2010 Overview at Artcite

2010

Thursday, January 14, 2010, 7:30 pm
"4 into 2010" An evening of prose and poetry at ARTCITE

Live readings by:

Len Gasparini
Jim Christy
Edward A. Watson
Salvatore Ala

To lead off the new decade, Artcite featured an evening of prose and poetry by Windsor (and Toronto area) authors:
Len Gasparini launched his latest book; "When does a kiss become a bite?".
Jim Christy read excerpts from his last year's music and poetry CD "God's little Angle" and other works.
Edward A. Watson read from his newest work "Where Hidden Love Lies" and his collected works.
Salvatore (Sal) Ala featured new poems and excerpts from his latest book: "Straight Razor and Other Poems"
Light refreshments, Admission as always was free.

January 15 - February 06, 2010
“HERE IN MY CAR - Beyond Autopia and autogeddon”

Opening reception: (for both the Artcite & AGW "Here in My Car" exhibits)
Friday, January 15, 7:30 pm, at the Art Gallery of Windsor.
The AGW" Here in My Car" exhibit continues through March 28, 2010.

Closing reception at Artcite for "Here in My Car - Beyond Autopia and Autogeddon" exhibit:
Friday, February 5, 7:30 pm.

Nature of Activity: group exhibition, in conjunction with thematically related exhibitions at the Art Gallery of Windsor

Download the Brochure for “HERE IN MY CAR - Beyond Autopia and autogeddon” (large file size: 1M)

image; Artcite window view

HERE IN MY CAR - Beyond Autopia and Autogeddon.

"the point is not to write a sociology of the car, the point is to drive"... Jean Baudrillard

Featuring works by:
Matteo Bittanti (Palo Alto, California) "Car Crash Gamics"
Doug Bedard (Windsor, Ontario) "mixed media sculpture"
Peter Gibson / ROADSWORTH (Montreal Quebec) "traffic line interventions"
Ed Janzen (Kingsville Ontario) "mixed media signage"
Tim Laskey (Windsor Ontario) "mixed media bicycle sculpture"
Stephen Schudlich (Detroit Michigan) "chop-shop graphics series"
Eric Smith (Royal Oak, Michigan) "End of the Road photo series"
Sandi Wheaton (Windsor Ontario) "Route 66 time lapse video"

In a short book review in the Guardian on 29th November 1984, the visionary British writer J. G. Ballard
(with a nod to Orwell???) held forth on the fecundity and pervasiveness of mass automobile culture,
and its seemingly inexhaustible power to spawn disruptive, fetishize-able objects.
In “Autopia or Autogeddon,” Ballard posed a choice between "Autopia," the embrace of the freedom
and mobility conferred by car ownership, and "Autogeddon," a dystopia comprised of the now familiar litany
of negative externalities wrought by the fact of the car. And as in most of Ballard’s imaginings,
we are now faced with a world that offers no answer—and all possible answers.

In “HERE IN MY CAR – Beyond Autopia and Autogeddon”, we set out to examine some of the “third order”
issues surrounding the inescapable effects of the car in contemporary society and the attendant social
developments—and ruptures—that have come “along for the ride”.
The 8 featured artists in the exhibit explore the conflicted social dynamics that have emerged, unbidden,
out of late modern car culture: the unspoken social, economic, environmental and cultural patterns
which have seeped into our collective consciousness.
Themes echoed in the exhibition explore private vs. public space, crumbling urban and exurban infrastructure,
cultural imperatives, choice, altered social relations and construction of the self (and the other…).

image; Car Crash Gamics, M. Bittanti

Matteo Bittanti's CAR CRASH GAMICS demand that we accept as commonplace a market for videogames
that simulate and reward ever more elaborate car crashes – and that the technological envelope to be pushed
by game designers is high definition rendering of seductive, synthetic carnage on your console screen.
Appropriated into comic-book panel form and captioned with excerpts from canonic postmodern critical works
on car culture, Bittanti’s “Gamics” become an exercise in re-imagining “desire and ennui”.
Matteo Bittanti works with the Stanford Humanities Lab at Stanford University as a Research Associate.
He also teaches at the California College of the Arts in San Francisco and Oakland and collaborates with
the Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose', California as a Curator.
He also writes for WIRED, Rolling Stone, LINK, Duellanti and creates stuff.
http://mbf.blogs.com/mbf/2006/11/gamics_experime.html

image; untitled, D. Bedard

Multi-media artist Doug Bedard’s construction is at once a monument, an altar
and a memorial and (or) a warning out of wood and rusted automobile parts.
Bedard holds an MFA in Art History and is a Windsor-based artist and Independent curator.

image: Peter Gibson/ Roadsworth

Peter Gibson (AKA ROADSWORTH) chose the streets of Montreal as the canvas for his bid to subvert
that most invisible sign of auto culture dominance: the painted lines snaking down the middle of every street,
and those that mark pedestrian crossings.
Roadsworth's witty street interventions are playful and questioning, while remaining respectful of public safety,
but his works nevertheless attracted the attention of Montreal police and prosecutors who sprung reflexively to the defense
of a threatened symbolic order.
Roadsworth’s activities have been the subject of a feature-length NFB documentary; he continues his questioning
of "car culture" in general while remaining active in both visual art and music.
http://roadsworth.com/ and http://films.nfb.ca/roadsworth/

image: Ed Janzen with his work

Ed Janzen presented "WALK", an iconic sign-sculpture for the auto age, to remind us of Virillio’s comment
that drivers view pedestrians somewhat as sculptures. Janzen’s bomb vest-wearing pedestrian is no innocuous
stroller, but a threat equal to that the urban assault vehicle.
Ed Janzen is a Kingsville ON sculptor and multimedia artist.
http://www.edjanzen.ca/

Tim Laskey's works are well-known to Windsor residents in the downtown, near-West side (most of the time
you'll find the artist, or his friends actually driving the art!). Laskey's “dream machines” present a real-life solution
for bicycle enthusiasts who often wonder how to get drivers to respect, let alone notice them.
No one can fail to notice and respect Laskey's post-apocalyptic creations.
"Not Street Legal " is his biggest, baddest and most fantastic hybrid hotrod bike sculpture yet!

image; Stephen Schudlich, Auto Shop 1

Stephen Schudlich's "Chop Shop graphics" are a feel-good take on a feel-bad reality of urban car culture:
the "oh no!" moment of discovering, some morning, that your car has been raided for parts!
Stephen Schudlich is Director of Exhibitions for “work •detroit“, The University of Michigan School of Art & Design’s
exhibition space for creative process, located in Detroit.
As an illustrator, he has provided work for clients such as The New York Times, Comedy Central, and Scholastic.
His work has been included in The New York Art Directors Annual, Print, and the AIGA Design Annual.
His work has also been exhibited in galleries including The Elaine L. Jacob Gallery, DAM, and The Scarab Club.
He also teaches graphic design at the College for Creative Studies.
http://art-design.umich.edu/people/detail/stephen_schudlich and http://mrstevetime.blogspot.com/

image: E. Smith's Ruins of Detroit; End of The Road series

In his Ruins of Detroit; End of The Road series Eric Smith examines the limits of urban and suburban growth, in a photo essay of closed,
abandoned and blocked streets in and around Detroit, Michigan. Once the center of car manufacturing world, Detroit
is moving to “de-service” large tracts of abandoned residential and factory land and roadways in a bid to avoid bankruptcy.
Eric Smith studied Fine Arts Photography at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit. He has exhibited his photographs
since 1972 and has been a working photographer since 1980.
http://www.ericsmith.us/

image: Sandi Wheaton; Route 66

Sandi Wheaton, back from a photo pilgrimage across the United States on historic Route 66,
presented her ENTIRE 2,300 mile TRIP(!) in a time-lapse video produced from cameras mounted
on her jeep dashboard during the weeks of travel.
Once the major thoroughfare crossing the continental US, and the route by which dust-bowl migrants
rode towards a dream of a better life, Route 66 today is largely abandoned, and unmarked, if not invisible.
Sandi Wheaton\, a Windsor – based photographer, has been exhibiting her work for several years in the US and Canada.
Sandi has also spent several years documenting the ecologically-troubled Salton Sea in desert California,
which will be featured in a solo exhibition at the Art Gallery of Windsor in 2011.
http://sandiwheaton.com/ and http://pictureroute66.com

image: Artist Tim Laskey drives off with “Not Street Legal” at the close of the show

Both "Here in My Car – Beyond Autopia & Autogeddon", and the associated “Here in My Car", exhibitions
at the Art Gallery of Windsor: were timed to coincide with the presentation of the 2010 North American International Auto Show™®,
at Cobo Center, Detroit.
"Here in My Car – Beyond Autopia & Autogeddon" was curated by Christine Burchnall and Bernard Helling for Artcite Inc.

"I believe in my own obsessions, in the beauty of the car crash, in the peace of the submerged forest,
in the excitements of the deserted holiday beach, in the elegance of automobile graveyards,
in the mystery of multi-storey car parks, in the poetry of abandoned hotels"
.... from 'What I believe', J.G. Ballard.

Saturday, January 16, 2010, 8 pm
"ARTS 1, 000, 047 BIRTHDAY"
at Phog Lounge, 157 University Ave. West

The area arts community came together SATURDAY January 16th,
for Art's 1, 000, 047 BIRTHDAY
at Phog Lounge, 157 University Ave. W.;
Doors @ 8:00 pm; festivities from 8:30 pm - 1:00 am
Admission was only $5 at the door!

An evening of Fun and Festivities to Banish the January "blehs"!

The evening featured the musical stylings of
Windsor's own fiddler supreme,
LONESOME LEFTY

image: Lonesome Lefty serenades the crowd

And. . .

MC Stephen Pender;
The return of the whittlers (AG Smith, Steve Daigle, and a surprise guest);
Readings by Jeff Noonan, and Lenore Lang;
DJ Michael O' Blivion;
Capricorn-ucopia festival
Special Art's Birthday Artist Trading card table -
(bring, make 'n' trade cards with the community)
DOOR PRIZES by the Bucket load!
A BIRTHDAY CAKE FOR ART (you expected less????)

image: of course there's a cake!

With 2009 finally over and the piles of happy holiday decorations hauled back
into the attic/ crawl-space/ basement It was THAT time of the year again!
Time for ART'S 1,000,047 birthday bash, Saturday, January 16 at Phog Lounge, 157 University Ave. W.

Special Art's Birthday musical guest and fiddler supreme Lonesome Lefty entertained the crowds.
DJ Michael O' Blivion and friends spun favourite tunes and the crowd danced the night away,
with a chance to rest their feet during performances by The Whittlers (AG Smith, Steve Daigle,
Dan Dunlop) and readings by Jeff Noonan, Stephen Pender and Lenore Lang.
Other fun Art's Birthday party activities included surprise performance art, door prizes,
Artist trading card makin' n' tradin' and a BIRTHDAY CAKE for ART

Since 1990, "Art's Birthday" has been an annual celebration for the international arts community,
presented with a nod to French Fluxus artist Robert Filliou (who declared Art to be
1,000,000 years young on January 17, 1963).

Organized annually by Artcite Inc, "Art's Birthday" is a grass roots, community-based
celebration of the arts, and is presented in cooperation with other arts-friendly organizations
in the community. Artcite was pleased to partner with Phog Lounge in the presentation of
Art's 1,000,047 BIG Birthday on January 17, 2009.

For more info. about worldwide Art's Birthday celebrations, go to: artsbirthday.net

January 29, 7 - 9 pm
ARTCITE INC. hosts ARTIST TRADING CARD “TRADING SESSIONS”
on the LAST THURSDAY of every month!

Nature of Activity: open rendezvous for the textile savvy and artist trading card enthusiasts

images: local artist Sara Jane French shows her recent artist trading card creation; photo courtesy of Artcite inc.

WHAT ARE ARTIST TRADING CARDS?
Artist Trading Cards (ATC) are teeny works of art (2.5" x 3.5") that are made specifically to trade.
There are no restrictions of medium or theme and materials can range from collage, drawing,
painting, glass, ceramic, metal, fabric and melted wax to computer-generated imagery and photography, etc.
ATC's may also be 2D and 3D, unique works or a series or edition—the possibilities are endless!
The creation intention behind the creations and trading of ATC's is to present a non-commercial,
non-hierarchal avenue for artistic exchange—but more importantly, ATC sessions are meant to be FUN!
Cards traded one to one and people of all ages and artistic abilities are encouraged to participate.

GENERAL ATC GUIDELINES:
1) Produce your own cards: any media, any theme!
2) Size: 2.5 x 3.5 inches (64 x 89mm). ATCs generally should easily fit in the plastic sheets designed for hockey/baseball cards.
3) Identify your ATC w/ your signature, date, edition number (if necessary) on back of the card.
4) TRADE at Artcite Inc. Trading Sessions held on the LAST THURSDAY of every month

TRADING SESSIONS:
Artcite Inc. is holding monthly "Trading Sessions" (LAST THURSDAY OF EVERY MONTH) in the gallery.
Whatever your age or art background, you are invited to attend the Trading Sessions
(observe for the first time if you like, but we guarantee you will be making your own cards soon after!)
We may hold trading sessions in alternate locations from time to time
—contact us for more info or stay tuned to our website for details!

SOME HISTORY...
The original concept was developed by Swiss artist M.Vanci Stirnemann, who wanted to make a catalogue to document his activities with other artists.
Because the cost of printing a catalogue in hockey-card format was prohibitive, he decided, in 1996, to produce 1,200 cards by hand.
This led to the first exhibition of Artist Trading Cards in April 1997. During the show, visitors were encouraged to produce their own cards
to trade with Stirnemann and others at the closing reception. From that first auspicious event, a Trading Session has taken place
at INK.art&text on the last Saturday of every month. Canadian artist Don Mabie (a.k.a. Chuck Stake) was in Zurich, Switzerland
to experience the first Artist Trading Card Session in 1997.
He brought the idea back to Canada and on September 27, 1997, the first trading session took place in Canada at Calgary's The New Gallery.
Through the magic of email, ATC groups are now routinely trading around the world! Now it's YOUR turn...

Since the moment we saw The New Gallery's handsome ATC card packages, we've been interested in the idea of Artcite Inc.-hosted ATC trading sessions...
more recently, Susan Gold & A.G. Smith (local artists, activists and active Mail art artists and organizers) and Allen Bukoff (Fluxus Midwest) have assisted Artcite Inc.
in distributing Artcite's 25th Anniversary "25 Years to Life" call for submissions that reached Mail art artists across the world with much success!
Artcite Inc. received two ATCs by Chuck Stake—as well as ATCs from many of his international "trading partners" that was recently on display
as part of the "25 Years to Life" at Artcite Inc. from May 25 - June 23, 2007.

Special thanks to The New Gallery (Calgary, AB) and
Artist Trading Cards: a collaborative cultural performance websites for information for distribution.

February 12 - March 13, 2010
“PROPOS DÉCOUSUS” by KAREN GRENIER (Quebec, (QC))

Nature of Activity: solo mixed-media installation

image: courtesy of Karen Grenier

Karen Grenier creates textile works from scraps of fabric,
tags and labels that have been removed from articles of clothing.

"By unstitching the thread that binds them to the clothing. . .
I free these tags from their obligation(s) and allow them
to display their material composition.. . ."

"PROPOS DÉCOUSUS" by Karen Grenier is presented
to coincide with International Women's Day (celebrated annually on March 8).

February 25
STITCH & BITCH + ARTIST TRADING CARDS AT LEBEL!

Nature of Activity: solo mixed-media installation

image: S'nB +ATC at LeBel February 2010

In February Artcite's “Stitch ’n Bitch” and “Artist Trading Cards” committee
staged an event at the University of Windsor's School of Visual Arts LeBel Building.
“Stitch ’n Bitch” events feature “how-to” and technique workshops,
opportunities for collaborative creation and guest presentations
on various issues relating to the feminist landscape.
“Stitch ’n Bitch” is an international movement empowering
and reclaiming “women’s work” but guys can show up and mend their socks too!.

Artist Trading Cards (ATC) are teeny works of art (2.5" x 3.5") that are made specifically to trade.
There are no restrictions of medium or theme and materials can range from collage, drawing, painting, glass, ceramic,
metal, fabric and melted wax to computer-generated imagery and photography, etc.
The creative intention behind the creations and trading of ATC’s is to present a non-commercial, non-hierarchal
avenue for artistic exchange — but more importantly, ATC sessions are meant to be FUN!
Cards traded one-to-one and people of all ages and artistic abilities are encouraged to participate.

Artcite’s first monthly ATC event was launched in Spring 2007, with a generous gift of several ATC’s by
Vancouver artist Chuck Stake, for Artcite’s “25 Years to Life” anniversary art exhibition and festivities.
The local component of ATC production and trading has proven to be a success and the gallery
has seen a diverse and increased attendance with each trading session.

“Stitch ’n Bitch” and “Artist Trading Card” sessions are usually held on the last Thursday of every month.

February 18, 2010
“ARTISTS 4 ARTISTS” fundraising event
featuring: The Vaudevillianaires and Intra Meridian
At Loft Nightclub, 20 Chatham St. East, Windsor

Nature of Activity: Fund raising musical performances

Two Windsor bands, “The Vaudevillianaires” and “Intra Meridian”
joined together with The Loft Nightclub to help raise awareness
for Windsor's local arts community: Artcite, Media City and
Common Ground Gallery. A portion of the ticket sales went
towards these organizations.

With so many friends in other artistic fields, organizers hoped to
raise awareness and funds for some of Windsor’s local arts groups and start
a cross- pollination, bringing together the arts and film making crowd,
and the indie music crowd for the benefit of both.
Gallery representatives were on hand with information and literature for
an evening of fun and great live music. The event was co-sponsored by
The Loft Nightclub, The Vaudevillianaires, Intra Meridian,
The Unique Rabbit vintage clothing, Smirnoff Vodka, Molson-Coors,
Mayday Clothing, Crown Royal, Marz Media.

March 19 - April 24, 2010
“THE TRAVELLERS OF TRIPLE-G” by Tony Baker (Toronto ON)

Nature of Activity: Solo installation with drawing, paintings, sculptures and dioramas.

images: courtesy of Tony Baker

Tony Baker uses his fantasy world, “The Expanse”
to draw on themes of geopolitics, isolation, paranoia,
free trade and oppression.

The result is a rich visual tour of an imaginary world,
done in the style of “DeKooning/ Basquiat/ 4-year-old
meets Star Wars/ Road Warrior/ Lord of the Rings”.

More about Tony Baker and “The Expanse” at:
http://tonythebaker.blogspot.com/
and http://www.zardex.com/spacefarers/001.htm

April 30 - May 29, 2010
“WINDSOR FIGHTS BACK!”
with
Leesa Bringas (Windsor ON)
Blake Fall-Conroy (Ithaca NY USA)
Lucy Howe (Windsor ON)
Zeke Moores (Windsor ON)
José Seoane (Havana Cuba / Windsor ON)
A.G. Smith (Windsor ON)

Organized for MayWorks Windsor 2010 by Susan Gold / Smith

Nature of Activity: group exhibition, as part of MayWorks Windsor 2010

See our Flickr set of the show setup and opening reception here

images: Leesa Bringas (Windsor ON)
Grass Braiding Windsor's Parks, site specific installation and performance, 2009 ; prints and video 2010

“I considered braiding the grass a simple gesture; my motives and approach were not overly political.
I (and occasionally with the help of friends) utilized the long grass as a material without cutting and transformed the space,
sometimes highly visible, and at other times in a small and perhaps almost unnoticeable way.
I also approached this project as a way to enjoy the city despite the negative undercurrents, and did so in a repetitive and meditative fashion
—working with my hands and creating something that would eventually be cut, transformed and eventually disappear.”

Artist, social activist, educator and cultural worker will present documentation from a series of performances and interventions
held in and around Windsor. Inspired by the Municipal worker's strike of 2009, Leesa Bringas braided the long, uncut grass in Windsor’s riverfront parks.
Leesa Bringas is currently a candidate for a Masters of Fine Art at the University of Windsor School of Visual Arts.

image: Blake Fall-Conroy (Ithaca NY, USA)
Minimum Wage Machine, mixed media work, 2008-2010

For MayWorks Windsor 2010, Blake Fall-Conroy has rebuilt his “Minimum Wage Machine”
to answer the challenges of a slightly higher Ontario minimum wage, and the beveled edges on some
Canadian pennies! Artcite has filled it with pennies and it is ready to go!
The minimum wage machine allows anybody to work for minimum wage.
Turning the crank engages a timer circuit that is set to dispense pennies at a rate geared to minimum wage per hour.
If the participant stops turning the crank, they stop receiving money.
The machine's mechanism and electronics are powered by the hand crank, and pennies are stored in a plexiglas box.

“I want my projects to be socially conscious.

I want my projects to be simple, approachable, and defined by the vocabulary of everyday objects.

I want my projects to be easy to understand, even if it's in a different way than I intended.

I want the form of my projects to follow the underlying concept, nothing more.

I am more interested in communicating ideas and less interested in making art.”

More about Blake Fall-Conroy at his website

image: Lucy Howe (Windsor ON)
Untitled (fence), chain link fence and steel, 2010

Untitled (fence) explores the subtle transformative qualities of chain link fence.
As a barrier this material moves from common neighbourhood backyards to the borders of the Gaza Strip,
changing from friendly and familiar to aggressive statements of control and containment.
As a barricade it all at once succeeds through separation of space, and fails as a totally permeable surface.
Untitled (fence) forces the viewer to view the exhibition through a steel fabric and choose
‘which side of the fence’ they find themselves on.

Lucy Howe is interested in subverting the everyday and exploring the physical and metaphorical structures of common spaces, objects and activities.
Her interventions, installations and objects shift the purpose, being and function/behavior of ‘reliable objects’, while bringing into question
that which is known and familiar. Here, sculpture is being utilized to escape the physical form and create an internal space of balance,
between belief and distrust.

Lucy Howe has a BFA from the Nova Scotia College of Art & Design, in Halifax and an MFA from York University, in Toronto.
She is currently teaching at the University of Windsor, Ontario.

image: Zeke Moores (Windsor ON)
Dumpster, fabricated & cast bronze, 2010

“Dumpster is the continuation of a series of works that recreate an object to scale,
questioning its perceived value, while exploring its social and cultural economies.
The Dumpster’s high polished surface allows the viewer to reflect upon their role and relationship to the object.
From the environmental state of our urban landscape to issues of value, property and control,
the Dumpster is a cultural vessel that overflows with contemptuous issues that permeate our society today. ”

Originally from Newfoundland, Zeke Moores has been living and working in Ontario for the past 7 years.
He has an extensive background in fabrication, blacksmithing and foundry; has worked at one of the largest
art cast foundries in North America, Johnson Atelier Foundry & Fabrication, and has been a free-lance fabricator
for the past ten years.

Zeke Moores has a BFA from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design and an MFA from the University of Windsor, Ontario.
Currently, he is showing nationally and internationally, while teaching at the University of Windsor,
and Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario.

More about Zeke Moores at his website

image: José Seoane (Havana, Cuba / Windsor ON)
Survivor, acrylic on canvas, 2009

“As a painter and installation artist, I am interested in investigating ideas around transculturation and identity .
The current presented work explores an immigrant’s journey between Western and non-Western cultures and the process of integration and re-invention.
Over the past few years I have developed a vocabulary of painterly images and effects that simulate stratifications of oppositions meant to evoke permanence
and transience, absence and presence, belonging and displacement, which are part of the immigrant’s lived experience.
Living in a border city–Windsor–has given me the unique opportunity to witness the conflicts and tensions that are more present at the edges of any nation,
which is an extension of my own experience.
Here the border is a river, but it functions as a wall in the sense that it is a barrier between two cultures even though not appearing as such.”

Originally from Cuba, José Seoane has been living and working in Ontario for the past 8 years.
He has an extensive background in painting and drawing; since 1990 he has been participating in several international and multi-cultural projects
between artists from Germany and Cuba in both countries. José Seoane studied at the art institute “San Alejandro “ (Havana city) 1982,
completing diploma in printmaking. José Seoane is showing nationally and internationally, while teaching as a Painting & drawing Professor
at the University of Windsor since 2002.

More about José Seoane at his website

image: A.G. Smith (Windsor ON)
Basic Shelter, mixed media work, 2010

“People around the world found common means of constructing shelter. Basic Shelter is based on this archetypal structure, representing a place of security.
Constructed of banners and placards from demonstrations and actions for peace, human rights and social justice, that have taken place in Windsor,
the text on the entrance reads: Our security lies in our fight for the rights of all. ”

Between 1973-1981, A.G. Smith taught printmaking and drawing, first at Morehead State University in Kentucky and then at the University of Windsor in Ontario.
Since 1981, he has worked as an illustrator and paper engineer; published over 100 books, including, cut and assemble activity books, colouring books,
social studies, and history books for children, numerous articles and illustrations for periodicals (Stoddard, now, Fitzhenry and Whiteside, Toronto; Dover, New York).
He has authored two books, "What Time is It?" and “Where Am I?” for Stoddard Publications, now, Fitzhenry and Whiteside.
A.G. Smith. has led numerous workshops and author in the school visits. Currently, he has developed a series of paper models
of ships and architecture. They are being published by Upland Books and Design.
A.G. Smith lives and works in Windsor and Nobel Ontario.

MAY 2010
MAYWORKS WINDSOR 2010

image: Wake Up! by M. Boles

For May 2010, Windsor Ontario's labour and arts communities joined
with other cities across Canada to present our first labour-focused cultural
MayWorks festival in Windsor.

Artists, workers, and students met over many months to organize
a collection of exhibitions, projects, events, a rally and a parade, to celebrate
our creativity as a community, our dedication to the values of workers' solidarity,
social justice and human rights.

The various activities served to highlight our support for our city core,
our old Sandwich Towne community and our history of solidarity,
concern for social justice and our tradition of labour arts.

MayWorks Windsor 2010

A Festival of International Workers’ Solidarity,
Social Justice and Community Cultural Projects

(all events listed were free and open to the public)

28 April -Day of Mourning; honours workers injured or killed on the job,
Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, 834 Raymo (and Wyandotte), 5:30 PM

29 April - Stitch & Bitch; last chance to make ATCs for MayWorks’ Artist
Trading Card Big Trade, Windsor Workers’ Action Centre, 328 Pelissier,
6:30–9 PM.

1 May - Building Bridges; Group Exhibition, Common Ground Gallery 12-4 PM
reception Bar-B-Q, Mackenzie Hall, 3277 Sandwich St.

1 May - May Day Rally and March; down University, starts at 4:30 PM, City Hall Square;
speakers’ box and musician Travis Reitsma

1 May - SmogFest; opens at Milk Coffee Bar, 68 University Ave. W. Silent bidding
on art throughout the month of May. Submit artwork to Citizens Environment Alliance
1950 Ottawa St. before April 27th (ceaadmin@cogeco.net.)

1 May - Windsor Workers Action Centre Open House; open before and after the
MAY DAY Rally, 2– 7 PM for coffee, tea and sign making, 328 Pelissier.

1 May - 3rd Annual May Day Celebration; dinner and entertainment, 8 PM
CAW 444 Union Hall, 1855 Turner Rd. (contact: bmcnamara4@cogeco.ca)

1 May - Windsor Fights Back; Exhibition opening reception,
Bringas, Fall-Conroy, Howe, Moores, Seoane, Smith.
7-10 PM , Artcite Inc., 109 University West.
Exhibition runs throughout May (www.artcite.ca - see listing below)

2 May - MayWorks Artist Trading Cards’ Big Trade; 2-4 PM
reception and local trading, Ten Thousand Villages, 624 Chilver off
Wyandotte. (sgold@uwindsor.ca)

2 May - Cuban Labour/Arts Solidarity event;
“From Crisis to Alternatives; The Example of Cuba.”
12 noon - 2 PM, Art Gallery of Windsor. 3rd floor Rodzik Gallery.
The Consul General of Cuba at Toronto, Jorge Soberon will discuss Cuba's experience.
(ccfawindsor@yahoo.ca)

6 May - Château des photos: a community pARTnership; 7-9 PM reception,
Château Park Nursing Home, 2990 Riverside Dr. W. Unit B, Lindsay
Hanaka, Linda Renaud Fisher, Sandi Wheaton. Music by No One Special.
(Note: exhibit only open to public for the reception)

7 May - Unity in the Community BBQ; Music from Kero and Flow,
Art from D3N1@L and others, 12–5 PM, Print House, 510 Pelissier Street Gallery

7 May - Working on Foreign Land; exhibition based on stories about work
from the perspective of students who are recent immigrants to Canada
and are enrolled at Catholic Central High School, 7-10 PM closing reception,
Artspeak Gallery, 1942 Wyandotte East; exhibition runs one week prior to
closing reception.

8 May - Radical Slam; open mike poetry, 7 PM
Windsor Workers’ Action Centre, 328 Pelissier.

8 May - Not To Train in Vain; students of the University of Windsor
School of Visual Arts envision positive retraining options for Windsor’s
workers in a public art project, 7-10 PM reception, 400 block of Pelissier.

8 May - Resonation II; Installation by Dong-Kyoon Nam and Paul Breschuk,
400 block Pelissier, reception 7-10PM.

8 May -Remorse; Text work by Amin Rehman on view on 400 block Pelissier,
reception 7–10PM .

9 May - UFCW Agricultural Workers Alliance Band; playing in Leamington,
Details TBA

12 May - The New Normal exhibition; Wednesdays are free at the Art Gallery of
Windsor, exhibition runs throughout May.

14 May - MayWorks Film Night and discussion; WWAC, 328 Pelissier, 7PM.

17 May - International ANTI Homophobia Day; “Homophobia and Me”
postcard project on Artcite Inc.’s windows, Music at Phog,
Poetry Slam at Milk Coffee Bar.

21 May - Broken City Lab: How to Save a City; www.brokencitylab.org/savethecity.

22 May – Artists’ Parade; starts at 9 AM through Olde Sandwich Towne.

22 May - Live Graffiti Painting and Music; 12–5 PM, Print House, 510 Pelissier
(behind the Gallery in the Alley).

22 May - Art Show, Sandwich Towne Art Festival; 11 AM–6 PM.

23 May - Art Show, Sandwich Towne Art Festival; 11 AM–6 PM.

26 May - Art Gallery of Windsor and the 16th Media City Experimental Film and
Video Festival present Friedl vom Göller (Kubelka); Wednesdays are
free at the Art Gallery of Windsor.

May 26 - 29 Media City 16th Experimental Film and Video Festival;
Pay what you can. Performances at 7:30 and 9:30 each night, Capitol Theatre.

27 May - Materials Trade. ReUse. ReCyle; MayWorks Stitch&Bitch and Artist
Trading Cards, Windsor Workers Action Centre, 6:30-9PM, 328 Pelissier.

29 May - SmogFest LAST GASP; closing reception at Milk Coffee Bar, 7:30 PM, 68
University West, silent bidding on Smog Fest art work all during May.

Individual artists:

Sasha Opeiko, “Education Patchwork”, hand made book
marks made from unwanted paper collected from students
and academic institutions, will be given away at several
MayWorks venues, Artcite Inc., Common Ground, Windsor
Workers’ Action Centre, Ten Thousand Villages and Art Speak.

Amin Rehman, “Remorse”, Pelissier storefront window
text works on view through May on 328 and 400 block
Pelissier

Dong-Kyoon Nam and Paul Breshuk , “Resonation II”, on
400 block Pelissier, reception 8 May 7-10PM

MAYWORKS WINDSOR 2010 Facebook Group page:
You can keep up with last minute Mayworks news,
see pictures and discuss activities HERE
or search in Facebook for "MAYWORKS WINDSOR 2010"

MayWorks is brought to you by the following
participants & supporters:

CAW Local 444
CUPE Local 543
CAW Local 444 Retirees Committee
SCOOP
University of Windsor Labour Studies Programme
WWAC (Windsor Workers Action Centre)
Artcite Inc
Art Gallery of Windsor
Common Ground Gallery
Arts Council Windsor & Region/ Artspeak Gallery
WUFA (University of Windsor Faculty Association)
Windsor Peace Coalition
Canadian Cuban Friendship Association - Windsor
Print House
Olde Sandwich Towne Business and Improvement Association
CARFAC Ontario
Windsor Artists for Social Justice
Citizens Environment Alliance
Windsor Pride
16th Media City Experimental Film and Video Festival
Milk Coffee Bar
Phog Lounge
Ten Thousand Villages
Château Park Nursing Home
UFCW Agricultural Workers Alliance
Broken City Lab / Save a City
OECTA
ETFO
Save a City Project
Legacy Benefits Project

Friday, May 14, 2010 at 7:30 PM
“AN EVENING WITH EUGENE McNAMARA"
reading his latest poems, including selections from Spindrift.

Nature of Activity: readings and book launch

View a member's short video of Eugene McNamara reading at Artcite on YOUTUBE

Artcite hosted Windsor's poet emeritus, Eugene McNamara for an evening of
poetry and prose to launch his latest collection of poems.

Spindrift is Eugene McNamara's fifteenth collection of poems.
Published by Windsor's Cranberry Tree Press, the poems encompass a wide
range of subjects: a secular take on Christian liturgy, celebrated persons
(Henry James, Oscar Wilde) in what seem to be strange locales and the author's
own world — family and place.

Recent poems will appear in Rampike magazine and in a chapbook to be
published in British Columbia

Monday May 17, 2010
“POSTCARD QUILT PROJECT" in Artcite Inc.’s gallery windows,
presented in cooperation with PRIDE IN THE CITY's
activities for International Anti-Homophobia Day.

To commemorate International Anti-Homophobia Day, May 17,
Pride Windsor and the Pride in the City Committee invited Windsorites
to create 10cm by 15cm postcards on the theme of overcoming homophobia,
which were hung for display in Artcite's front windows.
Other events included mixed media projects presented in the Capitol Theatre Lobby.
a One-At play “Waking Up Blue” at the Capitol theatre presented by Pride Youth,
and evening performances at Phog Lounge and Milk Coffee Bar.

June 4 - July10, 2010
“GOOD DOG BAD DOG”
Ed Janzen (Kingsville ON)
N.B. show extended through July 10

Nature of Activity: Nature of Activity: solo exhibition, mixed media with video projection.

image: courtesy Ed Janzen

“Good Dog Bad Dog” features a paired set of mixed media video
installations by Kingsville artist and longtime
Artcite alumnus Ed Janzen.

“The use of dogs as metaphor of the human condition has a long history in art.
More specifically to this exhibition I was most interested in issues of pluralism vs. polarization,
for the dog is a diverse being – at one time exemplifying all the best human traits,
such as loyalty, dedication, unconditional love, obedience; at another,
the most deplorable ones, such as viciousness, filth, disgust.

Cross-cultural opinions of dogs vary from “man’s best friend” to pariah.
By extension, in human encounters, the “other” is often judged in terms of good or of evil;
trusted or feared. Through video, installation and the hybridization of familiar dog/ human
cultural artifacts, these works occupy the space between the two poles.”

image: courtesy Ed Janzen

A short excerpt from the installation on Youtube

More at: www.edjanzen.ca
Opening and setup pictures on Flickr

July 16 - 31, 2010 (some exhibits continue through August 14)
“VISUAL FRINGE 2010 ”
presented in partnership with the “Windsor International Fringe Festival”
Located in sites throughout downtown Windsor!

Visit our VISUAL FRINGE 2010 Flickr pages:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/visualfringe2010/sets/

July 16 – August 14, 2010
Special Visual Fringe 2010 Project;
“FREE BOWL– THE PLAYERS’ OPEN”
Michael Coolidge (Calgary AB/ Montreal QC)

“Free Bowl – The Player’s Open” reception and
Visual Fringe off-site exhibitions debut:
2:00 – 4:00 PM, SATURDAY JULY 17

Free Bowl Training Camp
2:00 – 4:00 PM, SUNDAY JULY 18

Visual Fringe 2010 FREE public walking tours:
1:30 PM and 4:00 PM SATURDAY JULY 24

Stitch ‘n Bitch & Artist trading cards Visual Fringe evening with workshops by
Nicole Drouillard (blog.knitnicoleknit.ca) and Carly Erber (Urban Cozy).
THURSDAY JULY 29 – 6 pm @ Phog Lounge, 157 University Ave. Windsor.
19 yrs and over welcome; FREE admission!

to download or map guide in PDF form, click here

Retail Partners – drop in during business hours:
266 Ouellette Ave. (The Coffee Exchange)
361 Ouellette Ave. (Frenchy's Poutine)
318 Pelissier Street (Terra Cotta Gourmet Pizzeria)
322 Pelissier Street (Biscuits & Gravy Southern Bistro)
510 Pelissier (Printhouse)
68 University Avenue West (Milk Coffee Bar)
100 University W. (Jack Rabbit Slims)
157 University W. (Phog Lounge)

Store window display Exhibitions:
537 Ouellette Ave. (formerly The Bookmark)
328 Pelissier (WWAC)
250 Pelissier (Villains)
406 Pelissier (projection on during hours below)

Viewing Hours for off-site Exhibitions:
360 Victoria
110 & 116 Park
410, 424 Pelissier

Sat July 16 2-7 pm

Sun July 17 3-6 pm

MON. TUES. WED CLOSED

Thurs July 22 4-7 pm

Fri July 23 3-8 pm

Sat July 24 1-8 pm
Walking Tours 1:30 pm and 4:00 pm
meet at Artcite 109 University Ave. W

image: Last year's Visual Fringe walking tour visits Ouellette Ave displays

Y'Art SALE at Printhouse, 510 Pelissier,
free BBQ, Art sale, Live Music

Sun July 25 3-6 pm

Thurs July 29 4-7 pm
Artists’ Trading Card and Stitch ‘n’ Bitch workshop night
at Phog Lounge, 157 University Ave. W., 6:30 pm

image: Carly Erber's (right) Urban Cozy intervention, 116 Park Ave West, at Visual Fringe 2010

Fri July 30 3-8 pm

Sat July 31 1-5 pm

And of course, drop by
Artcite Gallery (109 University Ave W.)
for “Free Bowl – The Player's Open”
during regular hours:

Wed- Sat. 12 -5 pm except for the
Free Bowl Training Camp
2:00 – 4:00 PM, SUNDAY JULY 18

Nature of Activity: Open, unjuried and curated off-site exhibition;
mixed media site installations, interventions and performances

Exciting and cutting edge contemporary art by local and international artists
coming to a downtown storefront near YOU!

Artcite Inc., Windsor's artist-run centre for the contemporary arts, was proud to host
the third annual Visual Fringe Festival. presented as part of the Windsor International
Fringe Festival.

With the generous project support of downtown Windsor landlords, business owners
and the City of Windsor, Artcite placed a variety of art in a wide range of storefront,
in-store and available-for-rent retail spaces.

Artists from Windsor and surrounding areas, including the Detroit area,
exhibited their artwork in non-traditional, storefront venues.

Also on exhibit as part of Artcite’s Visual Fringe 2010 was the mixed-media installation
and audience-interactive art show “Free Bowl – The Player’s Open”, by Montréal artist Michael Coolidge.

While in Windsor, Coolidge was on-site in the official “Free Bowl”
Clubhouse at Artcite; members of the public were encouraged to visit the artist
while in residence at the Clubhouse and participate in daily “Free Bowl”
tournaments as players, coaches, strategists, or scorekeepers, etc.
The “Free Bowl” exhibition continued at Artcite through August 14, 2010.

ADMISSION was FREE to attend all Visual Fringe 2010 off-site and Artcite gallery exhibitions.

Visual Fringe provides an excellent opportunity for Fringe Festival visitors and the general public
to take a leisurely walk through the downtown core and see exciting new art by emerging and established
Windsor-Essex County and Detroit area artists.

The open-media, unjuried off-site Visual Fringe programs includes:
• 19 different storefront exhibits featuring sculptural installations, photographs, drawings, paintings and artist-made toys
• “mini galleries”
• performance art
• Guerrilla lawn/street Bowling
• Yarn Bombing
• a Printhouse / Denial Y!Art Sale on Saturday, July 24
• an Artists’ Trading Card and Stitch ‘n’ Bitch night at Phog Lounge, 157 University Ave. W., beginning at 6:30 pm on Thursday, July 29 and
• a public walking tour on Saturday, July 24; guided Visual Fringe Tours departing from Artcite at 1:30 and 4:00 pm. (No registration required)

Our walking tours were a big hit!
For more pictures, visit our VISUAL FRINGE 2010 Flickr pages:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/visualfringe2010/sets/

VISUAL FRINGE Artists to date:

• Margaret Atkinson • Joshua Babcock • Brianna Benore • Daniel Bombardier • Sarah Buckius • Christine Burchnall • Michael Califano • Michael Coolidge •Steph Copeland • Laurie D'Alessandro • Jason Deary • Olga Dermendji • Adrian Deva • Lauren DiVito • Nicole Drouillard • Deb Dunlop • Carly Erber • Murad Erzinclioglu • Bernard Helling • Dennis Hunkler • Jolie Inthavong • Ed Janzen • Donnie Johnson • Gwen Joy • Deborah Kingerly • Shane Lange • Brandon Lemire • Diane Lorick • Mauro, (P.E.) • Beth McLachlan • Natalie Nadeau • Tracy Patterson • Nadja Pelkey • Jon Pickell • Allen Plant • Thomas Provost • George Rizok • Ken Roung • Christopher Schneider • Natalie Sinn • Michelle Soulliere • Robert Stewart • Michael Thoresen • Nicolette Westfall • Carol Anne Winters • Emily Whitehead • Diane Whitehead

Thank you to our venue and event partners:

• Ken Yu
• Romeo DeCaro
• City of Windsor
• The Coffee Exchange
• Milk Coffee Bar
• Phog Lounge
• Perfect Printshop
• Printhouse
• FAM Festival
• Windsor Workers Action Centre
• CJAM 99.1 FM
• Terra Cotta Pizzeria
• Biscuits & Gravy Southern Bistro
• Frenchy’s Poutine
• Villains
• Rogues Gallery Comics
• Jack Rabbit Slims
• Downtown Windsor Business Improvement Association
• Actors Theatre Windsor
• Windsor International Fringe Festival

Supporting Sponsors:

• Canada Council for the Arts
• Ontario Arts Council
• The City of Windsor
• Service Canada:
Canada Summer Jobs Program
• and Artcite members and volunteers!

Anchoring Visual Fringe 2010, Artcite will host
Michael Coolidge's “FREE BOWL – THE PLAYERS’ OPEN”
July 16 – August 14, 2010

See the DOWNTOWN WO piece on FREE BOWL:
http://downtownwo.ca/2010/08/bowling-for-urban-awareness-at-artcite/

Artcite's gallery space will serve as a meeting place and “clubhouse”
for Free Bowl activities.

Join us during Visual Fringe 2010 for an exhibition that explores the art of “Free Bowl”.

image: Free Bowl champion John Frost bowls for point
at the Calgary Invitational, 2007.

Embedded video from Youtube courtesy of theTom Lucier/ DWBIA

Essentially an interpretation of the ancient game of Bowls,
Free Bowl takes the city as a potential playing field:
one round leads to another, as the game and its players traverse
the various landscapes of the built environment.

Training sessions and match play were free and open to the public.

Visit Michael Coolidge's Free Bowl project site:
http://www.michaelcoolidge.com/freebowl.asp

Visit the Free Bowl - The Players' Open WINDSOR
Facebook Group:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=108134532569073

ARTCITE: Now with ample bike parking!

Many thanks to the City of Windsor and The Downtown Windsor Business Improvement Association
for the new bike racks! Bike down to see the latest show at Artcite and lock your bike where you can see it!

September 17 – October 16, 2010
“STAGING THE GAP” by Robert Hengeveld (Toronto ON)
“KILLING HORNETS” by Scott Rogers (Calgary AB)

Opening reception: Friday, September 17, 7:30 pm

Nature of Activity: Two-person show, mixed media installations.

See the opening night's photo set on our 2010 Flickr account

Scott Rogers “KILLING HORNETS” Free artist's multiple/ poster available to all visitors.

image: opening night reception view of Staging the Gap by Robert Hengeveld

At a concert both the performance and other visual effects of the concert shape our understanding of what we hear.
Hengeveld’s installation Staging the Gap turns that relationship on its head, creating instead a situation in which
the audio frames our understanding and perception of the visual.

The work explores the relationship between audio and the visual, and the roles they play in structuring our understanding
of the world around us. The work uses fiction to better understand our perception of the real.

An outdoor concert stage is recreated at a miniature scale of 2 m2 – a scale at which the viewer is encompassed by the work
and yet remains slightly detached from its original context. This model structure is elevated 1.5 m from the ground on top of scaffolding.
The empty stage is silently animated with lights, smoke, and other effects, which are precisely orchestrated
– recreating a virtual, but performer-less show. The effects are programmed through the use of ‘colour organs’
and other electrical circuits. The model stage is accompanied by eight audio headsets hung across the front of the stage.

Each headset plays a very different soundtrack created by a variety of musicians who have made audio interpretations
that specifically respond to the visual performance. This diverse collection ranges from experimental noise, to rock ’n roll,
classical, and others. The audio tracks and visual effects play in sync, and are triggered by the viewer through an
illuminated push button switch.

image: Installation view of Killing Hornets by Scott Rogers

Scott Rogers’ video and sculpture installation: “Killing Hornets” explores an innocuous domestic activity
(getting rid of unwanted insects) as a subtle meditation on the nature of life and death, the flow of time
and the complexity of human and species conflict.

A sculpture made from an old recliner chair serves as a site for a replacement hornet nest made from chicken wire and papier mache;

Two videos play behind the chair; one of a tipped over recliner being filled with water and another of four hornets trapped in glass jars.

A poster featuring a "mind map" drawing and a sketch of the recliner sculpture is available to the public as a free "artist multiple" work.

October 7, 2010, 7:00 PM at Artcite,
“GRAPHIC FICTION IN WINDSOR ” part of “Fam Fest 5”
with Tony Gray, Johnny Desjardins and Jay Fabok.

FREE ADMISSION.

See photos of the evening: http://www.flickr.com/photos/artcite2010/sets/72157625122219194/

image: (l-r) Johnny Desjardins, Tony Gray and Jay Fabok

As part of "Fam Fest 5", Artcite and FAM are proud to host an evening presentation: GRAPHIC FICTION IN WINDSOR,
with Windsor's own; Tony Gray, Johnny Desjardins and Jay Fabok.
Moderated by Mike-EL of The Comic Book Syndicate, (The only television show about comic books)
the evening will also be filmed for future broadcast.

Tony Gray is the writer and illustrator of the daily comic strips Mick & Me and Saturday Afternoon.
He currently creates The Incredible Conduit, a daily comic strip featuring Windsor's very own superhero for The Windsor Star.
Tony has provided comic book illustrations for Comico's Northstar comics line and Mic Mac Comics.
He is regularly employed to contribute editorial illustrations to CanWest publications such as the Ottawa Citizen
and the Windsor Star. In 2008, Tony teamed up with Daniele Palanca, of Windsor, Ontario to form 'Legacy Comics Publishing'.
Tony is currently writing and illustrating the continuing series, White Plastic, for the Legacy Comics line.

Johnny Desjardins is a Windsor-based comic artist, who has lately done the covers for Dynamite Entertainment's
Robocop, Kato, Green Hornet, and Red Sonja. He is the artist for the upcoming Green Hornet: Blood Ties series,
slated for release in December.

Jay Fabok has done illustrations for the Flash, Superman/Batman, TeenTitans, among many.
He is currently working on Soulfire for Aspen Comics.

Fam Fest Five October 1, 2010 through October 9, 2010

Harvesting The FAM is Windsor Ontario’s largest independent inter-arts festival designed for the promotion
and development of independent Film, Artistic and Musical talents, working in any medium or genre.
With FREE entrance fees for fans and creative talents alike, the festival creates a positive, open-minded space,
for a diverse array of artists to exhibit, promote, perform and sell their works.
For a complete schedule see: http://www.famfest.ca/schedule/
EVEN MORE info: http://downtownwo.ca/2010/09/fam-fest-preview/

FAHRENHEIT NEWS

For 2010, our venue at the Vollmer Recreation Center in LaSalle is being extensively improved,
and is unavailable to us due to construction.
A bigger and better Fahrenheit is planned for September 2011 at the newly renovated pond site
next to the Vollmer Recreation Center in LaSalle.

Visit http://www.artcite.ca/fahrenheit\index.html for a history of the Fahrenheit Festival of Fire Sculpture.
Vist http://www.flickr.com/photos/artcite/sets/72157622496098008/ to see pictures from our 2009 Festival.

October 22 – November 20, 2010
“CHARCOAL + TURBO ” by Marie-Suzanne Desilets (Montreal QC)

Nature of Activity: Solo show, mixed media installation and book launch

Presented in cooperation with BookFest Windsor 2010

As part of BookFest Windsor 2010, Artcite presents Marie-Suzanne Desilets' "CHARCOAL + TURBO",
a mixed media installation based on her journals over a two year period.
Funny, poignant, ribald and intimate, the excerpts both suggest and question subject and narrative.
Installation graphic and scenographic design is presented in collaboration with Denis Rioux.

Update: Marie-Suzanne Desilets will launch the book; "CHARCOAL + TURBO" at the opening
reception. A limited number of the works, in french and english will be available.

“CHARCOAL + TURBO” has explicit content, that may not be appropriate for underage viewers.
No one under 18 will be permitted in the gallery, without accompaniment by a parent or guardian.

"I'm interested in human relations and in multiple codes of behaviors. I plan and set-up events for perturb day-to-day life.
In my projects imaginary and reality, fantasy and the ordinary are confronted. Unexpected situations happen
to transform and improve perception and preconception.

Because I'm interested in including art in day-to-day life, many of my works are interventions in public spaces.
But in the last few years, I have been working on a project that is about how I can include art in my own life.
This approach used to reveal how interpretation is predominant in our experiences,
and the place it takes in the search of meaning for each and every moment of life.

It finally brought interrogation on the role of memory, related to reality and truth.
Throughout Charcoal + Turbo, I explored the idea of manipulating the memory flow of daily experiences.
A rabbit and a dildo, nicknamed Charcoal and Turbo, were the pretext a story that slips
between fantasy and reality, questioning decencies, shadiness and taboo.

Throughout the project, I experienced encounters, I kept a journal,
and I accumulated photographs, objects, and drawings each and every day. "

--Marie-Suzanne Desillets

ARTCITE: Uncertainty over the Capitol Theatre

the Capitol Theatre Building in the 1920's

In 1992 Artcite moved into the Capitol Thetre complex as an anchor tenant – part of a movement by
local cultural groups to save the building from the wrecking ball. Now, after being under bankruptcy
protection since 2007, the Capitol Theatre Complex is finally in the hands of the City of Windsor.

But uncertainty remains for Artcite and the other tenants of the Capitol Theatre Complex.

The City of Windsor is trying to give the building to either St. Clair College or The University of Windsor,
following the model set with the Cleary Auditorium and the old Salvation Army building
(now the St. Clair College Centre for the Arts and the St. Clair College - MediaPlex Campus).
Will the College and /or the University take them up on the offer?
Will existing tenants, including Artcite be forced out?
So far there is NO news, only rumours. . .

Before the financial problems in 2006, The Capitol paid its way with a diverse mix of shows and tenants.
If the City operates it as a community center, it could do so again – while serving the area cultural
community, existing tenants and groups, as well as the University of Windsor and St Clair College.

Please let your Councillor and the Mayor know your opinion on the need to keep Artcite
in the Capitol Theatre Complex. We need a place at the table if decisions are being made!

Listen to the interview about the issue on an excerpt from WDET's Craig Fahle show:
http://www.archive.org/details/CraigFahleWdetFriNov122010OnWindsorsCapitolTheatreComplex

December 1, 2010:
"INTERNATIONAL DAY WITHOUT ART"

Nature of Activity: Art action/commemoration. Artcite Inc participates in a day of mourning each Dec 1;

This annual art vigil is honored by members of the art community and various social service agencies.
Activities/strategies undertaken to acknowledge this international day of mourning and action in response
to the AIDS crisis have involved symbolic exhibition closings and the shrouding of public artwork,
as well as the "blacking out" of websites in more recent years...

Declaration of loss...

Today we stand together.
Today we stand in silence.
Today we mourn the loss of painters, photographers, dancers, printers, actors, filmmakers, singers, choreographers, poets, sculptors, musicians, designers...all the artists who have died of AIDS. Today we collectively grieve the loss of future work from recognized artists, as well as the absence of countless artists yet to be. Today we declare our loss.

December 1 is a Day Without Art, an international day of observance which focuses attention on the profound impact of AIDS has had on artists and the world arts community. Since 1990, each year an increasing number of galleries, theatres, artist groups and individuals have participated in a vast array of commemorative events. Day Without Art celebrates the lives of colleagues and friends while mourning their loss in our creative communities.

World AIDS Day / Day Without Art activities/commemorations included: gallery closings; shrouding of public art; special art exhibitions; announcements on CJAM 91.5 fm; distribution of commemorative pins and handbills and a candle light vigil held at 7:00 PM at Mackenzie Hall Community Centre.

Windsor DWA 2010 Collective members included:

Actors Theatre Windsor
AIDS Committee Windsor
Artcite Inc.
Arts Council - Windsor & Region
BookFest Windsor
Broken City Lab
CJAM 91.5 fm
Common Ground Gallery
House of Toast Film & Video Collective
Media City International Festival of Experimental Film & Video Art
Michelle J. Mainwaring productions
Mackenzie Hall
Rampike Magazine
U of W - School of Dramatic Arts
U of W - English Language & Creative Writing
U of W - School of Visual Arts
U of W - Visual Arts Society
Windsor's Community Museum
Windsor Endowment for the Arts
Windsor Feminist Theatre
Windsor International Fringe Festival
Windsor Pride
Windsor Public Library
Windsor Symphony Orchestra

Artcite's 29th Annual “DOIN’ THE LOUVRE” XMAS FUNDRAISING EXHIBITION"
December 3 - 23, 2010

A Holiday FUN(d)raising(R)(TM) exhibition

See the Doin' the Louvre profile on DOWNTOWN W.O:
http://downtownwo.ca/2010/12/doin-the-louvre-art-sale/

Artcite's annual members' holiday fundraising show and sale.

Art and gifts by area artists from 99¢ to $99.99

Artcite Inc., Windsor's non-profit, Artist-Run Centre for the Contemporary Arts,
once again presented its annual "Doin' the Louvre": Artcite's 29th annual Christmas FUN(d)raising exhibition and sale.

ORIGINAL ART--paintings, drawings, prints, photographs, mixed media, sculpture--and artist-made gift items
(xmas ornaments, books, toys, cards, 'art wear', jewellery, etc.) created by established and emerging Windsor and Detroit
area artists will all be exhibited "salon style" (floor to 15' ceiling, ala "The Louvre"), with all work priced for Christmas giving!

BIG sale prices for these one-of-a-kind art pieces start at 99¢(!) -- and NOTHING is priced over $99.99!
Shopping for unique X-mas items has never been so easy!

2010 was our biggest-ever DTL ever with over 800+ artworks (!) by over 115 Windsor & Detroit area artists,
and, as always, many pieces were created specifically for this special fundraising exhibit by Artcite artist-members old and new...

Opening night and setup photos on flicker:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/artcite2010/sets/72157625553493794/

DTL RAFFLE WALL - Couldn't decide what to get ?????
As in past years, we are also offering our gallery visitors the chance to win original artworks
by distinguished Windsor artists!
A $2 ticket (3 for $5)was all that was needed to win an artwork valued at $500-$2000!

DTL 2010 featured raffle wall artists are: Mary Atkinson; Jeet Aulakh; Susan Gold; Tony Gray; Barbara Murawski; José Seoane and Holly Wolter.

And, as always: our always amazing (and crazy) vintage toy and assorted xmas doo-dads display
in Artcite's gallery windows! (Sorry: window displays are not for sale!)

Embedded video from Youtube courtesy of Tom Lucier/ DWBIA

Doin' the Louvre sales proceeds benefit the participating artists and Artcite Programming and Operations.
Artcite is supported by the fundraising efforts of its members and volunteers, and by the Canada Council,
the Ontario Arts Council and the City of Windsor.

Artcite hours for this exhibition are:
TUESDAYS through SATURDAYS, 12:00 Noon -5 PM
Closed Sundays and Mondays
Admission is always FREE

STITCH & BITCH + ARTIST TRADING CARDS!

image: S'n'B +ATC at LeBel February 2010

Every month Artcite presents “Stitch ’n Bitch” and “Artist Trading Cards” events in our gallery space or at select off-site locations.
“Stitch ’n Bitch” events feature “how-to” and technique workshops, opportunities for collaborative creation and guest presentations
on various issues relating to the feminist landscape.
“Stitch ’n Bitch” is an international movement empowering and reclaiming “women’s work”
but guys can show up and mend their socks too!.

Artist Trading Cards (ATC) are teeny works of art (2.5" x 3.5") that are made specifically to trade.
There are no restrictions of medium or theme and materials can range from collage, drawing, painting, glass, ceramic,
metal, fabric and melted wax to computer-generated imagery and photography, etc.
The creative intention behind the creations and trading of ATC’s is to present a non-commercial, non-hierarchal
avenue for artistic exchange — but more importantly, ATC sessions are meant to be FUN!
Cards are traded one-to-one and people of all ages and artistic abilities are encouraged to participate.

Artcite’s first monthly ATC event was launched in Spring 2007, with a generous gift of several ATC’s
by Vancouver artist Chuck Stake, for Artcite’s “25 Years to Life” anniversary art exhibition and festivities.
The local component of ATC production and trading has proven to be a success and the gallery
has seen a diverse and increased interest with each trading session.

“Stitch ’n Bitch” and “Artist Trading Card” sessions are usually held on the last Thursday of every month.

November's meeting was held at 10,000 Villages, November 25, 6:30 PM!

Stitch ’n Bitch” and Artist Trading Cards at Artcite now has a Facebook Group!
visit: http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=105498902816276
to see what's next!