ULethbridge Faculty of Fine Arts Associate Dean Dr. Devon Smither has been awarded a significant grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) for Parallel: The History and Archives of Artist-Run Centres in Canada. The project, which received over $300,000 in federal funding, aims to shed light on the vital role that Artist-Run Centres (ARCs) have played in shaping Canada’s contemporary art landscape.
Smither, along with Dr. Amber Berson (Concordia University) and a research team from across Canada, will investigate the histories of ARCs in Canada through research in archives, oral histories and institutional records. ARCs emerged in the late-1960s and 1970s, providing essential opportunities for artists, fostering alternative exhibition practices and have been at the forefront of promoting equity and diversity in the arts.
Building a community for the arts
ARCs play a crucial role in building regional arts communities and often feature dematerializing practices such as performance, conceptual and video art. Despite their significant impact, researchers say the histories of ARCs have been marginalized in modern art history, museum and cultural studies.
A groundbreaking initiative in Canadian art, the project aims to honour the legacy of ARCs and ensure their sustainability for future generations, highlighting the importance of ARCs for Canada’s cultural history.
Smither says ARCs have historically been at the forefront of promoting equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility, reflecting conversations gaining prominence in the global contemporary art world and reinforcing the timeliness of the project.
“While artist-run centres have been central to the development of the arts in Canada—they are the connective tissue between artists from across this huge country, to borrow A.A. Bronson’s words—very little has been written about their history, certainly not in a comprehensive way,” Smither says.
Creating educational resources for the future
Through extensive research and case studies, the project will build educational resources for students, scholars and the public, capturing a comprehensive history of ARCs from the 1960s to present, focusing on centres that with feminist, anti-racist and racial equity policies. Smither and her research team will also be creating an archival toolkit and guide for institutional archiving, ensuring the preservation of vulnerable archives.
Findings from the research will be highlighted on a website and database with mapping tools to document ARCs across Canada, host archival documents, encyclopedic entries and historical moments.