work Online Exhibition website and Wally Dion Catalogue Launch followed by a talk by Dr. Carmen Robertson, entitled: “Smashing China: Resistance and Engagement in Dana Claxton’s Art.”