Simon Fraser University
Engaging the World

Wild New Territories

January 12 – April 13, 2013
SFU Gallery

Participating Artists: Julie Henry/Debbie Bragg, Gordon Cheung, Dana Claxton, Ron den Daas, Foreign Investment, Jamie Griffiths/Diego Samper/Rob Scharein, Edgar Heap of Birds, Mars Kaliszweski, Kathy Kenny, Max Kimber, Michael Landy, Glenn Lewis, Michael Morris/Vincent Trasov, Bo Myers, Gillian Wearing, Alma Tischler Wood, and Cornelia Wyngaarden.

Wild New Territories is a series of exhibitions, outdoor works, performances, and workshops co-curated by Ron den Daas and Kathy Kenny. The project explores the interplay between the urban and the wild in contemporary art and is being presented in three different urban contexts: Vancouver, London and Berlin. Bringing together important local and international artists, from Dana Claxton (Vancouver) to Gillian Wearing (London), the project presents critical and optimistic works that engage audiences in the complex interconnectedness between cultural and natural ecologies. The gallery works and outdoor site-specific installations consider the human impact on a cultivated landscape through an engagement with gardens, agriculture, built homes for animals, disposal and desecration. The project questions distinctions between the “natural” and the “unnatural,” and the cultural and the environmental realms.

The project opened in London in September 2012 where it was presented at Camley Street Natural Park under the auspices of London Wildlife Trust and at The Foundling Museum. In Vancouver, works are presented at SFU Gallery in Burnaby, Teck Gallery in Vancouver, as well as in outdoor installations along Coal Harbour, and in Stanley Park. Wild New Territories is scheduled for presentation at The Historical Botanical Gardens and Museum in Berlin in September 2013.

Click here to view a complete map of the outdoor installations.

Supporting Partners: Vancouver Foundation, The Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Artist for Kids, Stanley Park Ecology Society, Vancouver Aquarium, Coal Harbour Community Centre, Canada Place, Stanley Park Pavilion and Pacific Salmon Foundation.

Events

Opening Weekend Events

Saturday, January 12
Opening at SFU Gallery, Burnaby, 2–4pm, artists in attendance and remarks.

Sunday, January 13
1:30pm Opening at Teck Gallery, Vancouver
2:00pm Walking tour of outdoor works leaving from Teck Gallery after remarks (along Coal Harbour to Stanley Park Pavilion).
4:30pm Coast Salish Community welcoming ceremony and introductory remarks from Wild New Territories partners at Stanley Park Pavilion. Reception to follow with refreshments.

Speaker Series

Wednesday, March 6, 7:00–8:30pm
Coal Harbour Community Centre, 480 Broughton Street, Vancouver.
Speakers: Ron den Daas, artist and co-curator of Wild New Territories; Sandie Hollick Kenyon from DFO Salmon Enhancement Program; Biologist Doug Swanston.
The talks will focus on the environmental themes that inform the exhibition and will showcase wildlife conservation efforts that are currently being undertaken around Vancouver's urban landscape as part of the exploration of the 'urban' and 'wild' the exhibition proposes.

Sunday, March 17th, 2–3:30pm
Coal Harbour Community Centre, 480 Broughton Street, Vancouver.
Speakers: Ron den Daas, Cornelia Wyngaarden, Bo Myers, Rob Scharein
The talks will focus on work in the exhibition.

Closing Event
To Be With Dusk: Dana Claxton and Bo Myers
Saturday, April 13 at 6:56pm
Devonian Harbour Park
1929 West Georgia Street at Denman Street

Workshops
A series of workshops are being held in conjunction with Wild New Territories partners Stanley Park Ecology Society, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Vancouver Aquarium and Coal Harbour Community Centre and are being offered to lower mainland schools through Artists for Kids. Additional events will be held through SFU and Coal Harbour Community Centre.