Art = Movement

BI-ANNUAL EXHIBITION OF VISUAL ART INSPIRED BY HUMAN MOVEMENT
PRESENTED AT THE SMITHERS ART GALLERY

The Smithers Art Gallery is pleased to present a group show related to human movement entitled Art=Movement. The artwork installed in the gallery this month is the third in an ongoing series of exhibitions exploring the effects of human movement in our lives, and how to record or interpret them visually in an artwork. The show is unique in that all the artwork is inspired by human movement - any form of movement including dance, pedaling through the gears of a bike, floating in water and even just the rise and fall of the ribcage with breathing.
Originally initiated in 2006 by the innovative Smithers-based dancer and choreographer Miriam Colvin, and jointly directed and curated with visual artist Perry Rath, this bi-annual exhibition is the result of engaging dialogues about the way the human body moves, and how to capture or convey this movement visually. This is the third bi-annual exhibit.

Says Miriam Colvin, “I am always looking to invite people into dance and movement. What I love about this exhibit is that it offers such fresh perspectives on how we move. The artwork invites us to re-experience the sensation of simple movements we have all done in our lives – dance, swim, walk – through fresh eyes. We are invited into the poetry of movement.”
Art=Movement opens on Tuesday, August 31 and includes artwork from 13 Smithers artists and 1 Victoria-based artist, ranging from emerging youth artists to international exhibitors. The resulting artwork includes photographs, painting, drawing, video and mixed media installation. There will be a unique collection of suspended figurative armatures by local visual artists, and a video projection featuring work by an artist who has exhibited widely across Canada and abroad, including New York City, LA and Pakistan. The opening reception on Friday, September 3, will include food, live music, interactive movement games and, of course, amazing visual art!

The exhibit is designed to spark dialogue across artistic mediums and will act as a gateway to the many exciting movement-based events scheduled for the Bulkley Valley this Fall, including Audible, a contemporary dance performance sponsored by the BV Concert Association and Belonging in our Landscape, a movement-based community project sponsored by the BV Community Arts Council.

As an extension of the show, the Gallery will host a family friendly movie night. Dance on Film will be on Saturday, September 11th from 7-8:30pm. Films shown will include A Very Dangerous Pastime, a 14-minute award-winning video that aims to reveal the "secret" of looking at contemporary dance. Directed by filmmaker Laura Taler of Grimm Pictures Inc., A Very Dangerous Pastime is a humorous and textured collage of dance film, vintage footage, and interviews with well-known Canadian actors, athletes and musicians. Suggested donation is $2
“The theme of this show always demonstrates how much visual art relates to the body, in terms of our human figure and how it moves through the world, interacts with it, explores it. As living beings, we are constantly moving (right down to the cellular level), and artists continue to find inventive ways to include this idea in their work,” states Rath.

‘Art = Movement’ begins on Tuesday, Aug. 31 with the opening reception on Sept. 3 from 7-9, and runs until Sept. 25 at the Smithers Art Gallery on the corner of Highway 16 and Main St.
For more information, contact Miriam Colvin at 250-847-9455 or miriamcolvin@hotmail.com, or Perry Rath at 250-846-9612 or perry@perryrath.com.