Lederhendler settling into AGSM curator role

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This article was published 20/04/2021 (1807 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

After moving to Brandon in January, Lucie Lederhendler said her role as curator for the Art Gallery of Southwestern Manitoba has come into sharper focus.

Lederhendler told the Sun on Monday that this smooth transition can be attributed to the community as a whole, with various Brandonites going out of their way to make her feel right at home in this new position.

For example, one of the first projects that Lederhendler spearheaded as AGSM curator is “i {heart} Brandon,” an exhibit designed to give Westman residents from different walks of life the chance to express what the Wheat City means to them.

Having lived in Montreal for two decades, Lederhendler said the act of collecting and displaying close to 100 individual pieces of local art really helped her get to know the community as a whole, especially at a time when COVID-19 restrictions are putting a limit on everyone’s social mobility.

“There is no way to meet people organically,” she said. “I keep waiting for my little meet and greets. But ‘i {heart} Brandon’ has kind of been my replacement for that, just through triangulating all of these different artists.”

Over in AGSM’s main gallery, Lederhendler also got the opportunity to work with Brandon-based artist Chris Reid, whose latest exhibit, “Nothing Smells in Absolute Zero,” explores issues like social housing and homelessness in a pop-surrealist style.

Reid’s various paintings and 3D models directly reference local examples of urban decay like the old Eighth Street bridge, which hammers home the city’s inner-city landscape for a newcomer like Lederhendler.

“I had just moved to Brandon and it really highlights social problems that a lot of places share,” she said.

“And then, meanwhile, ‘i {heart} Brandon’ was this absolute celebration of my new home. So there was this really great balance.”

In December 2020, AGSM officials named Lederhendler their newest curator following the departure of Alyssa Fearon earlier in the year.

In the gallery’s original press release announcing the new hire, AGSM executive director Deirdre Chisholm championed Lederhendler’s impressive track record as both an artist and an educator, having held positions at the Segal Centre for Performing Arts, Concordia University’s FOFA Gallery and McGill University.

Lederhendler also served as the curator of Studio Beluga in Montreal since 2011.

“She has a subtle and insightful understanding of community-based artistic practices and an accessible and open demeanour,” Chisholm said in the original news release. “I am very excited to collaborate with her and to see the direction it will take the gallery in the future.”

While her role as AGSM’s curator is off to a good start, Lederhendler admits that putting together programming in the age of COVID poses a significant challenge, since public health restrictions are always changing.

But even if the gallery is forced to close its doors again, Lederhendler is confident her planned exhibits can move ahead, since digital projects co-ordinator Ana Camelo has done a great job of building up AGSM’s online presence.

“I think the exhibition processes will become more accessible through these digital media (platforms) as well,” she said. “The question is: just how intense it is going to be?”

In the meantime, Lederhendler is looking to finalize AGSM’s programming block for the spring/summer season, which includes exhibits featuring the works of photographer Shelley Niro and graduating arts students from Brandon University.

“Overall, it’s a really good start. I’m already seeing that the planning process is getting earlier and earlier,” she said. “So we’re getting our rhythm together.”

AGSM will virtually unveil the winners of the “i {heart} Brandon” contest on Thursday, with four individuals walking away with $500 each for placing first in the “youth,” “teen,” “adult” and “audience choice” categories.

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