NOMINATIONS NOW OPEN. The Art Life’s second annual The Power Trip list of the most important, influential and infamous art world people is open to suggestion, manipulation and undue influence. This isn’t a democracy, it’s the art world.
Send your nominations to: theartlife@hotmail.com or leave them here, and tell us why. Nominations close December 6.
Power Trip 2014
I would like to nominate Western Plains Cultural Centre Curator Kent Buchannan for Power Trip, 2014.
Kent came in last year at number 48 and as Education Officer at the WPCC I think he deserves recognition again for the enormous amount of energy and vision he has injected into the WPCC this year.
In brief, Kent has organised and hosted a total of 38 incredibly varied exhibitions which in itself is an enormous commitment and massive workload for the centre. He is committed to providing art lovers in the Central West region with the best and most diverse experience he (and his budget) will allow.
The calibre of those exhibitions has been nothing short of mind-blowing. Martin Parr’s No Worries, the 2nd national indigenous art triennial unDisclosed, Garden of forking Paths, David Rosetzky, Jam Factory and Dreamweavers were just a few. 2014 will be no different with the year kicking off with Ben Quilty.
Emma Thomson’s 2013 artist-in-residency and early images of her female hunters caused a huge amount of controversy in the media this year with local and national animal activists (including Linda Stoner) attacking Emma’s work and Kent’s decision to exhibit it.
The fall out involved police, physical threats and increased security, but to his credit the situation was handled professionally and Kent stood by his decision to exhibit the body of work. He has since agreed to purchase the work and will travel the exhibition in 2015.
The curator has continued his commitment to supporting local artists with a “regional space” and has exhibited eight emerging local artists this year.
In 2013 he has forged relationships with the National Gallery, CCP, ACCA, OBJECT, Magnum, dLUX and Jam Factory.
In collaboration with the Mental Health Unit at Dubbo Base Hospital Kent has assisted in developing an art program to create a nurturing and stimulating environment for mental health patients.
His involvement beyond the gallery doors includes his role as secretary of the Regional Public Galleries Association of NSW and funding panel member for Regional Arts NSW.
We believe Kent’s curatorial vision continues to make the WPCC a stand out among Australian galleries, regional hat aside.
We foresee the centre will attract about 80 000 visitors this year, which is double the population of our city. This is a direct result of the calibre of the exhibitions, the artist’s talks organised for each exhibition and our state-of-the-art gallery that allows us to host the most precious of exhibits.
We’d like to see Kent recognised for the difference he is making in our region and for going above and beyond the call of duty for the sake of showing great art.
NB- We also ran our own #No42withabullet campaign on Instagram featuring photos of Kent on the job at the WPCC looking every bit the debonair curator (note the over-use of B&W photos for that timeless look.) The intention was to help move him to a more comfortable number 42 on the list of movers and shakers. Ok, that was my idea and he reluctantly agreed. I’m very persausive 🙂
Thanks,
Lisa Minner, Education officer @ WPCC. Ph- 0421623387