Main Gallery
Looking Back Looking Forward
March 16 – June 9, 2017

Curated by Elise Pundyk & Grace Wirzba, Museum Studies Interns

The gallery is home to an extensive collection that has and continues to be a source of inspiration for many. Exploring the community that has evolved with the gallery, this exhibition will bring together work from the collection with stories from the people that have made the gallery what it is today.

Curatorial Statements:
As the second part of the University of Lethbridge Art Gallery’s projects for the University’s 50th anniversary, I invited two senior undergraduate students to curate an exhibition from the art collection. Grace Wirzba and Elise Pundyk each bring a different perspective given that Grace is a Studio major while Elise is in the Art History and Museum Studies program. Their innovative installation combines these two outlooks and includes photographs and information from the uLethbridge archives and the voices of people who have been connected to and interested in the Art Gallery’s history. Grace and Elise solicited opinions across campus and in the community via a call on social media and by contacting key people involved with the gallery over the years. They conducted interviews and have selected a range of quotes and sections from the interviews to give visitors to the exhibition a sense of the context of the uLethbridge art collection and the role the Art Gallery continues to serve today.

– Josephine Mills, Director/Curator

The Art Gallery was established in 1981 with the construction of the uLethbridge’s Centre for the Arts. It has since become an integral part of the arts community in Lethbridge. As new participants in this space, we wanted to learn more about how it came to be the gallery that has taught us so much today. Drawing on past university experiences – including previous internships – we began to compile a list of individuals who could bring the exhibition to life. We have learned so much from the people who have taken the time to share their stories and have been able to see the personal connections with the collection. We also learned that there are so many important parts to the story of the University of Lethbridge Art Gallery. We were unable to reach everyone in time, so it is our hope that Looking Back / Looking Forward will be a space where visitors can continue the dialogue – sharing their memories of and dreams for the Art Gallery. As we examine and celebrate the past, we look forward to all that is in store for the oncoming chapter in the Art Gallery’s history.

– Elise Pundyk & Grace Wirzba, Exhibition Curators and Museum Studies Interns