OAC Board Visits Windsor
On February 1st, the OAC board hosted a reception for the Windsor and area arts community at the Art Gallery of Windsor (AGW). The reception and board meeting marked the board’s first return visit to Windsor since June 2002. OAC’s energetic Windsor-based board member, Dr. Jane Brindley, helped arrange several visits for her fellow board members and OAC senior staff, including a tour of both the gallery and Artcite, the artist-run centre located in the beautifully restored Capitol Theatre Centre, which has been the focus of recent financial woes.
The board saw an eclectic mix of shows at the AGW – from the exhibition by painter Gary Evans that was the latest in curator James Patten’s look at the current state of Canadian painting; to Jamelie Hassan’s curatorial project, 
Orientalism & Ephemera, inspired by the writings of Edward Said; to almost 80 vintage movie posters, collected by Otto Buj, that look at how poster designers from other countries reinterpret the filmmaker’s vision to market films in other languages. This mix is an example of gallery director Gilles Hébert’s efforts to reach out to the various communities in Windsor.
The visit to Artcite included a moving talk by photographer Vincenzo Pietropaolo about his show Harvest Pilgrims, which documents the experiences of migrant farm workers in Ontario.
The visit also coincided with the annual Windsor Canadian Music Festival, a partnership between the Windsor Symphony Orchestra (WSO) and the University of Windsor’s School of Music. The 2007 edition, titled Artistry in Music, Texture & Line, linked music with ideas from the visual arts.
The February 2, 2007 performance by the WSO featured world premieres by five Canadian composers (John Abram, Scott Godin, Michael Oesterle, John Oliver and Linda Catlin Smith), all of whom attended the opening night. Music Director John Morris Russell conducted and each composer introduced his or her work and spoke about the impact of creating the pieces with the musicians. 
Photos
(Top)
OAC Chair, Martha Durdin and Gilles Hébert, Director of the Arts Gallery of Windsor, looks on as the Honourable Dwight Duncan, Minister of Energy and MPP Windsor-St. Clair, addresses guests at the OAC board reception, on February 1, 2007 at the Art Gallery of Windsor.
(Photo: Borce Livrinski)
(Middle)
Martha Durdin, OAC Chair, and Windsor City Councillor Joanne Gignac greet Graham Keogh, President of the Art Gallery of Windsor Foundation and the Honourable Dwight Duncan, Minister of Energy. (Photo: Borce Livrinski)
(Bottom)
John Brotman, OAC Executive Director, introduces speakers at the OAC reception for the arts community at the Art Gallery of Windsor on February 1, 2007. (Photo: Borce Livrinski)