MEET THE CURATORS ~ CURATED COLLECTIONS MAY 2024

Kateri Foreman is an art educator, producer, and artist. Originally from Niagara, she has lived and worked across Canada and in London, UK, and holds a Bachelor of Education and a MA in Cultural and Creative Industries from King's College London. With over 10 years working in the arts sector, she currently holds the role of Learning Coordinator at the Art Gallery of Hamilton. She is passionate about breaking down traditional barriers to the arts with the ambition to engage people of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities in the arts.

Rima Bole, passionate about arts education, and a believer that the arts are
transformational has led Rima to a career in the not-for-profit arts
sector for the past fifteen years. Rima holds a Masters in Art History
and Honours Bachelor of Fine Art degrees. She manages day-to-day
operations and leads the future development of the Niagara
Pumphouse Arts Centre both artistically and strategically in her current
position as Director. Rima is a proud recipient of Women In Business,
Cultural Arts Award in 2022 and 40 Under 40 Business Achievement
Award in 2021.

• Debra Attenborough (pictured left) received a Bachelor of Arts in art history from the University of Toronto, a Masters in Arts Education and a Ph.D. in Arts Education from Brock University, She also attended Medaille University for Teacher Education. Debra has worked in art gallery settings for almost 50 years, most recently as the Executive Director of the Niagara Falls Art Gallery, but also at Rodman Hall Arts Centre in St. Catharines, and at the Oakville Galleries in Oakville, Ontario. As a member of the and numerous arts organizations province-wide, she has spent her life working and playing in the arts.

Debra has served on a number of regional Boards of Directors including Carousel Players for Young Audiences, Nova House, Arts Advisory Committee of St. Catharines and the Museums, and Arts and Culture Committee of the City of Niagara Falls. She also consulted with the Ontario Ministry of Education in the 1990s toward the development of the Common Curriculum and consulted on the development of an extensive education program at Lawrence House in Sarnia. She has presented at conferences throughout North America and has written various chapters for books, articles for academic journals and popular culture magazines, in addition to numerous education manuals.

• David Gilbert (pictured right)  David Gilbert holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree in studio and art history as well as a Bachelor of Education from Brock University, St. Catharines with accreditation from the Ontario College of Teachers. With over 20 years of experience in the arts, David has held positions with the Rodman Hall Arts Centre, the Niagara Children's Museum, and his most recent tenure as Director at the Niagara Falls Art Gallery in Niagara Falls. His portfolio includes the development of educational workshops and curriculum, curatorial & exhibition development, operational management, advertisement, audience engagement and applied technologies for both nonprofit organizations and the private sector.

David has both juried exhibitions and delivered workshops for various organizations, including the Welland Rose Festival, the Pelham Arts Association, and the District School Board of Niagara, as well as led special events groups such as the Kids Arts Day Committee over his career. David's artwork has been exhibited throughout Ontario and he continues to work in related fields producing web/online content, digital media, graphic design, cartoons and is most recently working on an animated series.

Rayne Tunley:

AOCAD CSPWC SCA OSA

P-President/Life Member CSPWC

An Ontario College of Art and Design graduate, Rayne Tunley holds elected memberships: the Ontario Society of Artists (OSA), Society of Canadian Artists (SCA), and Canadian Society of Painters in Water Colour (CSPWC). She is a Past-President and Life Member of the latter.

Her artistic journey began in her youth, driven by a deep-seated passion to create, finding inspiration in nature, landscapes and water.

My paintings are not a realistic representation, but an impressionistic reflection of my feelings for nature and the environment – the contours, moods and colours..."

Rayne brings a wealth of experience to the role of a seasoned juror, having adjudicated numerous exhibitions. Her jurying expertise extends to various events, including those organized by the Canadian Society of Painters in Water Colour, Colour and Form Society, Summer and Grace exhibits, Etobicoke Art Group, Humber Valley Art Group, Franklin Carmichael Art Group, Artworks Oakville, Ontario Society of Artists, International Watercolour Society, National Watercolor Society (USA), amongst others.

Represented by the John A. Libby Art Gallery in Toronto, Rayne has showcased her art on both national and international platforms, with exhibitions reaching across Canada, the United States, France, and Mexico. Anticipating upcoming showcases in Germany and Switzerland in 2024, Rayne continues to expand her artistic presence globally. Additionally, her artwork has secured a distinguished place in the Royal Collection at Windsor Castle, UK, currently featured in the Redgrave Room at the Queen's Gallery, Buckingham Palace, London, UK, until June 2024. Rayne's paintings are part of various collections, found in both private and public spaces, including notable locations such as the Helson Gallery, Windsor Castle, UK, and the Archives of Ontario.

www.raynetunley.com

Sandy  Middleton
Photo Encaustic Paper Sculpture

Sandy Middleton is a mixed media photographic artist from St. Catharines, Some of Middleton’s recent accomplishments; she was selected as one of 52 finalists for the highly competitive Salt Spring National Art prize, in 2023 she won best in paper at the Toronto Outdoor Art Fair and recently won the Established Artist Award at the City of St. Catharines Arts Awards. She is the recipient of many Art Council Grants and her work is in collections all over Canada and the US.

Sandy’s encaustic paper sculpture work is about layers, both in meaning and material form. Managing the chaos of the external by carefully dissecting time into small manageable moments. Each layer presents options, possibilities and choices. The image, while important, is deconstructed to allow for a subliminal connection with the viewer.

Amanda Burk is an Associate Professor in the Department of Visual Arts in the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts at Brock University. Amanda has recently relocated to the Niagara region, after twelve years living and working in North Bay, Ontario. She has familial roots in the Niagara region, so this move is very much a homecoming for her. Amanda is an artist, educator, and researcher. Her own studio practice is centred in drawing and her research interests focus on contemporary Canadian drawing and studio-based pedagogy. Her artwork has been exhibited both nationally and internationally, and can be found in such collections as: the Thunder Bay Art Gallery, Cobra to Contemporary (Netherlands), and the City of Toronto. Amanda is an Associate Researcher with the NSCAD University Drawing Lab, and from 2011-2016, Amanda ran Line Gallery in North Bay, as a curatorial research project, producing 25 solo exhibitions featuring the work of drawing artists from across the country. Amanda received her MFA from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design and her undergraduate degree from the University of Waterloo.

Jo-Anne Taraba is a painter based in the Niagara region whose work is passionately inspired by colour, light and healing energy. Her work seeks to fuse these three elements together into subject matter reflection travels, memories or meditations. Her art has been published and exhibited locally and throughout Ontario. A believer in the healing power of creativity, she has led creativity workshops for adults and has served as a Visual Arts Educator working with adolescents at the secondary level for over 30 years.
 

George Langroek, My exploration of that most controversial of life's urges- the passions of eros never ceases to fascinate and stimulate my imagination. 

As an artist who is a Christian I have often used Solomons Song of Songs as inspiration and guide.This poetic song contains some exquisite love lyrics and is sexually explicit which I try to emulate in my work. My work has often been referred to as visual poetry.It proclaims an integrated wholeness that is at the centre of a self giving journey of discovery and fulfillment. We men and women are made physically, emotionally and spiritually to live in love.

In my work passion and eros are not quashed under Christian prohibitions  and puritanical restrictions to control the lustfull "body" Rather,[despite our  selfish failures in love], the body is celebrated as a gift, or mutual union and gratification of two diverse personalities in love.

Bart Gazzola is an arts writer, curator and photographer based in Niagara. He’s published with New Art Examiner, Canadian Art, BlackFlash Magazine (where he was editorial chair for three years), Magenta Magazine and Galleries West, and was the art critic at Planet S in Saskatoon for nearly decade. Notable recent curatorial projects
include Welland: Times Present Times Past (2020) at AIH Studios in Welland, and A Place To Stand: The Legacy of the Rodman Hall Art Centre Collection (2021 – 2022). He was previously assistant editor at The Sound: Niagara’s Arts and Culture Magazine, where his ongoing series on Brock University’s ‘demolition through neglect’ of Rodman
Hall Art Centre earned him several St. Catharines Arts Award nominations (2020).
Gazzola is co editor for The COVERT Collective: a gathering of visual art curators from across Canada, sharing the work of artists they love, and work that inspires them.
A selection of his writing for curated. can be enjoyed here: 
https://curatednow.ca/bart-gazzola/
He is also the primary writer / researcher for AIH Studios’ continuing series Artists You Need To Know, offering information and images about artists both Canadian and international, that merit attention. This online anthology can be enjoyed here: https://artishell.com/artists-you-need-to-know

Gazzola also hosts and facilitates the 5 x 2 Visual Conversations in St.Catharines at Mahtay Cafe: for almost a decade this has been an informal meeting of visual artists where they can share their art and ideas in a relaxed, community focused manner. It’s open to everyone, and can be found on FB, as the group sometimes meets online, as well as in person.

Since late 2022, he’s been the curator and facilitator of a number of exhibitions  platforming Niagara artists in downtown St. Catharines at Mahtay Café & Lounge. This has been supported by the SCCIP program with the City of St. Catharines. Past featured artists include Geoff Farnsworth, Gabrielle de Montmollin, Rob Royal, Amber Lee Williams and Julianna D’Intino.

He also has an upcoming exhibition at the Welland Museum planned for the Fall of 2024 : Ross Beard | A Sort of Homecoming will be a posthumous retrospective of the Welland artist and muralist. Another exhibition titled Chris Reilly | Love Lost Ruins will open at AIH Studios in downtown Welland in May of 2024.

He’s worked in a number of galleries and artist-run spaces, in Ontario and Saskatchewan.

Asta McCann was born and raised in St. Catharines. She is a curator and arts administrator with a passion for contemporary art, particularly cyberfeminist art and intersectional feminist approaches to curating. She studied Arts and Culture at Brock University where she earned her Bachelor of Arts in 2016 and then went on to study Art
History at York University where she obtained her Master of Art History and Curatorial Studies in 2018. She is currently the Programming and Curatorial Assistant at RiverBrink Art Museum, located in Queenston, Ontario, where she is responsible for supporting all aspects of exhibition development and collection management as well as
managing the development and delivery of public programming and special events.

• Debra Attenborough (pictured left) received a Bachelor of Arts in art history from the University of Toronto, a Masters in Arts Education and a Ph.D. in Arts Education from Brock University, She also attended Medaille University for Teacher Education. Debra has worked in art gallery settings for almost 50 years, most recently as the Executive Director of the Niagara Falls Art Gallery, but also at Rodman Hall Arts Centre in St. Catharines, and at the Oakville Galleries in Oakville, Ontario. As a member of the and numerous arts organizations province-wide, she has spent her life working and playing in the arts.

Debra has served on a number of regional Boards of Directors including Carousel Players for Young Audiences, Nova House, Arts Advisory Committee of St. Catharines and the Museums, and Arts and Culture Committee of the City of Niagara Falls. She also consulted with the Ontario Ministry of Education in the 1990s toward the development of the Common Curriculum and consulted on the development of an extensive education program at Lawrence House in Sarnia. She has presented at conferences throughout North America and has written various chapters for books, articles for academic journals and popular culture magazines, in addition to numerous education manuals.

• David Gilbert (pictured right)  David Gilbert holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree in studio and art history as well as a Bachelor of Education from Brock University, St. Catharines with accreditation from the Ontario College of Teachers. With over 20 years of experience in the arts, David has held positions with the Rodman Hall Arts Centre, the Niagara Children's Museum, and his most recent tenure as Director at the Niagara Falls Art Gallery in Niagara Falls. His portfolio includes the development of educational workshops and curriculum, curatorial & exhibition development, operational management, advertisement, audience engagement and applied technologies for both nonprofit organizations and the private sector.

David has both juried exhibitions and delivered workshops for various organizations, including the Welland Rose Festival, the Pelham Arts Association, and the District School Board of Niagara, as well as led special events groups such as the Kids Arts Day Committee over his career. David's artwork has been exhibited throughout Ontario and he continues to work in related fields producing web/online content, digital media, graphic design, cartoons and is most recently working on an animated series.