The FOFA Gallery’s latest moves

Thirty years ago, when Concordia first began showing undergraduate work, most artists used one medium and exhibitions were put on by a single curator. Today, the annual undergrad show, held at the FOFA Gallery, is a cross-disciplinary team effort.

This year’s exhibition, entitled Making Spaces, not only involves curators, faculty and students from the departments of Studio Arts, Art History and Design and Computation Arts — it will also feature contemporary dance pieces.

“This reflects the reality of artistic productions today,” says Jennifer Dorner, director of the gallery located on the ground floor of the Engineering, Computer Science and Visual Arts Integrated Complex (EV). “Many Canadian artists integrate a diversity of art forms as a way to express themselves.”
 

Under the guidance of assistant professor Angélique Willkie, contemporary dance students have paired up with those in visual art to create a short piece inspired by an artwork that also responds to the gallery space.

“It’s about students dealing with unknown quantities,” Willkie says.

“They have to learn how to work outside the black box because that’s what they will do once they graduate. In contemporary dance, we see more and more performers presenting in art spaces and other non-traditional spaces.”

Dorner adds that the FOFA Gallery is trying to stimulate collaboration between visual and dance artists. “We want to envision the ways in which various contemporary art forms can develop alongside one another.”

Selected performances will take place every Thursday from January 19 to February 16, from 5 to 7 p.m. Check the event listing for a full description of the exhibition, including artist bios and artwork samples.

The Making Spaces undergraduate student exhibition runs from January 16 to February 17 at Concordia’s FOFA Gallery.

The vernissage is January 19, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Performance evenings will take place from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on January 26 and February 2, 9 and 16.