Richmond BC, Canada #richmondartgallerybc
Artist Sonja Ahlers details the process of revisiting her career to prepare her archive, and how it led to the creation of Rabbit-Hole, the new work at the heart of her exhibition Classification Crisis. Sonja discusses how collecting, archiving, reorganizing, and collage have always been continuous activities over her 30-year career, from her beginnings making punk zines in the nineties to her current work that directly stems from the archive. She will share her insights on how to get involved in publishing your own artist books, being flexible to alternative streams of income as an artist, and how to keep on making art throughout your career.
This was a fully interactive online session recorded on October 25, 2023 with the Richmond Art Gallery.
Hosted by RAG Education & Public Programs Coordinator, Kathy Tycholis.
Produced by the Richmond Art Gallery Association as part of the Artist Salon series.
About the Presenter:
Sonja Ahlers is a visual artist and poet based in Victoria, on the unceded territories of the lək̓ʷəŋən (Lekwungen) speaking peoples, now known as the Songhees and Esquimalt Nations. Since the early nineties, Ahlers has worked primarily in book and book-adjacent formats, in a medium that she calls visual poetry. She is the author of Temper, Temper and Fatal Distraction (Insomniac Press, 1998 and 2004), The Selves (Drawn & Quarterly, 2010), and Swan Song (Conundrum Press, 2021), and was a key contributor to Rookie Mag from 2011 to 2015.
Some of the artists and media mentioned in this Artist Salon:
How to Draw a Bunny: Film on the Mail Artist Ray Johnson
Click: Becoming Feminists – 1997 by Lynn Crosbie (Editor)
Kate Bush: Wuthering Heights
The Artist Salon is an opportunity for emerging and established visual artists to learn from arts professionals and discuss opportunities in the arts community. Each month presents a different guest presenter for inspirational talks and professional development advice for visual artists.
Past live sessions from 2020 onwards are recorded and may be viewed online at the RAG@Home Artist Salon videos.
Program is supported by the City of Richmond Arts and Culture grant.
