December 21st, 2010: Claytus Yambon and John Marston Interview

Efren Quiroz of Exhibit V speaks with John Marston and Claytus Yambon about working together for the Pacific Currents exhibition. Watch the footage here.
Pacific Currents has been held over until December 31st.

November 22nd, 2010: 13th Annual Victoria Gallery Walk

Join us for the 13th Annual Victoria Gallery Walk on Thursday, November 25 from 3:00pm - 8:00pm.
Participate in the passport challenge for your chance to win one of seven fine art prizes valued between $200.00 - $300.00.
Simply visit each of the seven member galleries & collect a stamp from each location. Submit your passport card to any one of the participating galleries by November 26th for your chance to win.
Alcheringa Gallery will be giving away a silver clamshell pendant by James Taylor.

November 18th, 2010: Artists carving in the galley

Our visiting artist Claytus Yambon from Papua New Guinea and Coast Salish artist John Marston will be carving at Alcheringa Gallery on
Thursday, November 18 from 1:00pm - 5:00 pm.
We hope that those of you who live in Victoria will come to meet the artists and learn more about Bummbiandmari, the seventeen foot ceremonial war canoe carved by Marston and Yambon. Bummbiandmari will be on display along with other two and three dimensional works by Solomon Islands artist Ake Lianga. Lianga will be carving in the gallery on
Friday, November 19 from 10:30 - 4:00 pm.
We hope to see you there!

November 10th, 2010: Pacific Currents opening, canoe naming ceremony tonight

Artists and representatives from across the Pacific will gather here tonight for the grand opening reception of Pacific Currents. Carvers Claytus Yambon (Iatmul, Papua New Guinea) and John Marston (Coast Salish, Canada) are preparing for the ceremonial naming of the canoe that they carved together. The ceremony will bind a spirit to the canoe to protect its inhabitants. Yesterday, Claytus made special cuts to open the canoe's "ears" so the Iatmul spirit will hear its name.

Join us for this extraordinary occasion from 7:00 to 9:00pm.

October 9th, 2010: Coming Exhibition to Open Artistic Dialogue Between Canada, Solomon Islands

Pacific Currents, opening November 10, will unite two leading artists from opposite sides of the Pacific: Ake Lianga (Kakau, Solomon Islands) and John Marston (Coast Salish, Vancouver Island). Both young men are recognized worldwide for technical mastery and interpretive genius in their respective traditions, and both are passionate advocates of cultural exchange, using their art to connect Pacific peoples, bring Indigenous ideas to wider audiences, and strengthen communities that grapple with profound challenges to identity. The exhibition will feature new two and three-dimensional works, including works that respond to one another.

Watch this space for further details, or sign up to our mailing list.

October 8th, 2010: BC Creative Achievement Award

We would like to congratulate Richard Sumner on recently being awarded the 2010 British Columbia Achievement Award for First Nations Art.

The British Columbia Creative Achievement Award for First Nations' Art is a juried competition celebrating artistic excellence and highlighting the cultural significance of the arts of the First Nations in British Columbia.

Richard's bentwood boxes and carvings are collected internationally and are noted for their exceptional level of craftsmanship.

Congratulations Richard!

September 8th, 2010: Pacific Arts Symposium in Rarotonga

Gallery director Elaine Monds recently returned from the annual symposium of the Pacific Arts Association in Rarotonga, where she presented a paper on the benefits of institutional collaboration and cross-cultural exchange for promoting Pacific arts and artists. More Pacific artists attended the symposium than ever before, presenting their work, networking, and discussing a variety of hot topics, from "virtual repatriation" to the relationship between objects and spirit beings. Tagata Pasifika has some great YouTube coverage of the conference here.

August 11th, 2010: Tony Hunt receives Order of British Columbia

We are pleased to announce the recognition of Chief Tony Hunt on receiving the Order of British Columbia.
Some of Hunt's most recent work includes participating in carving a six meter red cedar canoe to christen Salish Sea.

July 9th, 2010: UPCOMING SHOW: Garamuts, Tifa, and Tambourines: Drums of the Pacific Rim

This summer we celebrate the drums from different regions of the Northwest Coast of Canada and Papua New Guinea in Garamuts, Tifa, and Tambourines: Drums of the Pacific Rim. Featured works include Kwakwaka'wakw and Coast Salish design, with Papua New Guinean works from Gogodala, the Sepik River, and the Asmat and Sentani regions of West Papua.

Celebrating the cultures of indigenous people of the Pacific Rim, drums are used in ceremony and for communication. The remarkable carving and painting of these functional works also make them stunning art objects that furnish the ceremonial houses of their peoples.

Opening reception Thursday, July 22, 6 - 8 pm.

June 7th, 2010: Rande Cook Featured in FOCUS Magazine

Innovative Visions of the Formline: New Works by Rande Cook continues until June 10. Rande's innovative work has been featured in this month's issue of FOCUS magazine, including an interview with the artist.

The full text article is available for download in pdf format.

May 27th, 2010: Double Visions ~ May 15 - June 20, 2010

An exhibition of Contemporary Art from Papua New Guinea

Presented by Fife Contemporary Art & Craft (FCA&C) in association with Rebecca Hossack Gallery, London, UK and Alcheringa Gallery, Victoria, Canada

Featuring the work of the late Mathias Kauage OBE ~ 1944-2003

Also participating Hailans to Ailans artists: Teddy Balangu ( Mid Sepik), Tom Deko (Eastern Highlands), Kaua Gita (Mid Sepik), Cathy Kata (Western Highlands), Martin Morububuna (Trobriand Islands) ,and Lucas Tangun (Mid Sepik)

http://www.fcac.co.uk
subscribe to RSS feed: http://blog.fcac.co.uk/index.php/feed/

May 3rd, 2010: COMING SOON - George Littlechild - Honouring the Eight Legged

Honouring the Eight Legged
New works by George Littlechild, June 13 - July 12, 2010. Opening reception to be held on Sunday, June 13th from 1-5 pm. The artist will be present.

Web catalogue coming soon.

March 30th, 2010: Innovative Visions of the Formline: New Works by Rande Cook

May 13-June 9 “Innovative Visions of the Formline: New Works by Rande Cook”, inspired by the work of the late Doug Cranmer, Rande Cook takes an inventive approach to the formline in a new series of gouache paintings. Opening reception May 13, from 7-9pm.

March 9th, 2010: HAILANS TO AILANS

In the Autumn of 2009, a groundbreaking exhibition showcased the work of a number of artists from the different regions of Papua New Guinea. Hailans to Ailans (Highlands to Islands in Melanesian Pidgin), featuring sculpture in wood and metal, performance and fibre art, and painting, including new work from Teddy Balangu, Tom Deko, Kaua Gita, Cathy Kata, Michael Mel, Martin Morububuna, Lucas Tangun, Michael Timbin, and Claytus Yambon.

The aim of this cultural project was to promote global recognition of the meanings, values and diversity of Papua New Guinea contemporary visual arts. Further cultural exchange was encouraged through the inclusion of work from artists of the Northwest Coast of Canada, including Leslie Sam (lessLIE) and John Marston of the Coast Salish nation. Part 1 of the exhibition opened on September 16 at the Rebecca Hossack Art Gallery in London, and Part 2 opened at Alcheringa Gallery on November 5, 2009. An extensive catalogue of work with artist interviews and essays by leading scholars is available from both galleries.

The exhibition can be seen online at hailanstoailans.com.

March 8th, 2010: Gallery News for March

If you have not yet subscribed to the Alcheringa e-mail newsletter, you can read it online. Subscribers get previews of upcoming exhibitions and events, as well as notifications about new arrivals.

March 6th, 2010: Books!

We've added a books section to this site and we continue to expand it. Contact us for book recommendations or to inquire about other titles.

Many of our visitors don't know that we maintain a large library of current, rare, and out-of-print books on First Nations and Oceanic arts in the gallery. Ask us about it next time you're in.

March 5th, 2010: Artists help launch Sepik Chisel Fund

This paddle, carved by John Marston, was used in the ceremony by Chemainus First Nation to welcome Palembei carver Teddy Balangu to Coast Salish territory in 2006. The artists have donated it to help launch our Sepik Chisel Fund that supplies carvers with high-quality tools they can't get in PNG.

February 24th, 2010: Interviews with Peak Aspirations artists Angela Marston and Dylan Thomas

Two of our artists were interviewed by Efren Quiroz of exhibit-v. Check out Angela Marston and Dylan Thomas as they talk about their latest works, currently featured in Alcheringa's exhibition, Peak Aspirations.

Click here to play the video.