The Assembly, a participatory installation by Victoria-based artist and 2015 FCCS artist-in-resident Jeroen Witvliet
UBC Okanagan and the Alternator Centre for Contemporary Art have always enjoyed a mutual relationship. Over the last year, the Creative Studies department has made Studio 111 an exciting and busy place, a space that has operated through Alternator and is located in the Rotary Centre for the Arts.
Studio 111 is an experimental arts laboratory and exhibition space, and is a great opportunity for our students to have a more active role in community outreach. Activities in this space are centred on contemporary art practices, processes, and ideas in the form of exhibition, studio experimentation, collaboration, residencies, and events. The space has been host to a wide variety of activities, including the Visiting Artist Mentorship Program, Reading the Valley panels and workshops, and continues to be a space for FCCS students, alumni, and artists from the Okanagan region and beyond.
“The space allows for more visibility of the programs offered in Creative Studies, and allows our students, alumni, and faculty to showcase their creative work to the wider community within the downtown core.” Says Ashok Mathur, dept. head for Creative Studies.
The primary significance of Studio 111 is in its focus on experimentation. Toby Lawrence, a PhD student in FCCS, has been working to bring activities into this space that are not confined to the parameter of conventional art galleries.
“As a curator and researcher concerned with collaborative and dialogic practices, the visibility, accessibility, and space for experimentation and creative-research is crucial for exploring the social construction of ideas and relationships through art.” s Toby.
Throughout March and April 2017, The Assembly, a participatory installation by Victoria-based artist and 2015 FCCS artist-in-resident Jeroen Witvliet, will occupy Studio 111. Paintings presented as banners draw on source material from civilian responses to oppressive situations—political, racial, and/or economical. Unmediated and unmonitored in this gallery setting, the banners are used as props to situate the viewers as active participants in the experience and production of the meaning of the work.
Studio 111
Programming proposals from emerging and established artists, curators, and creative practitioners are accepted on an ongoing basis. The space is approximately 430 ft2. For inquiries, contact: Toby Lawrence, curator/facilitator at ubcostudio111@gmail.com
Studio 111 is supported by the University of British Columbia Okanagan Faculty of Creative & Critical Studies and co-organized by the Alternator Centre for Contemporary Art.
Studio 111, Rotary Centre for the Arts, 111-421 Cawston Ave., Kelowna, BC