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Art exhibit inspired by open conversations

Special to the News The evolving role of women in society and the social and political milieu in which that evolution has happened is one of the issues explored in Open Conversations, an art exhibit currently showing at the Richmond Art Gallery.

Special to the News

The evolving role of women in society and the social and political milieu in which that evolution has happened is one of the issues explored in Open Conversations, an art exhibit currently showing at the Richmond Art Gallery.

"Work in Progress" is a work of art, but gives the impression of being a documentary photograph. It shows about a dozen women spanning eight decades. All the women are seated in a kitchen, but each is occupied with a different job, demonstrating the evolution of women's work.

While the woman representing the '50s is pushed back into the domestic sphere, the modern female worker has moved out of the home and a woman of colour takes her place.

The window frame behind depicts political events from the different eras, be it the Spanish Civil War or the fall of the Berlin Wall.

The aim of this work, and the show in general by Toronto-based artists Carol Condé and Karl Beveridge, is to spark conversations about issues people face on a daily basis.

Despite countrywide recognition, the West Coast has yet to discover the artistic duo. The art gallery aims to raise appreciation through a retrospective of their body of work.

Essentially, each project is centered on a different group of people and the issue most important to its members.

Nan Capogna, curator at Richmond Art Gallery, explains the practice of the married couple - an artistic collaborative team for more than 30 years. "They work with community groups and unions, asking them lots of questions and compiling information about their main concerns and aspirations," she said.

"Based on those open conversations, the artists create scenes in which they use group members or hired actors," she added.

As a result of those dialogues, the couple shares the creative process with group members, according to Capogna.

The exhibition also displays a new work, "Community Matters", designed in collaboration with the five agencies located in Richmond Cultural Centre: the arts centre, the library, the museum, the gallery and the archives.

"We brought our cultural workers together and discussed our concerns and challenges.

While the artists worked with us, they honed in on a couple of our issues. What it really came down to, was advocacy for the arts and culture," Capogna said.

Condé and Beveridge also use photomontage, which is a technique where the artist digitally cuts and joins different images, eventually creating a final photograph.

Each completed photograph carries visual clues relating to images or symbols from art history, political situations or social issues. Some even contain actual quotes from interviewees.

As such, "they can be read in a narrative way," said Lynn Beavis, director of the art gallery. The clues illuminate the works, allowing visitors to discover what the pictures represent, she added.

Condé and Beveridge have addressed issues such as racism, the crisis in the Canadian health care system and the collapse of the economy and the environment.

The themes unveiled in the exhibition also correspond to the aim of the art gallery, Beavis said.

"We present works that uncover issues community members are concerned with, and that's something these artists are particularly interested in as well," she recounted.

"I think - due to Richmond's cultural and social mix - the issues explored here resonate with everyone in the community," she said.

The exhibition will be on display until Nov. 10 and is guest-curated by Scott Marsden. On Saturday, Oct. 20 at 2 p.m. the art gallery presents a free screening of the documentary Portrait of Resistance: The Art & Activism of Carole Condé & Karl Beveridge.