Village Squire, 1975-12, Page 17Two students study art at the London Public
(;allery.
London Art Gallery
Fourth largest
gallery in
Ontario works
with community
Anyone who thinks of art galleries as
quite serene places wouldn't have believed
the hectic scene on the November morning
we visited the London Art Gallery.
Granted, the scene out in the gallery
itself was still serene, but in the
administrative office all was pandamon-
ium. The night before the robbery had
taken place from the gallery's touring
exhibit in Leamington and it wasn't quite
business as usual this morning.
Still, it's a little indicative of the art
scene in London, one of the most active
artistic communities in the country. The art
community includes such nationally -known
artists Greg Curnoe, Jack Chambers and a
host of younger artists. The wide range of
the community gives the London Public
Gallery and Art Museum a wider scope
than many galleries in similar cities.
Still, the staff feels the gallery is
inadequate and the drive is on, through the
London Art Gallery Association for a new
gallery, larger and more fitting to London's
unique position in the art scene. •
Meanwhile the active program of the old
gallery on Queen's Ave. continues. Val
Greenfield,Public relations officer explains
that there are two public exhibitions at the
gallery every month. There's the touring
program such as the exhibition from which
the paintings were stolen in Leamington.
There's the activities program for children
under• the leadership of Don DeGrow,
assistant curator for education. This
includes Saturday morning classes in
which 100 children take part in art classes
conducted by local artists. There's also the
workshops for secondary school students
which began this year and offers
instruction in painting, sculpture, drawing
and film -making.
In addition two new programs are
starting this year. One is on contemporary
film makers such as Lies Levine, Michale
Snow, Stan Brakhage and Yvone Rainer,
internationally known video and film artists
who will bring their work to the gallery.
The second program is a series of films
on artists and art movements to help
people understand contemporary art and
art movements.
But of course the two biggest things at
the gallery are the permanent collection
and the regular monthly •exhibits.
The monthly exhibits keep the gallery
constantly changing They are plannetl
well in advance, often nearly a year. The
recent Young Contemporaries exhibit was
organized in June and July when Gallery
curator Mrs. O'Brien and assistant curator
Mrs. Anne Garfwood-Roney visited over
300 artists studios across Canada.
Judy Kelly is in charge of the permanent
collection at the gallery. The genisis of the
collection dates way back to before the
gallery was actually formed with some
pieces being donated to the city and being
turned over to the gallery when it was built
in 1940. Most of the collection, however,
has been assembled since then. Each year
the curator and two other persons on the
acquisition committee have set a budget
for acquisition. They spend the money on
whatever they think is the best addition to
the collection. One year this may be several
VILLAGE SQUIRE/DECEMBER- 1975 15