With soapstone carvings borrowed from the Winnipeg Art Gallery collection, and an early Zacharias Kunuk video of the spring seal hunt, this exhibition provides insight into the importance, methods and traditions of hunting in Inuit culture.

Jennifer Gibson, from the University of Winnipeg Art Curator Department will be giving an informal lecture about the pieces included in this exhibit. The raik will begin at 8:00 p.m. Thursday, June 19th.

War Stories for Children and Art Stories for Adults
TONY CALZETTA

Circulated by the Thames Ary Gallery Chatham Cultural Centre

Calzetta combines impressive formal skills, strong drawing and bright colours with childlike images to create energy-filled paintings that are simultaneously playful and elegant. He explores themes with a kind of painting that some people find too whacky to take seriously. His abstract funnies or surreal cartoons fit happily between high art and popular culture.

John Metcalf says "It is the contradictions between romantic and classical, between sophistication and magic, between the spontaneous and the formal, that give Calzetta's work its unique tension."

BOARD CHAIR'S REPORT

Wasn't that a party! I'm speaking of course of the 15th annual Art Auction and Dinner÷The Artist's Studio. Once again the Keystone Centre prepared a magnificent feast, our generous friends and supporters in the community of artists provided us with outstanding work to offer, and our patrons responded with enthusiastic generosity. This year our audience numbers were up from 2002, the number of works presented for auction increased from the previous year, and our net revenue exceeded our expectations. And besides all that, I think everyone had a great time. None of this could have happened without the hard work and dedication of the AGSM staff. Thank you!

As you know, the change in our fiscal year-end (to parallel that of our funders) has resulted in a short seven month period between Annual General Meetings. And a great deal has changed at the AGSM in that seven months. The Gallery has a long and envied history as an arts institution exhibiting the highest standards in artistic excellence while maintaining a deficit free financial position. With this fiscal record under threat as a result of decreased funding revenues and increases in expenses related to the move to our new home, the board has felt it neccessary to pursue a number of initiatives designed to protect the bottom line while ensuring the continuation of the expected high quality of exhibitions and programs. To this end the board approved the closing of the Gift Shop in its Town Centre location. The shop continues to operate from a temporary site adjacent to the Gallery entrance; a new marketing plan is expected in time for the Christmas season. The Arts Stabilization Manitoba Inc. (ASMI) report recommended that the AGSM hire a "visionary Executive Director" and "acquire new marketing and fundraisingskills". In order to allocate the resources required to adopt these recommendations, the board has elected persue a planning strategy for future exhibits that will utilize the experience and resources of a National Advisiory Panel thereby removing the position of full time curator.

At the same time, the Director Search Committee has been at work. On May 30, Gordon McDiarmid's two and one-half year term as interim Executive Director was completed. Gordon provided guidance and determination through a challenging time as the AGSM moved to its new home. The search for a permanent Director is well underway; the Committee expects the new Director to be in place by the end of the summer. The Board is making plans to hold a special November meeting of the membership to introduce the new Director. In the meantime, I am pleased to extend this invitation to each of you to attend the Annual General Meeting at the Gallery at 6 PM on Thursday June 19. The meeting will be followed at 7:30 with the opening AGSM's summer exhibit÷Inuit Images of the Hunt and War Stories for Children and Art Stories for Adults.

Michael Cox Chair, AGSM Board of Directors

SUMMER KIDS CLASSES

Be on the lookout for our summer line-up of kids classes starting in July. Drawing, Painting, Mixed Media, Print Making and much more will be available. Watch for our brochure in early June.

An excellent activity for students to try is creating their own talisman in a simple plaster of paris activity. This lesson has been taken directly from the University of Lethbridge website: http://www.uleth.ca/sfa-gal/TWAM/edu/education.htm. An extension of this activity could be to discuss modern day talismans or objects that the students value and create a clay piece, collage or found object sculpture.

1 FORMING PLASTER SCULPTURES
Many Inuit artists are skilled carvers who create sculptures from stone. Your students can create their own sculptures that resemble the stone carvings made. Fill your mixing tub a quarter to half full of water, depending on the amount of plaster you want to make. Add the plaster gradually, sprinkling it over the surface. Allow the plaster to sink, and add more. Slowly continue adding plaster until the mixture looks like it might soon gel. Leave the plaster fairly runny, or it will harden too quickly, and the students will not get to work with it very long. At this point, you can add some tempera paint to color the plaster, so it looks more like stone.

2 FILL THE BAGGIES AND CREATE FORMS
Fill each student's freezer bag about one-third full, zip it up and let him or her begin to shape the form they want the plaster to take with the bag closed. Caution the students to quit forming the plaster once it begins to harden, because if they continue molding, it will simply crumble. When the student is finished or when the form has begun to harden, open the bag and leave to dry overnight.

3 FINISHING TOUCHES
The students can remove the freezer bags from their sculptures once they are dry. They may have to cut the bags with scissors. The sculptures could be complete at this stage, or students could use chisels, files or sandpaper to refine their sculptures. They could also paint them with tempera.

1 Discuss the subject matter that students want to use before they begin sculpting. Suggest that large forms without much detail are easier to make out of the plaster. Give students the idea that they could make their sculpture for someone else. Inuit artists create sculpture to sell to other people.

2 Help the students notice the sculpting techniques that Inuit artists use. These include things such as positive/negative relationships, simplification of form and realism. They also use a variety of media, such as whalebone, antler, ivory, sinew, and many types of stone. Show them examples of these principles and media in the Inuit artwork on the web site.

3 Critique the finished sculptures. Have each student share one comment about his or her sculpture. Talk about the process they used to make their sculptures. Contrast this with the process that Inuit artists use to create sculptures from stone. Explain additive/reductive sculpture.

4 Explain that there are many different ways to make sculpture. The students could investigate other types of stone sculpture. Show the film The Living Stone*, to let students see a carving created by an Inuit artist.

* John Feeney "The Living Stone", in Art of the Inuit (video recording) Canada : National Film Board of Canada, 1987 http://www.nfb.ca/ Melissa Hart Coordinator of Education & Outreach

the ARTIST'S STUDIO A HUGE SUCCESS

Thanks are due to everyone involved in this year's art auction and dinner. Over 290 people attended this year with 105 pieces of art being raffled and sold. Early calculations show a $ 19,000 profit for the event.

Particular appreciation goes to the artists who donated both framed and unframed work of particularly high quality. While the Auction Committee took a degree of risk in not framing art many artists steped up to the plate in support of this move. While framing adds a quality look to the work the AGSM auction had been unique amongst other auctions in this regard.

What a theme! "The Artist's Studio" focused on a major part of our Art Gallery's 97 year history. It was an exceptional opportunity to see several of our teaching staff demonstrate studio activity. The response of our dinner guests was exceptional. One indivdual said it all..."a brilliant idea!" Complementing the theme was a surpurb beef Wellington Keystone meal and wines donated by Atlas Wine Merchants of Winnipeg.

All in all it was a wonderful evening. Thanks to all our dinner guests, volunteers, the Board members, Neil Eraser (our auctioneer), and the Bank of Montreal (lead sponsor) for a huge success.

NEW NATIONAL EXHIBITION COMMITTEE

As a result of the AGSM's current financial constraints, the Board has begun to take several innovative new directions in relation to a number of organizational priorities. The first step will be the development of a National Advisory Exhibition Committee to undertake exhibition planning and selection for the AGSM. This will eliminate the position of curator.

Many art galleries operate successfully without a curator and utilize alternate ways to select and mount exhibitions. Ace Art, Plug In and the Floating Gallery are local examples. As many members, and all major funders are aware, the AGSM's ongoing quest for increased funding arises both from being catipulted into our new facility, and due to significant public funding cutbacks. Just as governments and funding agencies must become more resourceful, the AGSM is also prepared to accept this related challenge.

Unfortunately, the above decision necessitates that Chris Reid leave her position as AGSM's curator. Chris had a deep commitment for the well-being of the Art Gallery. She was very knowledgable in the field of contemporary visual art and performed her responsibilities with exceptional professional and administrative skill.

The AGSM will continue to lobby agressively for appropriate funding to support the arts in rural society. At the same time this innovative concept in exhibition planning and selection will be at the leading edge of new developments in the rural visual arts industry.

ANNOUNCEMENT

ART GALLERY GIFTS

NOW LOCATED ON THE SECOND FLOOR OF THE ART GALLERY IN THE TOWN CENTRE
710 ROSSER AVENUE

Now in stock... Steve Jorgenson Pottery

Arriving soon ...	• Jewelry from Metriks and Frug • New stock of Joanna Lang's Pottery • Unique candleholders and vases from Wireworks of Saltspring Island, BC
HOURS MONDAY - SATURDAY10AM - 6 PM THURSDAY10AM-9PM	• POTTERY • GLASS • JEWELRY • PAINTINGS • WOOD • BATIK • CANDLES • CARDS • PEWTER • ART OBJECTS