Abbotsford – The Reach Gallery Museum opens a new season of exhibitions this Friday, May 27th at 6:30 pm. The feature exhibition Game/Culture is an exciting exploration of sports, art, and society. In Game/Culture works by four prominent Canadian contemporary artists, examine the ways that sports and games have fundamentally shaped societal expectations of gender, sexuality, race, and ability.
These ideas and more will be discussed at the opening reception in a short Q & A with exhibiting artists Lucas Morneau (NB), Nathalie Quagliotto (QC), Mallory Tolcher (ON), and Craig Willms (BC), moderated by Curator of Art & Visual Culture Adrienne Fast. Guests will have the opportunity to mingle and meet the artists and to engage with several of the participatory artworks in the exhibition! Works by the artists invite guests to shoot some hoops, throw a wiffleball, and go head-to-head in a mini-putt challenge.
“I remember hearing an old cliché growing up,” says Fast, “that artists go into the arts because they’re not good at sports, when in fact the worlds of sports and art have more in common than most people think. Both invite passionate, even obsessive, dedication. Both require rigorous practice to succeed in fields that can be tremendously competitive. And perhaps most critically, they both encourage certain kinds of behaviours in particular kinds of people.”
The season of exhibitions also features the short documentary film The Queen of Basketball, from director Ben Proudfoot and executive producers Shaquille O’Neal and Steph Curry. This Academy Award winning film profiles the life of Lucia “Lucy” Harris who scored the first basket in women’s Olympic history, and was the first and only woman ever drafted to the NBA. The film will be presented continuously in a screening gallery for the duration of the exhibition.
The exhibition is made possible, in part, by the generous support of Presenting Sponsor and leading Art, Sport and Entertainment Agency, Victory Creative Group as well as preeminent cultural basketball magazine, SLAM®. These sponsors consistently support progressive art and culture moments throughout Canada in the hopes of fostering creative conversation, celebrating diversity, and accelerating change.
This summer The Reach will offer a wide range of events, programs and summer camps that connect with art and sports. Visit their website for more details.
