By Chris Armstrong
In a musty, mint-green, square, inconspicuous room, 50,000 of your regional tax dollars were hanging on walls or sitting on tables until yesterday.
Acquisitions 2000, an annual art exhibit that showcases the region’s new purchases, ended Dec. 7. Fifty-five works by 19 local artists were displayed.
You didn’t know about this? Don’t feel left out. The room was used more as a hallway to get from place to place in regional headquarters.
The exhibit was a chance for the region to show the public where its money is being spent, while at the same time giving exposure to local artists.
But how much exposure these artists get is debatable.
“It’s not terribly striking,” says passer-by Todd Biffard, who works in the building. He says some people walk right through the room and then ask to see the art exhibit.
For the past eight years, this room, tucked away in the old section of regional headquarters, has exhibited local artists’ work.
Still, even with some people trekking to find the exhibit, Biffard says it’s a worthwhile investment for the region. He says it’s important to support the arts community and the display allows the public to see how the equivalent of a public grant is being spent.
Inadequate lighting makes the room “difficult,” says Adrian Göllner, co-ordinator of the show for the Regional Arts Program.
Natural, fluorescent, and incandescent lights combine for a slew of irreverent illumination.
As to whether or not taxpayers should pay for artwork, like a quilt made out of thrown-away mattresses and sheets, Göllner says no one has complained.
“I’m not getting any irate phone calls,” he says. “There’s something there for everybody.”
Göllner says the purpose of the art show is to show the public what the region bought after a careful selection process.
The call first goes out to the artists, some of whom live out of the region as far as Cornwall or Kingston. The artists submit slides of their works and an appointed arts adviser sifts through them, deciding which are the best.
Then, the adviser travels to the artists’ studios and talks to the artists about their works. Göllner says because camaraderie can develop, the adviser is taken off the region’s hand-picked second jury, which makes the final cuts.
As Göllner points out, it’s not like a traditional art exhibit, in which a curator would develop a theme with the works. In Acquisitions 2000, the best works, as decided by a jury, are put on display.
“Art is an essential program in Ottawa,” says Louise Roy-Brochu, the chief of Arts and Heritage for the city.
“We have to represent always the contemporary art by local artists,” she says.
In regards to money, Roy-Brochu says the arts community believes that not enough money is put into local art.
You can see your tax dollars at work when it’s moved to municipal buildings around the region.