Strut II, Valerie Hunter Cullen, 2002, Glass

Presented By:

Exhibition Dates

• March  5, 2003  to April 27, 2003 Estevan, SK
• May 23, 2003  to July 2, 2003  Prince Albert, SK
• July 31, 2003  to September 21, 2003  Moose Jaw, SK
• October 18, 2003  to November 23, 2003  Swift Current, SK
• December 18, 2003  to  February 8, 2004 Brandon, MB
• March 7, 2004  to  April 19, 2004 Medicine Hat, AB

Recognizing that needs of rural community galleries differ from larger urban centres, the collective SCAM (Small City Art Museums) was formed in 2000 to address these issues, form partnerships, and network. The traveling exhibit (2001) Viewing Distance grew from this partnership. Work outlines were drafted with each participating gallery offsetting administration and promotional costs/work loads. A joint publication was created to accompany the tour. The SCAM collective has since expanded and now includes Alberta & Manitoba. SCAM provides a unified voice and a larger representation of our (smaller) organizations.

Biennial SCAM is a continuation of this collaboration, bringing together emerging contemporary artists and art-practices from the three prairie provinces; Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. Each of the SCAM curators met, discussed common issues faced by each of the (rural) galleries, in particular accessibility to new works/media created in each of our provinces, resulting in the touring exhibit Biennial SCAM. The selection of artworks/artists was determined by current art production in artists' studios throughout the prairies; the forces driving contemporary art expression on the prairies; current trends in content or media on the prairies; works that fall outside the traditional definition of medium or genre, and are marginal to mainstream canons.