MACLARENARTCENTRE, BARRIE

CAFÉ CULTURE PRESENTS STEVEN LOFT
Bringing Down the House:
Aboriginal Art History and the Institution
Thursday, February 3, 7 to 9 pm
37 Mulcaster Street, Barrie
$5 | Free for members and students
www.maclarenart.com

Acclaimed curator and writer Steven Loft delivers a new lecture on how penetrating critical reassessments of the past by contemporary Aboriginal artists and scholars redefined the field of art history in universities and museums and became the major story in contemporary art in Canada in the first decade of the 21st century.

Steven Loft's lecture is presented in conjunction with past now, a double solo exhibition by Toronto artist Meryl McMaster and Vancouver artist Luke Parnell, rising Aboriginal artists whose works address historical representations of and by indigenous people, embodying past motifs in contemporary forms. past now is co-curated by Suzanne Morrissette and Lisa Myers and is on view at the MacLaren until February 21, 2011.

Steven Loft is the National Visiting Trudeau Fellow at Ryerson University, Toronto and Scholar-in-Residence at the Ryerson Gallery and Research Centre. He was previously Executive Director of imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival, curator-in-residence at the National Gallery of Canada and Director of Urban Shaman Contemporary Aboriginal Art, Winnipeg. Loft is on the curatorial collective for CLOSE ENCOUNTERS: The Next 500 Years (January 22 – May 8, 2011), the banner exhibition for Winnipeg Cultural Capital of Canada 2010, organized by Plug In Institute for Contemporary Art in partnership with the Winnipeg Art Gallery, Urban Shaman and others.

About the MacLaren

The MacLarenArtCentre is Simcoe County's regional public art gallery. Located in downtown Barrie, the MacLaren is housed in an award-winning building that combines a renovated 1917 Carnegie library and a contemporary addition by Siamak Hariri. The complex includes multiple galleries, visible storage, an education centre, a sculpture courtyard, café, gift shop and framing department. The MacLaren presents a year-round programme of contemporary local, regional, national and international exhibitions and houses a permanent collection of over 26,000 artworks. Education provides the unifying link that activates our collection and exhibitions, and fosters an appreciation of the visual arts.

The MacLarenArtCentre gratefully acknowledges the support of its members, benefactors, partners and donors, the City of Barrie, the Ontario Arts Council, the Canada Council for the Arts, GEEP – Global Electric Electronic Processing, and Harbour View Inn.

Gallery Location The MacLaren is located at 37 Mulcaster Street in Barrie, 90 km north of Toronto. From highway 400 north, exit at Dunlop Street East, continue on Dunlop Street through to Mulcaster Street, and turn left. We are one block north, on the south-east corner of Collier and Mulcaster. The building is wheelchair accessible.

Gallery Hours The MacLaren is open Monday to Friday 10:00 am to 5:00 pm, Saturday 10:00 am to 4:00 pm and Sunday noon to 4:00 pm. Open Family Day, February 21, noon to 4 pm.

Gallery Admission Suggested gallery admission $5. Café Culture $5/Members and students free. Family Sunday Workshops $5 per child/free for Family Membership holders.

Gallery Tours Free guided tours of past now are scheduled for Sunday, January 30 and Sunday, February 20 at 1 pm. Guided tours for groups and schools are available by appointment.

Contact Information For details about exhibitions, programmes and events call 705-721-9696 or visit www.maclarenart.com