The Elgin Street gallery Âjagemô Hall has been designated as the official “Juno House” for the 2017 Juno Awards that are taking place in Ottawa this spring.
The Canada Council for the Arts will be hosting a music-themed exhibition at the gallery and will also be using the space as a location for announcements and various lead-up events to the annual Canadian music awards ceremony.
Âjagemô is the Canada Council’s newest exhibition hall, having been inaugurated only two years ago at its home at 150 Elgin St.
For 40 years, the Canada Council Art Bank had more than 17,000 pieces of artwork that were loaned regularly to various exhibition spaces across Canada.
However, the council had nowhere to display its vast collection, according to a 2014 article in Canadian Art.
Âjagemô was an important advancement for the council as the 3,000-sq.-ft space provides a dedicated space to exhibit pieces from the Art Bank year-round. The hall was named Âjagemô— Algonquin for “crossroads”— to pay tribute to the Algonquin Nation as the hall was built on their unceded territory.
sÂjagemô’s most recent display was entitled Punctured Landscapes.
Curator Kegan McFadden wrote in his artist statement on the CCA’s website that his exhibit was an interpretation of the struggles Canada has faced throughout history.
His piece touched on issues such as colonization, racism, violence and marginalization.
Âjagemô was chosen as the Juno House not only because of its central location, but also because the Canada Council has “long sponsored the world music category of the Juno Awards and many artists have been supported by Canada Council grants over their careers,” said Helen Belvin, the CCA’s outreach and special events officer.
“When it was decided the Junos would be in Ottawa in 2017, the organizing committee reached out to the Canada Council to explore opportunities to work together,” she added. “This is an opportunity to engage the public with Canadian music-related content and programming.”
The hall hosts a series of rotating exhibitions that change twice a year, exploring various themes. Events such as concerts, private viewings of paintings and author readings are also held there.
Such events have all been “well received and well attended,” said Belvin.
“We hope to build on the success of our past events and the popularity of the Junos for continued participation from the public.”
The Juno exhibition will be on display for a month prior to and for several months after the Juno Awards ceremony at the Canadian Tire Centre on April 2.
The exact content of the exhibition has yet to be decided, as the Canada Council is accepting proposals from curators until Oct. 11.
Once the selection committee announces its choice, the curator will make the decisions regarding what themed events may be planned and what artists’ work the exhibit will showcase.
According to Michelle Easton, senior manager for the Junos’ public relations firm, the exhibition will display “artifacts and memorabilia representing Canada’s rich musical history with a focus on the Juno Awards.”
The exhibition at Âjagemô Hall is only a small part of the array of activities the city has planned for Juno week. There will also be series of clinics, workshops and classroom programming, Mayor Jim Watson stated in a Juno Awards press release issued Oct. 14, 2015.
The week will also feature annual Juno events such as the Juno Cup, a fundraising hockey game; JunoFest, a show featuring Juno nominees; Juno Fan Fare, where fans can meet artists; and Juno Songwriters’ Circle, where singer-songwriters share songs and stories onstage.
JUNO Week 2017 will be Ottawa’s third time hosting Canada’s music awards.