COVID-19 has created many unique challenges for artists, but PULP Grenfell Student Gallery has adapted to take visual art to the streets of Corner Brook.
This summer, PULP has mounted two public art exhibitions in the City of Corner Brook. Each installation showcases the work of Grenfell Campus Visual Arts students and both shows are open for public viewing 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Soft. Power. is showing on the exterior of Swirsky’s on Broadway until July 25. The show explores the idea that the coastal areas can be both soft and powerful, depending on the weather, tides and sea state. This exhibition examines this dichotomy as it relates to the ocean and its impact on coastal areas and communities including Indigenous perspectives, shared public spaces, and transportation links. The selected works were created by Lorna Conquergood, Kayla George and Tiffany Lyver. The show was curated by Alli Johnston, PULP’s Curator in Residence.
PULP gratefully acknowledges the support of the Grenfell Vice-President’s Office and Teaching & Learning Fund, as well as the Ocean Frontier Institute, the Future Ocean Coastal Infrastructure fund, Speedpro Signs, and Corner Brook Mayor Jim Parsons.
Picturing Community will be displayed on the exterior of Corner Brook City Hall and the Corner Brook Public Library throughout the summer. It is a public exhibition of photographic portraits depicting the residents and spaces at Western Health’s Long Term Care Home in Corner Brook. In the fall of 2019, Visual Arts photography students from Grenfell Campus, Memorial University, were invited into the long-term care facility, where they worked closely with residents in an effort to learn more about one another and document their community. These unique portraits have taken on greater significance as recent events during the COVID-19 pandemic have given us pause, as we question how we care for our elders and the vulnerable members of our community.
The artists included in the exhibition are: Rebecca Feaver, Joanne Flynn, Kim Grady Jessica Hefford, Jakob Knudsen, Tiffany Lyver, Gabrielle Matthews, Lex Micheal, Jess Pynn, Shannyn Reid, Candace Roberts-Curlew, and Tayler Smith.
The long term care residents depicted in these photographs are Gerald Allen, Masie Hynes, Leonard Nippard, Lori Lynn George, Edmund Cassell, Olive McGinn, Trent Byrne, Chesley Verge, Eileen Butt, Gloria Burton, and Pearl Sharpe.
This exhibition is led by PULP Grenfell Student Gallery in partnership with Western Health, the City of Corner Brook, the Corner Brook Public Library, and the Corner Brook Museum and Archives. PULP gratefully acknowledges the support of the Grenfell Vice-President’s Office and Teaching & Learning Fund, as well as the Ocean Frontier Institute, the Future Ocean Coastal Infrastructure fund, and Speedpro signs.
Background:
PULP Gallery is a non-profit, student-run gallery committed to creating inclusive and innovative exhibition opportunities for current students and alumni (graduated within five years) of the Visual Arts program at the School of Fine Arts at Grenfell Campus, Memorial University. Established in 2017, it is the first and only student-run gallery in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador.
