By Galen Simmons, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
After eight years serving as the founding curator of St. Marys Station Gallery, Cameron Porteous is preparing to step down to allow new creative leadership a chance to continue shaping the gallery’s impact on the St. Marys art community.
Over the weekend, the gallery hosted a special reception to thank Porteous for his years of work at the gallery and welcome new St. Marys Station Gallery curator Duncan MacDonald, a Canadian artist with an extensive background as both an art educator and curator, as he prepares to officially step into the role on Jan. 1.
“What Duncan brings to this is what I cannot give,” Porteous said. “I can curate and I know the history of art and all that, but Duncan is an educator and the step forward for this gallery is to become more of a resource in the arts for the community, not just show pretty pictures nailed on the wall. That means outreach to people who take drawing lessons and classes, maybe lectures on the history of art.
“ … We have to start making some investments that normally I wouldn’t do and that’s why Duncan’s the person for the job. Our mandate is to promote local and regional artists, but there’s more to that. … An art gallery is a mirror of a culture, a mirror of society, and it’s our responsibility to bring in art and stimulate (creativity).”
Porteous said his eyesight is no longer what it used to be. Combined with the recognition that new leadership could help take the station gallery to new and exciting places, Porteous said now is the right time for him to take step back.
MacDonald, who originally comes from the East Coast, is a contemporary artist, art professor and curator. His artwork has been exhibited in numerous venues and festivals throughout the world such as Paris Nuit Blanche, PM Gallery, the Tahrir Cultural Center, Cambridge Galleries, Mercer Union, Gale Gates, Paved Art, Museu Joinville, Oakville Galleries, Museu de Arte Contemporanea do Ceara, Anna Leonowens, Grimsby Art Gallery and many others.
MacDonald studied at York University and Nova Scotia College of Art and Design University (NSCAD) focusing on interdisciplinary studio practice and sound. Among the many national and international projects he’s worked on, between 2018 and 2021, he worked on a large-scale research project entitled MASR: Research in Modern and Contemporary Egyptian Art. The project's focus was to map Egyptian modern and contemporary art through the production of an exhibition series at the Sharjah Art Gallery, the publication of a series of exhibition catalogs and a set of artist talks and workshops.
“For the past couple of years, I’ve been back in Canada and the timing is right,” MacDonald said about taking on the station gallery curator role. “For me, I see a lot of potential here and my experience lends well with this. I’ve done a lot of administrative work curating, teaching and artmaking. I’m excited to have the opportunity to work in a smaller community where I can have a strong impact and work with a broad range of people – some might be absolute beginners, and some are kind of more seasoned, professional artists.
“It’s exciting for me because it’s also, kind of, in a way grassroots. A lot of the teaching and work I’ve done has been in academia and it has been very rewarding, but at the same time, it’s really nice to work with people who are not just between 19 and 22. Art education is something I didn’t have much of when I was young. I see parallels between St. Marys and where I grew up in Hartland, N.B., where there was a thirst for (art education). That’s one of the reasons I ended up leaving because there wasn’t enough investment in the arts there.”
Through his new role at the station gallery, MacDonald hopes to provide members of the local arts community access to educational opportunities that don’t just focus on teaching and improving techniques and skills, but also on how local artists can take their work to that next level so it can be seen, appreciated and even purchased by art lovers in places well beyond St. Marys.
Through the hosting of inspiring exhibitions local artists might not otherwise see and by providing that training and guidance that can help artists in the community support their continued creativity, MacDonald sees the station gallery as a resource for supporting and lifting up the already vibrant arts scene in St. Marys.
As for Porteous, he has already planned the first several station gallery exhibitions in 2025 and will remain on as an advisor to help with the transition at least until those exhibitions are over. After that, he said he will continue supporting the gallery in whatever way he can.
Comments