| |
Gallery Information
MANDATE
The Stride Art Gallery Association supports the artistically innovative, regardless of ideological attachments, in whatever media the artist
happens to be working. We offer artists opportunities to take significant steps within their own independent practice, that may well become
better defined and better understood for having exhibited at Stride Gallery. Our association is committed to ongoing excellence in visual art
exhibitions, site-specific or public initiatives outside the gallery proper, lectures, special events and publications. Stride Gallery provides
an arena for the ongoing critical discourse relating to contemporary art. Our Board of Directors and staff are artists who collectively support
the spirit of independent work. We are diverse in our practices, but united by a shared commitment to the value of contemporary artistic practice
to our society.
HISTORY
The Stride Art Gallery Association was founded in November 1985 by then-Calgary artists Colleen O'Neill, Mary Scott and Don Corman. Originally, the gallery was a privately operated initiative that promoted professional artists whose work was experimental in nature and whose practices were not readily recognized in local commercial or public galleries.
Through almost 25 years of activity, Stride has consistently increased our visibility, effectiveness and ability to serve the community. During the first five years, Stride hosted definitive exhibitions by artists who, 20 years later, have become key members of the Canadian art community. In the 1990s, Stride responded to the needs of artists and the community through the development of a comprehensive publishing program, and by opening two new exhibitions spaces: the Window Project in 1990, and the Project Room in 1997. Stride continues to be the only ARC in Calgary with a dedicated project space for emerging artists. The creation of a new project space coincided with Stride's 1997 move to the current space on Macleod Trail, where the gallery's presence has played a role in the revitalization of Calgary's warehouse district. Due to concerns about finding affordable space, Stride's Board and Staff have been advocates for affordable arts space and increased municipal funding on the Board of the Calgary Professional Arts Alliance. In 2001, Stride was one of nine founding members of the Mountain Standard Time Performative Art Festival, and continues to play a defining role in M:ST's development. From 2001 - 2009 Stride has developed an ongoing series of artist-directed publications, and expanded the scope of the Project Room to host project-based residencies.
Today, Stride's programming structure includes three exhibitions spaces, off-site projects, lectures, a publishing program, comprehensive web site and online archive. As Stride celebrates 24 years, the gallery enjoys the active participation of three generations of artists, and continues to offer exceptional support to professional contemporary artists from local, regional and national locales.
FUNDING
Stride Gallery is funded in part by the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, Calgary Arts Development, the Canada Council for the Arts Program and Operations Assistance for Artist-Run Centres and the generous support of the Calgary community.
OTHER SERVICES
The Stride Gallery's Board of Directors and staff are resource people for the community. Relevant services we provide include:
• Archives
• Networking information about exhibitions, curators, projects, other artists, etc.
• Talks and tours for groups
Programming
As Stride prepares to celebrate 25 years of excellent programming, we remain committed to our founders’ original objectives, while continuing to develop new opportunities for artists and for the gallery’s community. Stride supports artists at every stage of their career, established, mid-career and emerging, from local, regional, and national locales. In order to accomplish our stated aims, Stride’s programming structure includes three distinct exhibition spaces, and a publishing and dissemination program.
Our Main Space is in the upper level at 1004 MacLeod Trail SE. This space is dedicated to exhibitions of new work by mid-career and established artists. Occasionally the Main Space will host group exhibitions. There are 6 Main Space exhibitions per year, each with one to two weeks for installation and a running time of 5 to 6 weeks. Main Space exhibitions are accompanied by a critical essay, published online.
Our Project Room is in the lower level at 1004 MacLeod Trail SE. This space provides opportunities for emerging and mid-career artists to pursue process- or time-based projects in a short-term studio residency, which results in an exhibition in the Project Room space. The studio phase of these exhibitions typically lasts up to four weeks, with the remainder of the programming slot dedicated to exhibition of the work produced during the studio phase. Stride hosts up to six projects per year. Project Room exhibitions are also accompanied by a critical essay, published online.
Our +15 Window Space is located in the public +15 walkways in the Epcor Centre for the Performing Arts. This deep vitrine provides an interesting exhibition or installation venue for aspiring and emerging artists (including post-secondary and graduate students). The +15 walkways are accessible to the public at all times, and welcome a diverse audience. These exhibitions are two months in duration, totaling six per year.
For all our exhibitions, in every space, we produce a printed invitation that features an image of the work, a short statement from the artist about their work, and a brief artist biography. We host an opening reception for every exhibition, and we pay artist fees at CARFAC-recommended rates. We can offer modest financial support in addition to artist fees, to assist with expenses associated with installation, transportation or dissemination. Please contact the gallery for further information on exhibition and materials assistance.
In addition to the formal exhibition opportunities outlined above, Stride is committed to exploring opportunities for artists to present site-specific and public initiatives, including performances or temporary installations, screenings or projections, billboard or leaflet projects etc.
Stride produces professional documentation of all exhibitions, and maintains a comprehensive online archive of our exhibition history. Our website operates to disseminate information about our current and past exhibitions, our publications, and events, and to facilitate connections to the local, regional, national, and international art communities.
Stride’s publishing program offers artists and writers an opportunity to produce text- or image-based publications that contribute to contemporary art discourse. Please see the publications page for examples of past publishing projects, and contact the gallery for more information on publishing opportunities.
Staff and Board Directory
STAFF
Director | Lisa Benschop
Lisa Benschop is an artist and arts worker happy to be living in Calgary. Alberta raised, she earned her Bachelor of Arts with Honours in English from the University of Alberta in 2000. After the completion of this degree Benschop moved to Toronto, where she worked in the non-profit sector and studied creative writing (fiction) and photography (darkroom processes). She began studies at the Alberta College of Art & Design in 2004 and earned her BFA with Distinction (sculpture) in 2008. Her artistic practice is organized as the L. S. Benschop Institute for the Preservation & Veneration of Imagination & Nostalgia. As Sole Operator & Agent of the Institute, Benschop enacts a multidisciplinary performance and makes work that includes oil painting, works on paper, photography, installation and correspondence. As Director at Stride, Benschop builds on a background of non-profit administration, leadership, and dedication to artist-run culture.
Assistant Director | Kyle Whitehead
Kyle prefers the careful and considered approach to image making. He treads dangerously close to the line of over-technicality while still remaining a bit of a hippie. Which is no mean feat by anyone’s standards. Kyle holds a BFA from the Alberta College of Art and Design and currently resides in Calgary, where he spends most of his time in the dark.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Diane Colwell | Secretary
Chris Cran | President
Marianne Gerlinger
Neil Kathol
Craig Le Blanc
Susan Menzies
John Will | Vice-President
Tammy Slonowski | Treasurer
ADVISORY BOARD (Ambassadors)
In addition to our Board of Directors, Stride Gallery also has a national network of mid-career, professional artists who consult with the gallery regarding unique opportunities across Canada.
..........
|
|
2.jpg){kind=small}
