Grunt gallery facts for kids
 |
|
| Established | 1984 |
|---|---|
| Location | Mount Pleasant, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada |
| Type | art gallery |
The grunt gallery is a special art space in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It was started in 1984 by artists themselves! This means artists run the gallery to show their own work and the work of others. grunt gallery proudly displays art by both Indigenous (First Nations, Métis, and Inuit) and non-Indigenous artists.
Discovering grunt gallery's History
The grunt gallery was founded in 1984 by a group of artists including Glenn Alteen and Susan MacKinley. It was one of many new artist-run centres opening in Vancouver during that time. These centres were important places for artists to share their work and ideas.
From 1985 to 1989, grunt gallery was a venue for the Vancouver Fringe Festival, a big event for performing arts. They also hosted a weekly jazz music series called "Jazz in the Gallery" for several years.
After 1990, grunt gallery started many performance art series. These included shows featuring artists from Chicago and a special series for First Nations performers. In 1993, they produced the Queer City Festival and Two Spirit Performance Series.
In 1994, grunt gallery worked with artist Pat Beaton on the Mount Pleasant Community Fence. This was one of Vancouver's first public art projects that involved the local community. In 1995, grunt gallery got its own dedicated space.
Later, grunt gallery helped create the "Live Biennial of Performance Art" in 2001. This is a festival that still happens today, celebrating performance art. They also launched important online projects like the Medicine Project in 2008 and the Vancouver Art in the 60's website in 2009.
Since 2010, grunt gallery has focused on its Media Lab and Activating The Archive Project. These projects help preserve and share art history online. Many famous artists have shown their work at grunt gallery, including Rebecca Belmore and Paul Wong.
Supporting First Nations Art
grunt gallery has worked with First Nations artists for over 20 years. Their archives hold many records of these works, including videos of performances and photographs of exhibitions.
Throughout the 1990s, the gallery became known for showing works by First Nations artists. These artists used all kinds of media and were at different stages in their careers. A notable event was the 1997 computer-generated performance "An Indian Act Shooting the Indian Act" by Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun.
In 2002, grunt gallery hosted a conference called "Indian Acts - Aboriginal Performance Art." In 2005, they launched their first online archive dedicated to First Nations performance art. They also started the First Visions Project in 2006, which includes three websites.
In 2007, grunt gallery helped create the "Live In Public- The Art of Engagement Conference." They also developed the Aboriginal Creators Project, which features websites by artists like Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun, Rebecca Belmore, and Dana Claxton.
The Beat Nation Project
In 2008, grunt gallery director Glenn Alteen started an exciting project called "Beat Nation." He invited Tania Willard and Skeena Reece, who are both Aboriginal artists and curators, to help. They wanted to create an online gallery that connected with Aboriginal youth communities.
Beat Nation quickly grew from an online idea into a real art exhibition and performance series. It was shown at the SAW Gallery in Ottawa, Ontario. Beat Nation artists also performed in Saskatoon. Co-curator Skeena Reece even performed as part of the 2010 Sydney Biennale in Australia. The project continues to grow and inspire.
