Eastern Edge & RetroFlex curatorial collective present a Queer Screening Series! July 18th - 20th
"Producing a comprehensive program that reflects on the legacy and future of queer creative practices in the province presents unique challenges. I tried to encapsulate the queer legacy of Eastern Edge Gallery while leaving enough room for criticality, the inclusion of works that speak to broader themes of history, and space for artists to determine their own connection to history and the future." - Jason Penney, curator.
And here are the Facebook events, so be sure to share the news with everyone! Bring some snacks, buckle in, and prepare for the queer art education we've always wanted and needed!
What happens when our experiences are Too Big to talk about? When they resist the symbolic register of language? How do we transmit them, how do we hold them? The horrific, and the transcendent. Holes are scattered behind us, as we weave unevenly our collective history.
This exhibition addresses the Too Big by creating collective opportunities to draw from archives, memory, and personal narrative; by plunging us into a dynamic visual and audio installation built around local 2SLGBTQIA+ histories.
Coco Guzman’s painting and drawing practice deftly articulates personal and collective trauma, lacing the mundane and the disturbing together into complex, visually compelling scenes. Daze Jefferies is an artist, poet and trans historian, whose visual and audio practice tracks the voices of trans and queer Newfoundlanders and Labradorians through decades of trauma and transcendence. For A Hole So Big It Became The Sky, Jefferies and Guzman will work with a group of queer-identified St. John’s residents to represent defiant gaps in collective memory. In an immersive mural that spans the gallery walls, they will map the pain and ecstasy of our community. This surreal landscape is submerged in a sea of voices. Scraps of paper pulled from local archives drift on the waves.
In A Hole So Big It Became The Sky, the hole is both an overwhelming void and an object of desire. Here we revisit queer histories, as succulent and immediate as they are contradictory, intangible, unknowable; we bear witness to the intimacies and whispers that can only emanate from curled tongues.
Manic and depressive mood swings, euphoria, rapid speech, racing thoughts, irritation, decreased need for sleep, missed work, fatigue, chronic pain with no known cause, sadness, hopelessness, suicidal thoughts, withdrawal from friends and family, changes in appetite, increased physical activity, careless use of alcohol, irrational feelings of guilt and shame.
Forever Young is an exhibition of installation work by local artist John MacCallum. Using images, sculpture, performance, and direct verbal communication, John attempts to explore his personal experiences with bipolar disorder and reflect on the stigma still attached to mental illness in society today.
John has a Masters degree from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. Inspired by a life-long fascination with materials and a strong interest in representational art, he reflects through his work on family, nature and social justice. Out of a mix of traditional media, construction material and eclectic, recycled items, he creates meaningful and cutting-edge works of art.
Killing Time is an exhibition of autobiographical ink drawings by the Argentinian-Canadian artist José Luis González. Done in a minimalist style, this work was inspired by the trials and tribulations experienced by the artist while waiting to acquire Canadian citizen status in the city of St. John's in Newfoundland and Labrador. These images are featured in his upcoming book entitled “Still Life”.
José Luis González was born in the metropolitan area of the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina, in the year 1980. He worked for several years for some of the most important animation studios of Argentina, meanwhile publishing his work at www.elmundodejl.com He moved to Canada in 2008. After two years in Vancouver, a hitch hiking trip across the country took him to the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, place were he resides since then, working as visual artist, illustrator and writing graphic novels and zines inspired by his experiences.
HOLD FAST 20th Anniversary!
HOLD FAST 2019 is coming!!!
HOLD FAST is a four day celebration of contemporary art practice in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador. Now celebrating our 20th year, HOLD FAST is St. John’s only festival dedicated to contemporary art and is the longest running festival in the province. HOLD FAST delivers accessible, meaningful and critically-relevant arts programming across an array of media including: installation, performance, screenings, artist talks, dance, community events and artist-led workshops for people of all ages.
On Monday, July 20th we will be releasing our incredible lineup of featured artists for this year's festival, taking place September 18-21, 2019. Until then we will be counting down the days and sharing hints on our Facebook and Instagram accounts.
Stay tuned for updates and follow our festival account @holdfastfestivalwhere we will make the announcement!
Call for Submissions: HOLD FAST 2019 Pop-ups
DEADLINE: Monday, August 5th @ 11:59 pm
Do you have an art project you would like to present? A performance to realize? A film you would like to screen? A studio to welcome visitors, a makers jam you would like to host or an exhibition you would like to show?
HOLD FAST 2019: September 18-21, 2019
HOLD FAST is a four day celebration of contemporary art practice in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador. In addition to our featured artists, we are seeking proposals for supplementary programming from local artists, businesses, nonprofits and art collectives. This is an excellent way to become a part of HOLD FAST and help us to celebrate all the diverse creative practices across St. John’s. In exchange, we can offer you a listing on all of our social media, advertising as one of the HOLD FAST events and promotion of your event on the Art Crawl map!
Submissions must include:
- A project proposal (max. 500 words)
- Artist statement outlining an overview of your practice/interests (max. 500 words)
- Images (max. 10, .jpg, 300 dpi) can include installation images and individual works, or link to video clips/audio files with accompanying descriptions
- Outline of technical equipment required and a plan of how you will meet those needs.
- Confirmed pop-up location or plan for securing venue
Please send your submissions to eeholdfast@gmail.com
Subject line: “HOLD FAST Pop-Up Proposal 2019”
Please note: Our logistical resources are limited and focused on our invited headlining artists. We will endeavour to assist you with your project, however you will remain wholly responsible for organizing and hosting your project and securing your venue. This is an opportunity to both be promoted by, and contribute to the excitement of the festival!
24 Hour Art Marathon
August 10 noon - August 11 noon
This year marks the 20th Anniversary of the 24 Hour Art Marathon! To celebrate that epic milestone, we are bringing it back! Come spend the night with us at Eastern Edge, and witness some of the most talented artists in the city come together for a full 24 hours of fun and incredible art making!
Registration is free and open to the public, if you would like space to come and make art for a portion of the 24 hours, please fill out the form linked below. Space is limited so sign up soon! https://forms.gle/cXdva8pD27rY9Hnb9
After the marathon, come down for our Fancy Art Auction where work made during the marathon will be available for sale! Proceeds are split 50/50 between the artists and Eastern Edge Gallery to help make this fabulous programming happen.
For any questions please contact easternedgeboard@gmail.com
Fancy Art Auction
August 11, 6-10pm
To celebrate that epic milestone, we are bringing it back!
This year marks the 20th Anniversary of the 24 Hour Art Marathon!
After a long night of creation at the 24 Hour Art Marathon: 20th Anniversary! come down for our Fancy Art Auction where work made during the marathon will be available for sale! Come have a cocktail, see what our Marathoners have created and bring home a piece for yourself! Proceeds are split 50/50 between the artists and Eastern Edge Gallery to help make this fabulous programming happen.
Keep an eye out on this page and Eastern Edge for updates!
Our annual Members' Show has moved from Winter to Summer!! This is your opportunity as a member of Eastern Edge Gallery to showcase what you have been up to this past year alongside other members of our talented community. EE's membership includes some of the best artists in the province, and we want to see what you have been making all year long!
This exhibition has an open theme - all mediums are welcome! If you are considering presenting new media, video, or kinetic work and require any technical assistance please contact the gallery in advance to see if we can help accommodate your needs. As well, please keep in mind that this is a members' show and the gallery could be showing upwards of 30-40 artists' work, we cannot take extremely large pieces from every person. For works larger than 4 feet in any direction please contact gallery staff in advance and we will let you know if we will be able to accommodate the work.
Exhibition dates: August 16 - September 14, 2019
Artwork drop-off dates: August 6th - August 10th 12-5pm
Any work submitted after this deadline will not be accepted. If anyone requires a drop-off time outside of these hours please email the gallery at gallery@easternedge.ca and we will try our best to accommodate you.
Submission guidelines:
- Limited to 1 work per member.
Along with your work, please include:
– Title, medium, and year of the piece
– Your full name, phone number, and e-mail address
Work should be delivered ready to display with all necessary hanging materials (magnets, hooks, etc.)
Wake Up Inspired is an annual exhibition of visual art (prints, paintings, drawings, sculptures, photographs, etc.) by Newfoundland and Labrador artists aged 15-35. Wake Up Inspired is organized by For the Love of Learning, an arts-based education charity, helping Newfoundland and Labrador youth overcome social and/or economic obstacles. This year’s exhibition will be held at Eastern Edge Gallery from August 16-September 14, 2019. Artists are invited to submit up to three artworks for exhibition.
Feel free to contact Eastern Edge Gallery at 709-739-1882, or at gallery@easternedge.ca or FTLOL at 709-722-8848 or gemma@ftlol.org for more information or with any questions.
Call for Artwork
Deadline: Friday, July 26
Since 1989, the St. John’s International Women’s Film Festival has brought thousands of women’s stories to the silver screen. As a proud supporter of all creative women, we are partnering with our friends at Eastern Edge Gallery and Quidi Vidi Brewery to highlight a collection of local women artists through our limited-run signature Festival beer labels! These beer cans will be sold and available throughout the city leading up to our Festival in October 2019.
Selected artists will have their work displayed on a custom label along with the artist's name and artwork title. Artist compensation includes a Festival pass ($150 value) and a $50 honorarium (not-for-profit CARFAC rate) for the use of their image. Artists retain full rights to their work. Artists of all backgrounds and stages of their careers are encouraged to apply.
St. John’s International Women’s Film Festival is Hiring!!
The 30th annual St. John’s International Women’s Film Festival will be held October 16-20, 2019. The Festival is a non-profit organization, offering one of the province’s most anticipated cultural events of the year.
Business and Arts NL is a nonprofit organization working to deepen collaboration between the private and creative sectors in our province. We are seeking a Project Manager to implement, advertise and evaluate our new project, Design Thinking: Collaborating for Innovation.
This project will include a variety of events (a symposium, interactive design labs, and training events) focused on using design thinking to bring together members of the private, public and creative sectors to work and learn together.
For the entire job call and info on how to apply click HERE.
Not a member?
Become an ee member!
Membership continues to be an vital component of Eastern Edge Gallery. With your support, we are able to continue to bring you the best of local, national, and international contemporary art through the programming of our Main Gallery, the Rogue Gallery, and our newly re-named summer arts festival, HOLD FAST. Eastern Edge also facilitates over forty creative events annually, including artist talks, workshops, members’ events, music nights and much more!
