In Class Lecture (June 27)

In today's class lecture, Professor Brayham went over the concept of programming


Programming
-Interface that exists between the institution and the public

Arts programming consists of personal and collection meanings. There are different types of activities that can be considered programming such as: readings, films, lectures, and school visits. Programming is a balancing act because you have to take the publics interest. The staff and board of directors decide on the programming.

Staff                                                   Board of Directors
-Curator                                             -Program Committee
-Artistic Director                                -Exhibition Commitee
-General Director
-Executive Director
-Education / Interpretation
-Marketing

There are different ways of measuring performance:

-Critical Reviews (people who write for papers that review programming, a good review helps ticket sales)
-Honours and Awards (quality of programming, its the people in the field who are handing out awards)
-Reputation of institution (you have star performers in the field)
-Attendance (you need an audience)
-Number of exhibition / performances (number doesn't always reflect quality but people look at what you do)

-Number of new productions / exhibitions (better measure than actual number, want to be innovative and having new artists and exhibitions)

-Funding (

Programming Planning Cycle
-Most new exhibitions are brought out in September. Not a lot of summer programs.
-Programming takes a lot of time
-Small organizations do their own programming to expensive to rent

The Clay and Glass Gallery Visit

Swounds Exhibition

On Monday, June 20 our class had the chance to visit the 'Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery'  in the City of Waterloo. We also had Christian Singer, who is the curator of gallery show us around and have him talk to us about the artists work.

We were introduced to Julie Oakes Swounds Exhibtion which featured over 100 glass sparrows being suspended from the Gallery's ceiling. There was another piece of art known as 'Noahs Ark' which consisted of 50 pairs of hand-painted clay feet. The 50 hand-painted clay feet are used to depict the various species that were taken onto Noahs Ark. According to our curator Christian, he explained to us that Julie's exhibition is based on life and death. Julie had 3 friends who passed away and she tries to explain how everyone is unique. On Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday a sparrow falls from the ceiling and shatters on the floor. Before each sparrow is shattered a song is played.

An ark and 50 pairs of hand-painted clay

The typical visitors to the gallery have been people from the region. When I saw the exhibition I was surprised because I suspected just pots and sculptures. Instead I was amazed by the detail of the glass design of the sparrows.

The current gallery space is architecturally sound. It is very important to know where to place each item, as well as color. I know that I have not been to many art galleries, but the Swounds Exhibition really amazed me because of all the thinking that went into the process of creating the gallery.





Below is a video of Julie Oakes Swounds Exhibition:
(video courtesy of Youtube)

(all images courtesy of the Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery)

Ice Hockey at CIF ARENA

This afternoon I decided to play some ice hockey for my third/fourth time in my life. My friend Craig invited seven of his friends to come play at the CIF arena. He rented out the ice for a hour so we ended up playing some 4 on 4 ice hockey. I am not a very good skater but I had help from 'Dan Kelly' who was a NHL player drafted from the New Jersey Devils. Since I have been living in Canada for more than half my life, I believe that it is essential to play hockey since it is Canada's national sport.

June 13th Lecture

Today in class, we went over our blog, e-portfolio, and research project assignments.

We also talked about "Mission vs Vision" principles.

Mission        
-Talks about the present
-List broad goals upon which the organization is formed

Vision:
-Talks about the future
-Where does the organization want to be

In most projects that we take on, planning is a very important function of management. Because, I am in the planning program at the University of Waterloo, I understand what needs to be done in order to accomplish something. When you plan to take on a project, goals and steps have to be set up early in advance to make sure you are on topic. If you are in a group with other members, it is important to set up a time table for completion of tasks to make sure everyone stays on track.

Our class also analyzed the different types of plans:

-short, intermediate and long-range plans
-strategic & operational plans
-single-use and standing-use plans
-contingency & crisis planning

(June 6) In Class Lecture - Professor Angela Brayham

Our professor, Angela Brayham, decided today to talk to us about the 'Creative City Movement'.


A lot of people within Waterloo do not experience the culture of the Waterloo Region. The majority of people are here for school and nothing else. Like other classmates have said, they only go uptown for food.  Most classmates would agree that uptown would need more shopping, recreational leisure activities, transportation, and free events.


In terms of Canadian culture, the Stanley Cup game on Saturday, was the most watched playoff game ever. The game was not just for hockey fans but for a way for people to come together and show national pride.

Professor Brayham also explained to us about the different categories of festivals. In Waterloo we have many festivals but the more important ones are the 'Blues' festival and Oktoberfest. Approximately $1.5 million is raised from Oktoberfest and the money goes back to non-profit organizations.

My classmates came up with other important festivals
-Canada Day                                   -Waterloo Arts Festival
-Elmira Maple Syrup Festival           -Edge Fest
-Chinese New Year                         -Wake Stock
-Art in the Park                               -TIFF

Article-Richard Florida (The Rise of the Creative Class)

In Richard Florida's article, 'The Rise of the Creative Class', he talks about a new type of lifestyle known as the creative class. Florida mentions how many of the students who graduated from Carnegie Mellon University leave for a job in another state. Even though Pittsburgh has redeveloped its downtown and added new sports complexes, people were still leaving the region. Young people now look for great nightlife, cultural diversity, and fabulous outdoor recreation. The goal now is for businesses to try and attract the creative class employees. Florida also tries to investigate how some places become destinations for the creative while others don't. He states that cities should have greater diversity, higher level of quality of place, street-level culture, outdoor recreation, authenticity, and uniqueness.

NHL Finals

Last Thursday night, my friends and i decided to watch game 1 of the finals between the Vancouver Canucks and Boston Bruins at FrontRow Mcguiness. To me it was like another Canada versus the United States game where national pride was on the line. Frontrow was really crowded with Vancouver fans cheering all game long. It was actually somewhat of a boring game because there was not a lot of scoring. The final score ended up being 1-0 for Vancouver.  Since this term will be my last before I graduate, nothing beats having all my friends coming out and hanging out together.