January 31, 2012 (Calgary, Alberta) - The Alberta College of Art + Design is pleased to announce the opening of The Candahar at the Illingworth Kerr Gallery on Thursday, February 2, 2012. The Candahar is a detailed recreation of a Belfast public house, named for a South Belfast Street. The installation is complete when staffed in collaboration with two Belfast bartenders Chris and Conor Roddy, who act as unscripted performers. The project fuses the authentic with fantasy, spectacle with stage, and at its heart acts as a catalyst for conversation, debate and dialogue - and a pint here and there.
Theo Sims: The Candahar
ACAD's Illingworth Kerr Gallery
February 2- May 26, 2012
Opening Reception February 2, 2012 | 6:00 - 10:00 PM
Since its first presentation at the Alberta College of Art + Design in September 2006, The Candahar has been exhibited at the 2007 Biennale de Montréal, as well as exhibitions at PlugIn ICA, Winnipeg, and The Rooms, St. Johns. Its last installation was hosted by Presentation House Gallery as part of the Vancouver Winter Olympics Cultural Olympiad in 2010. The Candahar has also hosted performances, artworks, and interventions by Rebecca Belmore, the Rodney Graham Band, Stan Douglas, Kevin Schmidt, Jeremy Shaw, and Eli Boronowsky, among others.
Social interaction is at the heart of Sims's The Candahar, a sculpture that invites our participation, and how we might consider the familiarity of a neighborhood pub as a proposition for something more. Theo Sims has been an Artist in Residence at the Alberta College of Art + Design since early November 2011 rebuilding The Candahar in collaboration with the college's faculty, students, and the local community.
During its four month exhibition at ACAD The Candahar will serve as a site for talks, performances, and events as part of The Creative Common series of events initiated by ACAD faculty and guests. The Creative Common is a forum that brings together dynamic and creative individuals to discuss and debate issues informing perspectives on art and design practices. The Creative Common is designed to extend opportunities for dialogue - to provoke new understandings of the intersections of theory and practice, and to inform the processes of critique - in settings that support personal reflection and engagement.
ACAD is a leading centre for education and research, and a catalyst for creative inquiry and cultural development. We engage the world and create possibilities.
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For more information or to arrange an interview:
Tatiana Mellema
Assistant Curator, Illingworth Kerr Gallery
t. 403.284.7633
e. Tatiana.Mellema@acad.ca
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