Interview With Denise Lawson: Together Apart: Under One Roof

Gallery Blog

Over the next few months, we’re in conversation with artists, curators, and others regarding our current exhibitions at the Confederation Centre Art Gallery. 

This week, we chat with Denise Lawson, Director of Curatorial Programming at the Comox Valley Art Gallery in British Columbia, about her role in curating the exhibition Together Apart: Under One Roof with co-curator Angela Somerset. The exhibition is at the CCAG until October 27. 

Organizing the works of three artists “under one roof” must have been both rewarding and demanding. How did you ensure that each artist was equally represented in the space?   

DL: It was immensely rewarding to co-curate Together Apart: Under One Roof with Angela Somerset.    Although it was a comprehensive process to collate an exhibition of the three artists, they were a joy to work with and we had a generous timeframe of Covid in which to prepare.  

ZOOM meetings were advantageous for re-establishing the connection Angela had with Aganetha, Diana, and Reva and visiting together in this “virtual room” was an excellent way to for them to get to know me and me them. We established a foundation of trust as we talked together and shared the vision Angela and I had for exhibiting their work in a single exhibition. During these meetings digital imagery and videos oriented them to the gallery’s spaces.  

The roominess of time had helped us sort details well ahead of our visit with the artists in Winnipeg in the early summer of 2022. Over the days we were there, we visited their collective studio space, saw each artist individually to talk about their aspect of the show, and look at and make final selections of work for the exhibition. On our last day together, we all met for a “board meeting” to talk in depth about their long relationship as colleagues, friends, and artists sharing a studio for a quarter of a century. This unified our collective imagination for the exhibition’s design and concept that celebrated the three female artists, their separate creative practices and art careers, and their enduring relationship as friends and studio-mates under one roof. 

Working with each to curate this show must have aligned well with the collectivity of “Together Apart.” Were there any similarities between co-curating the exhibition and the show’s theme of sharing space?  

DL: Angela and I met in 2014 and had an immediate sense of creative alignment. In 2016, we began working together and over the ensuing years developed a strong collaborative working relationship. We share a curatorial pedagogy that emphasizes relationship. Our creative practices and skill sets, although distinct, are complimentary. This was an asset as we worked together to execute our vision for this program. We met, often daily, to develop concepts, imagine possibilities and then, using our unique capabilities, shared the work of bringing the exhibition we had conceived into the world. We have often said light heartedly (but also in all seriousness) “two bodies, one brain” when asked about our co-curatorial process for executing this comprehensive exhibition.  

What does it mean to have the exhibition presented in a new city and to an entirely new audience?   

DL: Exciting and wonderful come to mind immediately.  

Together Apart | Under One Roof upholds the unique relationship and distinct art practices of Aganetha Dyck, Diana Thorneycroft, and Reva Stone. “Together and apart, their holistic and feminist relationship binds art and life into an evolving conversation.” (1) It is deeply gratifying to have our exhibition of these significant female Canadian artists shown at the Confederation Center for the Arts this summer and know it will be seen, not only by those who call PEI home, but also many who visit the island at this time of year.  

(1) extracted from our writing for the CVAG exhibition– https://www.comoxvalleyartgallery.com/exhibitions/together-apart/ 

– Denise Lawson | Comox Valley Art Gallery | July 2024 

Denise Lawson 

Director of Curatorial Programming 
Comox Valley Art Gallery 
250 703 6131 
[email protected]