Kika Thorne, The Sun, 2019. NASA + PortableElectric at CSA Space on Coast Salish Territory. Detail of a photo by Diana Lee @therealdeeleedee
Opening Reception: Thursday, 22 June from 6 to 8 pm
What Is Welcome? includes works from the Belkin’s collection and long-term residency that question the art institution’s language, boundaries and potential for change. From performance to works-in-process that effect institutional practices, the artists included operate with, and at the same time counter, the institution to address the what, how and the why of gallery operations.
As galleries and museums strive to make space for new practices and ways of knowing, artists are critical agents in the institution’s evolution. In interrogating institutional cultural systems, the artists included consider sustaining relevance in the material of living ecologies through exchange, labour and stewardship. Collectively, the works ask the question: What is welcome?
Artists include Allyson Clay, Claudia Cuesta, Andrea Fraser, ReMatriate Collective and Holly Schmidt, as well as recent acquisitions of work by Skeena Reece, Kika Thorne and Tania Willard as part of the Belkin’s ongoing commitment to diversification of the collection.
What Is Welcome? is curated by Barbara Cole and Melanie O’Brian and made possible with the generous support of the Canada Council for the Arts, the Province of British Columbia through the BC Arts Council, our Belkin Curator’s Forum members, and our individual donors who financially support our acquisitions and donate artworks to the collection.
Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery
University of British Columbia
1825 Main Mall
Vancouver, BC
xʷməθkʷəy̍əm | Musqueam Territory
Hours
Tue 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Wed 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Thu 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Fri 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Sat 12:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Sun 12:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Monday & Holidays Closed
Admission is always free.
About the Belkin Gallery
The Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery is mandated to promote understanding and discussion of contemporary art and contemporary issues in art history, criticism and curating. Our mandate is realized through research, exhibitions, acquisitions, publishing, education and public and academic programs in the field of contemporary art with a focus on our region within a national and international context.
As a university art gallery, the Belkin is committed to a research mandate, an international perspective and to the goal of fostering a civil society.
This summer, we are thinking about connections and responsibilities between people, the land and institutions, pushing us to consider artistic practice as a way towards a greater awareness of social and environmental justice.
