Salt Spring Arts has been celebrating its 16th annual Spring Art Show over the second half of April, and along with two stellar art exhibitions in two venues, the program has included numerous talks and special events.

One of these events asked the timely question: “What the &%$# is a curator?”

Our panel of four experts and moderator Anthony Matthews agreed these days it seems like everyone is a curator, and they are curating everything from their Instagram page to their lunch menus. 

Margaret Day, creator of Salt Spring Island’s innovative private nonprofit gallery The Point, observed a “curator” initially meant someone who cared for “children and lunatics” when the word first arose in the Middle Ages. According to the Tate Modern, in more contemporary times a curator is someone employed by museums and galleries to acquire, care for and develop a collection. “They will also arrange displays of collection and loaned works and interpret the collection in order to inform, educate and inspire the public.”

“In the past twenty years the role of the curator has evolved: now there are freelance or independent curators who are not attached to an institution and who have their own idiosyncratic ways of making exhibitions. Such curators are invited to curate, or themselves propose, exhibitions in a wide range of spaces, both within and outside the established gallery system, and online,” the Tate explains.

Opportunities for local curation on Salt Spring and the Southern Gulf Islands may be limited by space, but they do exist. The arts council’s annual Spring Art Show is a prime example: each year people are invited to submit proposals with their vision for a coming season.

Artcraft is another place where Salt Spring Arts helps develop local curation. The Showcase Exhibition season takes place in concert with Artcraft’s summer-long gallery at Mahon Hall. Three to five rotating exhibitions take place in the hall’s stage gallery throughout the summer. These shows are selected by the Artcraft Committee from proposals submitted both by artists and by curators who bring specific artists and/or artworks together according to their personal vision. Past shows have included fanciful folk art installations, serious photography studies, group shows highlighting local craft guilds and much more. 

The 2023 Showcase Exhibition season gets started along with the summer Artcraft show on June 9. We look forward to three exhibits this year, including Ingrained Patterns and Pathways with paintings by Rosalie Matchett and sculpture by Leslie Corry (June 9 - July 10); Elemental Materials, showing collaborative works combining craftwork by the Salt Spring Woodworkers Guild and island Blacksmiths (July 14 - Aug. 14); and A Closer Look: Nature and Materials with artists Jan Smith, Paul Ouevray, Sibéal Foyle and Peter Pierobon (Aug. 18b - Sept. 17). The final group will be exploring their group theme individually through the media of art jewelry, painting, drawing, woodwork and furniture. 

If you are an artist or curator located in the southern Gulf Islands school district, or an Indigenous artist or curator living on southern Vancouver Island, perhaps you have an idea for a terrific art show next year? You can find our 2024 Showcase proposal form here. 

If you are not a local artist or curator but are planning to visit Salt Spring Island this summer, please make sure to come see these special shows! See the events calendar for details on event receptions and artist talks.