In the interest of expanding the exposure of contemporary art to a wider community audience, the Art Gallery of Bishop’s University has developed an “off-site series” which will invite all members of the community to interact and collaborate with professional, contemporary artists. Joanne Hui and Shie Kasai have been asked to develop a site-specific, interactive project at the Éva-Sénecal Municipal Library, inviting the population of the new city of Sherbrooke to participate in the Library Project in its two parts: workshop and exhibition.

Workshops:

Through drawing workshops offered to the public at the Éva-Senécal Municipal Library in September, 2004, artists Johanne Hui and Shie Kasai initiated participants to various drawing techniques based on sensory approaches.  By tackling the idea of “personal geography” as its primary theme, the artists seek to sensitize people to their immediate surroundings by asking them to perceive it in a more original way.  Offered in the hopes of encouraging creativity and imagination, these workshops show how certain ideas can be divided into different contexts bringing new meaning to the term “geography”.

Exhibition:

The Library Project consists of 400 drawings (200 of which were made by the artists and 200 taken from drawings made by participants during workshops) inserted into books of the library’s reference section.  Each drawing has been partnered with an illustration in a book which, seen together, provokes new interpretations.  The public is invited to search for a drawing and, when found in a book, to reflect on the different interpretations that the drawing may have in relation to the illustration that it is coupled with.

·        Please note that the library will only be able to assist in the search process during the first week of the exhibition from the 12^th of October to the 18^th of October inclusively.  The last two weeks will serve to exhibit the drawings found.

Joanne Hui was born in Hong Kong.  She received a BFA with honours from Queen’s University and an MFA from Concordia University.  Hui’s work and research explores the raw intersection of the lone artists’ practice to that of the collectively authored art experience.  Recently, Hui’s work has been exhibited at the MAI (Montréal, arts interculturels), the Festival du patrimoine asiatique de Montréal, and Toronto’s SAVAC Peace Taxi Project.  Also a featured artist for CBC ARTSPOTS, Hui currently lives in Montreal where she practices art and is a medical illustrator for McGill’s Faculty of Medicine.

Shie Kasai received a Master of Fine Arts from Concordia University (Montreal), and a BA from Hokkaido University of Education in Sapporo, Japan.  As a sculptor, Shie Kasai's artistic practice involves the creation of site-specific installations and animation to explore time and space.  Recent solo exhibitions include "Muku and Box" at Gallery 101, Ottawa 2004; "Happy end of the world" at anticorp and Bourget Gallery, Montreal 2002.  Her work has also been included in group exhibitions in Quebec and Japan

We would like to thank the Canada Art Council, the Conseil de arts et des lettres de Quebec, Heritage Canada, the city of Sherbrooke and the Éva-Senécal Municipal Library for their financial support.

 
Opening Reception: Thursday October 14, 2004, from 5pm to 7pm

The artists will present the exhibition briefly at the beginning of the reception: 5pm

Location:

Éva-Senécal Municipal Library, 450 Marquette Street, Sherbrooke.

Library Hours:                   

Monday, Thursday & Friday: 12 pm to 8:30 pm

Tuesday & Wednesday: 10 am to 5 pm

Saturday & Sunday: 10 am to 4:30 pm
 

Shie Kasai and Joanne Hui will be available for interviews on October 14, 2004.
 

Artist Talk: Thursday, October 14, 2004, at 1:15p.m.

Location: Art Gallery of Bishop’s University - FREE