Rebranded as an experimental bookstore/library, the Victoria Arts Council’s Fort Street storefront presents a continuation of their Shelf Life project for Winter/Spring 2025. This time, ANOTHER SHELF LIFE, refocuses on printed matter and artistbooks in an expansive way, encompassing the entire venue.
Loosely themed from month to month, with rotating titles on offer, VAC’s executive director and curator of the project, Kegan McFadden, assembles interpretations of what makes a book and where printed matter enters the realm of contemporary art, all while presenting a dynamic new way of engaging with the local art scene.
Highlighting local artists/publishers/writers, on view throughout these monthly exhibitions will be limited edition artistbooks, printed matter, ephemera, and [un]related items of interest.
CHAPTER TWO: “A Little Sugar in My Bowl”
Made popular by two Black American female singers thirty years apart, the song that has inspired this selection was originally recorded by blues singer Bessie Smith in 1931, and later interpreted by Nina Simone as part of her Backlash Blues album released in the throes of the civil rights movement. In the context of Another Life, (a project centering publications and related artworks) might these lyrics be about sex and intimacy, or just wanting to be seen?
From Thursday 6 February – Sunday 2nd March, the second chapter of Another Life unfolds.Titled “A Little Sugar in My Bowl” this special presentation recognizes Black History Month and showcases printed matter and moving images by local and international artists.
Artists contributing to “A Little Sugar in My Bowl” include:
Aya Behr +Kemi Craig, Ingrid Mesquita, and Paul Mpagi Sepuya with publications on loan from Blackspace Library.
This chapter includes the re-staging of the mural by Ingrid Mesquita that previously graced the exterior of our Pat Martin Bates Gallery on Store Street, a curated selection of titles from Blackspace Library, and a special presentation of zines, printed matter, and monographs by LA-based artist Paul Mpagi Sepuya.
Screenings of experimental films at night in the windows of our Fort Street Project Space are presented with the financial support of the City of Victoria’s OUR DWTN IDEAS fund.
Films presented in conjunction with “A Little Sugar in My Bowl” included: Wash Over by Aya Behr,Praying for Time by Kriss Munsya, and Battle Cry by Rhonda Hackett.
CHAPTER ONE: MILE ZERO
Beginning Thursday 9 January, the first installment of Another Life is titled “MILE ZERO” and considers place and placelessness through the contemporary lens of printed matter and moving images.
Artists contributing to “Mile Zero” include:
John G Boehme, Cathy Busby, Jean Murray, Ed Ruscha, and Wendy Thompson, with additional publications by Ian Baxter&, Douglas Coupland, Ryan Foerster, Jeff Jones, Leah McInnis + David Peters, Tracy McMenemy, and others.
Screenings of experimental films at night in the windows of our Fort Street Project Space are presented with the financial support of the City of Victoria’s OUR DWTN IDEAS fund.
Films presented in conjunction with Mile Zero included: Cake by Leah McInnis and David Peters, 200 Seconds on Scafe Hill by Nick Noble, and Anastomosis of Sunlit Generations by Jeffrey Ellom.
The Victoria Arts Council acknowledges the partnership with The Bay Centre, and funding from CRD Arts, BC Arts Council, and the Province of BC, as well as our Members for their support.
A window project curated by Kegan McFadden 670 Fort Street
A group show presented sequentially, Shelf Life. is an examination of the finite, of mortality, exhaustion, and the possibility of what’s to come as well as what is left behind. Over the course of our time on Fort Street, we will be presenting the work of one artist at a time in the large windows, viewable any time of day or night.
From May through December of 2024, the Victoria Arts Council presented unique and diverse installations in the window of our Fort Street venue by: Chin Yuen, Heidi Bergstrom, Ryan O’Lewis, John G Boehme, Ronnie Montreal, Cedar Walton, Jane Coombe, and Faro Annie Sullivan.
This project is made possible by the generous community partnership with The Bay Centre, and is supported by the Province of British Columbia, BC Arts Council, CRD Arts, as well as VAC membership.
December 2024: Of Special Concern (Extirpated, Endangered, Threatened): Red and Blue listed Birds of British Columbiaby Faro Annie Sullivan
Of Special Concern (Extirpated, Endangered, Threatened): Red and Blue listed Birds of British Columbia bears witness to the ongoing loss of biodiversity in British Columbia. Since BC has the highest rate of biodiversity in Canada, consequently we have the highest rate of threatened species, including more than 100 species of birds. The provincial government has stalled out on creating meaningful endangered species protection laws. As citizens we can urge the government to move forward with the Draft Biodiversity and Ecosystem Health Framework (including a timeline leading to legislation co-developed with First Nations) and commit our province to taking action to preserve and enhance BC’s ecological integrity.
Faro Annie Sullivan is a self-taught ceramic artist, educator and studio technician who work explores relationships with the natural world through visual narrative. Of Irish, English, and French descent, she is blessed to be living in the territories of the Lək̓ʷəŋən (Songhees and Kosapsum) speaking peoples. She studied creative writing at the University of Victoria and has a degree in Folklore from Memorial University of Newfoundland. After 20 years as a studio potter, she is currently exploring ceramic installation and sculpture. She also maintains a position as studio technician at Camosun College. Faro has a passion for creating as well as sharing her skills with those willing to be playful and get dirty.
November 2024: Tracing Tracks by Jane Coombe
Tracing Tracks is a geological installation of found rocks, precious metals, core logs, photographs, paintings and Plexiglas sculptures. The installation is inspired by memories of looking for jet-black stones on the beaches in England, garnets in Scottish outcrops, gold in Wales and my partner’s search for precious metals and mapping in the Saskatchewan Precambrian Shield. Personal geography, space, landscapes and the environment, together with maps, memory and media create the structural basis of the work. Elements associated with places, repetition, aging, re-using, layering, tracing and reworking are catalysts that drive my drawing, painting and sculptural practice.
Jane Coombe is a British born, Canadian artist living in Victoria, British Columbia, with a contemporary art practice in painting, sculpture and 3-D installation. Jane graduated with a Diploma in Art from the Vancouver Island School of Art (VISA) in 2017.
October 2024: Identity by Cedar Walton
I am a differently abled, neurodivergent, single coparent of a 10 year old human, pansexual, trans and genderfluid. I am white with ancestry from Europe with a history of colonialism, I seek to undo harm my ancestors have been for and against in my lineage. I came into being on Blackfoot territory, known as colonized Calgary, Alberta.
I create works from my heart that attest to my spirituality, my integration of the self, self knowledge and my placement in community.
My work is an expression of the inner worlds, I encounter, the people I am in contact with and the interpretation through my experience captured in many forms of visual and performance mediums.
September 2024: Ta’pitj’ij (Little David)
In the 1940s my uncle was abducted from the family yard on Membertou(NS) reservation. I wove thick paper to construct a mi’kmaq basket / wigwam. With accompanying audio, I hope in some way to bring my uncle’s spirit peace and help heal my family and community. Ronnie Montreal
I graduated from University of Victoria with a BFA in 1990. I completed the work for my MFA at Hunter College, City University of New York, in 1993.
I am a Mik’maq person with European ancestry. In the ’50s my grandmother took my mother and her other children out of residential school and moved to Toronto, where my mother hid her identity. In the ’60s my mother had her native identity stripped away and then reinstated in the ’80s by the Canadian Government. Her experiences have left a hole in me and many questions about identity.
August 2024: My Dad’s Keys by John G. Boehme
Keeping objects under “lock and key” was an element of my father’s psyche. As the son of an antiquarian I have early memories of objet d’art, antiquities, and historical artifacts being stolen, which was met with my father’s consternation, and a growing amount of keys, to keep these valuables safe and secure.
John G. Boehme is a multi-hyphenate artist whose work spans performance, education, and curation. His practice is deeply rooted in exploring social and political themes through a multidisciplinary approach, blending elements of visual art, live performance, and critical pedagogy.
A performance of My Dad’s Keys took place Wednesday 31 July; the installation as part of Shelf Life is the culmination of that performance.
July 2024: ENOUGH by Ryan O’Lewis
Enough reflects on the collective resistance Pride initially emerged from as a response to systemic violence experienced by the 2SLGBTQIA+ community and which we continue to navigate. In a seemingly simple sculpture, O’Lewis calls attention to the complex issue of Queer Battle Fatigue many 2SLGBTQIA+ Folx struggle with. The act of existing, being visible, speaking up, and living authentically in one’s queerness slowly carves out possibilities for Queer Joy to emerge without violence.
Ryan O’Lewis (he/him) is a queer, (dis)abled, Canadian artist currently residing on the unceded traditional territories of the T’Sou-ke and Scian’new Nations. His art practice explores sexuality, masculinity, (dis)ability and mental health. More specifically the intricate relationship one has with themselves and how they experience spaces with invisible marginalized identities.
Ryan will present a brief artist talk about this project, in conversation with Shelf Life. curator, Kegan McFadden: Wednesday 31 July @ 5:45PM…
June 2024: Phoenix by Heidi Bergstrom
Heidi Bergstrom brings her take on the Phoenix to the Shelf Life project. This site-specific work created from paper, sinew, moose hide, textile fibres, and vinyl offers a visual allusion to the mythological winged creature symbolizing rebirth and renewal. Bergstrom’s installation incorporates natural and synthetic materials, pointing to a continuum where the viewer is left to decipher whether it is the remains or the reemergence of the Phoenix on display.
Heidi Bergstrom (she/her) is a settler of mixed Euro-Scandinavian (Sweden and Iceland) background, and her family is Michif from Red River in Manitoba. She is a multimedia visual artist in Victoria, BC, Canada. Her fine art practice and exhibitions includes work in painting, printmaking, book binding, textiles, video and photography, and multimedia installations. Heidi has exhibited her work in Canada, the United States, and internationally.
May 2024: Takotsubo, a prelude by Chin Yuen
In response to the death of her mother, Mei Ying Wong (1938 – 2020), Chin Yuen began experiencing Takotsubo cardiomyopathy or “Broken Heart Syndrome.” The syndrome is coined as such since it causes a part of the heart to swell, resembling a Japanese octopus trap, takotsubo. As a way of processing the physical manifestation resulting from this profound grief, the artist turned to her studio and began experimenting intuitively with ceramics, creating a series of hand-pressed pots in the form of takotsubo.
International award-winning Canadian painter, Chin Yuen, was born in Malaysia. She studied in Singapore and England before moving to Canada for further education. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts with Honors from Emily Carr University of Art and Design and a Master of Arts from the University of Victoria. After graduation, she moved to Japan and Italy, where she taught English and Fine Arts for several years before returning home to Canada. Yuen continues to travel extensively for work and pleasure. She sees her diverse cultural exposures as an artistic asset that, combined with her love of imaginative inventions, inspires and shapes her creations. For over 25 years, she has exhibited internationally. Her dynamic abstract paintings are on the covers of international textbooks and the walls of residential homes, hotels, health care centres, and corporate buildings.
With the ever-increasing costs to operate, the VAC is in the very unfortunate circumstance where we now need financial help from our core supporters — the community of artists, educators, and arts enthusiasts we’ve served for decades.
If you’ve enjoyed our programming, or have been one of the hundreds of artists we’ve uplifted through exhibitions and other opportunities, we’re now calling in the favour.
Please donate to the VAC today … no amount is too little or too much!
{charitable tax receipts issued at time of donation}
Though we have been able to increase and diversify our revenue stream over recent years, it just isn’t enough to cover costs anymore.
We’ve been there for you since 1968, and together we’ve built something incredible and unique to Victoria … please help us raise the much needed funds to keep the VAC going!
28 January – 29 April 2025 1441 Monterey Ave., Victoria, BC V8S4W1 MWFS 10am-6pm / TTh 10am-7pm
About the Work:
The Hall Paintings
The series, the Hall Paintings, is very much process driven. I was inspired by the many sample pots of interior house paint I had at my disposal after choosing a colour for the hallway at home.
The challenge I set for myself was to find something more than a display of attractive colours. I am often motivated by the opportunity to experiment with different approaches or by combining different tools. I limited myself to using only the colours of the samples and a defined format of a white bordered square with a “splatter” of paint of a different colour than the base. However, I spent a lot of time trying to figure out an additional element that would be interesting and tie it all together. The introduction of pencil drawing was my Eureka moment and provided me with a perfect resolution.
With one exception, the pieces are a combination of painting and drawing and similarities and contrast. The base coat of house paint provides a smooth, velvety, permanent surface. The paint splatter is messy, random and often dimensional. The graphite drawings are monochrome, impermanent, textured and are linked visually to the painted splatters as they are copies of actual splatters.
The title of each painting is the manufacturer’s name for one of the colours of paint.
About the Artist: Lisa Jackson is a mixed media painter who has been working out of her Victoria studio for the past 10 years. She has a BFA from University of Victoria and diplomas in Visual Arts and in Structural and Architectural Drafting from Camosun College.
https://lisajacksonart.ca/She is has participated in solo and group shows in Victoria including the Annual Open House at Rock Bay Square. She is interested in exploring and experimenting with themes and materials and is inspired by many things – nature, memory, the written word, architecture, patterns, the passage of time.
