The Arts In Canada

This book charts the developments in Canadian art from the late nineteenth century to the present with new essays by the country's leading art historians. A comprehensive overview, this volume embraces painting, sculpture, photography, design, video, and conceptual and cross-disciplinary art, as well as studies of art institutions and historiography. Each chapter explores the richness and diversity of Canadian art; topics range from impressionist painting to the multimedia work of First Nations artists, and from the Group of Seven to contemporary video production. Newly commissioned, carefully edited, and with 185 full-colour illustrations, The Visual Arts in Canada will appeal to general readers and students alike. An extensive index, as well as an appendix that list galleries and artist-run centres across the country, make this the definitive resource for Canadian art from the past century. Throughout the twenty chapters, readers will recognize favourite artists and encounter new ones-all of whom play an integral role in the country's visual history.

In this volume a baker's dozen of creative Canadians make personal responses to the state of the arts in Canada: Northrop Frye and Guy Rocher write on general cultural trends; Hugh MacLennan and Gérard Bessette on fiction; Ralph Gustafson and Michèle Lalonde on poetry; Robertson Davies and Gratien Gélinas on drama; George Woodcock and Jacques Allard on non-fiction prose; Godfrey Ridout on music, and Aba Bayefsky and Humphrey N. Milnes on art. The essays were written to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the University of Toronto Quarterly. The contributors were invited to discuss the changes, problems, challenges, and achievements in the arts in the last fifty years. Since all the authors had personal experience of at least a large section of the period surveyed, the editors welcomed personal reminiscence as well as description and assessment. The result is a varied group of essays in each of which the character of the individual artist is clearly evident; together, they provide a complex, many-faceted, lively, and living discussion of the cultural development of Canada. This anniversary collection of essays is a valuable and provocative source for courses in Canadian studies and for anyone interested in the development of the arts and humanities in Canada.

The Canada Council for the Arts is the country’s largest provider of grants for artists and arts organizations, benefiting not only writers, visual artists, performers, and musicians but Canadian culture as a whole. In The Roots of Culture, the Power of Art Monica Gattinger outlines the history of the Canada Council, the impetus for its foundation, and the ongoing debate about its goals and impact. Tracing the Council’s gradual shift from focusing on artistic supply and building the roots of Canadian arts and culture in its early years to its expanded focus on the power of the arts in society over time, Gattinger describes how leaders have navigated core tensions inherent in the Council’s activities. She examines the arguments for and against “art for art’s sake” and pursuing broader social and economic aims through the arts, as well as the inherent political conflicts between serving the needs of the artistic community and the needs of Canadian society, between leadership and followership, between autonomy and collaboration, and between emerging and established artistic practices. Combining lively storytelling with insightful analysis, and beautifully produced with dozens of photos of the art, people, and events that have shaped the organization through the years, The Roots of Culture, the Power of Art is essential reading for those with an interest in Canadian arts and culture and cultural policy.

Perspectives on Arts Education Research in Canada, Volume 1: Surveying the Landscape provides a wide spectrum of current research by members of the Arts Researchers and Teachers Society (ARTS)/La societé des chercheurs et des enseignants des arts (SCEA).