I’m starting to see the first images come back from the participating artists. It’s a very exciting time, because it gives me the first opportunity to truly imagine the end result. Up until this point I was relying on what the artists had done in the past, knowing and trusting that each of these artists would meet the challenge. Normally, an exhibition would be selected by the curator from reviewing existing work. This project is a commission so all the work is being created specifically for this exhibition.
Each artist was given an exhibition outline which they responded to with a project proposal. They wrote a proposal outlining the direction they would be taking by responding to one of three central ideas of this exhibition. They chose either; working the land, natural beauty or the people of the Greenbelt. At the beginning each artists thought they had a clear direction set out for themselves.
That was two months ago. Since then the artists have been traveling throughout the Greenbelt taking pictures and thinking through what they proposed earlier on. Things change and that’s good. Since this a commission and not a photo assignment it was expected that things would change up from the original proposals. So, we have been meeting and looking at their working images and talking through how their ideas have changed. The Greenbelt is a large vast land trust. Each one of these artists has been taken a back by just how complex it is. As they walk the trails or drive the concession roads or talk to the people they all come to the same conclusion that the Greenbelt is amazing. At this point it’s all coming together. The exhibition Beyond Imaginings will be spectacular.
Here are some background shots of us trying to figure this out.
– Pat Macaulay, Head of Visual Arts
