Juno stars display their many talents
By Sarah Kazak
An art exhibition at Ottawa City Hall is showcasing work by some of Canada’s top musicians ahead of next month’s Juno Awards in the capital.
Organized through a partnership between the Ottawa Art Gallery, the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences and the Juno Awards, the exhibition, titled Art is Art, shows Canadians what happens when their favourite recording artists trade in their guitars and microphones for paintbrushes.
“This exhibition is like a Venn diagram,” said Rebecca Basciano, the gallery’s curatorial assistant. “I keep using the word synergy when I talk about it because we really want to demonstrate how visual art and music overlap.”
Artwork the gallery received from the late Leonard Cohen’s estate did just that — and more.
In light of his death in November at age 82, including Cohen’s work in the exhibit is a way of honouring his diverse talents as a musician, songwriter, poet, novelist and visual artist.
Cohen’s self-portrait Come Gather is a limited edition print that not only incorporates art and music, but features a handwritten poem that illustrates his literary practice.
The Art is Art collaboration began when the gallery’s director and CEO Alexandra Badzak was approached by the Junos’ organizing committee. “They were looking to partner with the Ottawa Art Gallery to organize a visual arts event that would take place during Juno Week,” said Véronique Couillard, the OAG’s public and media relations manager.
Seven days of festivities are planned leading up to the annual Canadian music awards, which will be hosted by rocker Bryan Adams and comedian Russell Peters on April 2 at the Canadian Tire Centre.
While Art is Art runs from March 10 to April 16, the official opening will take place on March 31 to coincide with Juno Week.
“The Junos had a long list of recording artists they knew did visual arts, so from that list they did a general call out for participants for this exhibition,” said Basciano. “With everyone’s busy schedules, getting 16 contributors was a wonderful response.”
Without any rules or guidelines, past Juno winners such as Jann Arden, Sarah McLachlan, Royal Wood, and Lights were given complete artistic freedom when asked to provide the gallery with original works.
And while some submitted past creations, others took the opportunity to create something new.
“We got so many different types of pieces from these artists,” said Basciano. “For example, Serena Ryder said that while she was painting, she was listening to Nick Drake’s album Pink Moon. How cool is that! One musician listening to another musician for inspiration for her visual art piece.”
The artwork, which includes paintings, photographs and drawings, will become part of the award show’s permanent collection, and travel to different cities and cultural institutions each year.
The exhibition also includes photographs highlighting more than 40 years of Canadian music history, including scenes from previous Juno Awards shows.
“The Junos have been pairing music and art for many years with our Juno Tour of Canadian Art and Juno Photography Exhibitions,” said CARAS spokesperson Meghan McCabe. “This new exhibition is a natural extension of our current cultural programming.”
The Juno Awards will be a highlight of the celebrations in Ottawa this year to mark the 150th anniversary of Confederation.
The celebrity art exhibition is being held at the Ottawa Art Gallery Annex at City Hall, since the gallery itself, located at Arts Court on Daly Avenue, is currently closed for renovation.
The gallery is scheduled to reopen in a larger space this fall.
“The City Hall location has been great,” said Basciano. “Especially with Winterlude, you’ve got so many people going through City Hall, including people who might not have been familiar with us before. So far, the variety and diversity of the audiences has been great, and so has the number of people who have been coming through the shows.”
While she can’t predict the audience turnout, Basciano says she thinks it will have a broad appeal. “I think music lovers as well as people who enjoy visual arts are definitely going to enjoy this. And since the Junos have such a mass appeal, I think it’s safe to say that the show will be seeing several different kinds of audiences.”
The exhibit will be open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day until April 16.