Interviews by Patricia Balcom
Toronto International Art Fair
In the course of our conversation M. Bergeron of Galerie Jean-Claude Bergeron described how the Toronto International Art Fair has changed for 2020.
This year it won’t be a physical affair. There are over 100 galleries from all over the world participating. We will send images and they will create a virtual booth for each gallery. Clients will go from one “stand” to another. I’ll make a selection of the 40 works I would have taken to the Fair. And if they like a particular work they can ask the gallery any questions they want; they can shop from their homes. But it’s too bad for people who like the social aspect, like drinking champagne at the opening. You get a lot of people at the Fair, well dressed people chatting with one another. Sometimes they don’t even look at the works. They come back the next day and then they start looking at the art.
(Edited for clarity)
The joys of a vérnissage
During our chat, Mr. Sokolowski of the Alpha Art Gallery described the joys of a vérnissage.
Sometimes when you go to a nice vérnissage you are going to buy a piece just because of the energy. When you meet the artist you feel how passionate he is, and how much energy he has spent to learn about life or about nature and then he creates beautiful painting. Then you have more desire to possess one of the paintings. But without that rendezvous, without that spontaneous moment, it’s just piece of art. I don’t buy an art piece just because it’s beautiful. I want more than that. I want to know who the artist is, what the artist’s vision is, and what the goal behind every painting is. But for that you need to be there, you need to be with the artist, and without the vérnissage it’s basically a nightmare.
(Edited for clarity)
The Ottawa Art Gallery during and after the lockdown
I wrote to Ms. Veronique Couillard, Officer, Media, Public and Francophone Relations at the Ottawa Art Gallery asking about the number of visitors they have had since re-opening. Here is her response.
A majority of our current in-gallery visitors are new to the Gallery and we have had a steady flow every day since the OAG’s re-opening in early July. We have also had success with attendance for virtual events. Hundreds of people have attended our online panels and talks, including local, national and international attendees. One panel attracted 400 attendees for the live broadcast, and over 430 people watched the recording on YouTube. Our online summer camps, where artists teach kids virtually from their studio, have had fully registered weeks. We also offer, in partnership with the Seniors’ Centre Without Walls, Art Talks telephone conferences for isolated seniors, which has had growing numbers. Some of these initiatives were launched during the closure due to COVID-19, and now that the Ottawa Art Gallery has re-opened, it will continue to offer these types of outreach activities to allow many to access Ottawa’s municipal art gallery. It seems like the current situation has given Ottawans new reasons to explore and discover destinations in their own city, and given OAG the opportunity to find more ways to connect to different publics, including overseas!
(Edited for clarity)