Art Gallery of Newfoundland and Labrador (AGNL) Shaped by the Sea Permanent Collections This digital collection has been created by the Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage Web Project and the Art Gallery of Newfoundland and Labrador. The Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage Web Project is a joint venture of the J. R. Smallwood Centre for Newfoundland Studies (Memorial University of Newfoundland), and CRB Foundation.

Art offers us the opportunity to explore our collective human experience; public art galleries are among the places where this can happen. The Art Gallery of Newfoundland and Labrador (AGNL) is the major public gallery in the province, presenting and interpreting the visual arts in all their richness and diversity to people within the province and beyond. The gallery exhibits original visual art, does research, provides education about art, and is responsible for permanent art collections held in trust for the public. The AGNL is a wholly owned corporation of Memorial University of Newfoundland and is operated by a board of volunteers appointed by the university. Memorial University supports the art gallery with an annual grant of over $400,000 as a service to the community. There is a staff of nine, plus security officers, student assistants and volunteers. St. John's Arts and Culture Centre ...... Home of the AGNL Open year-round, the AGNL is currently housed in the provincially run Arts and Culture Centre on Allandale Road in St. John's, Newfoundland. As well as an office and basement area, it has four exhibition spaces, three of which are used for temporary exhibitions and one for presenting works of art from the gallery's collections. About 20 exhibitions are presented in St. John's annually, normally balanced between exhibitions produced by the gallery and those borrowed from elsewhere. The AGNL's primary exhibition focus is contemporary Canadian art, with a specific commitment to that of Newfoundland and Labrador. Historical art, art from other countries, folk art, and crafts are also sometimes included. The AGNL manages three collections of original fine art: that of Memorial University of Newfoundland, the J. K. Pratt Memorial Collection and the Art Gallery of Newfoundland and Labrador Permanent Collection. Known together as the "Permanent Collections," they comprise over 4,000 works of art. The collections are primarily of post-1960 Canadian art, but also include historical works. Art with connections to Newfoundland and Labrador is a special focus, with major holdings of such artists as Christopher and Mary Pratt, Gerald Squires, David Blackwood, Reginald and Helen Parsons Shepherd, Don Wright and Anne Meredith Barry. Donations of art are an important aspect of the collections' growth; charitable donation receipts can be provided for these gifts. Education and outreach goals are important to the AGNL. There is an active program of school visits, group tours, talks by artists, children's workshops, public receptions and concerts. Volunteers or 'friends of the gallery' help with these activities, with fundraising and in other ways. A pilot program called "Artists in the Schools" began in 1997. Organized by the AGNL, professional artists have provided week-long, intensive, hands-on learning experiences for school classes of various levels. The artists have led discussions about works of art and, if appropriate, the AGNL. Parents can get involved, and sometimes a collaboratively made art project has been left as a legacy at the school. These projects have been funded by The Canada Council for the Arts and the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council. After being unable to do so for some years, the gallery began sending exhibitions to other parts of the province again in the summer of 1997. Communities hosting AGNL exhibitions have contributed to this endeavour by providing a secure exhibition space, some funding, and assistance with associated events and publicity. Another example of community outreach has been the 1997 partnership with Memorial University's Faculty of Medicine, establishing a part-time Visual Artist in Residence at the School of Medicine. Nationally, the AGNL is part of a network of about 120 public and university art galleries and 1,700 museums. AGNL publications about exhibitions and activities are mailed to galleries and media contacts across Canada. The AGNL began in the university library in 1961, as the Art Gallery, Memorial University of Newfoundland. Artist Christopher Pratt was the gallery's first curator, in charge of its exhibition and public education activities, and its permanent collection of art. Moving to the St. John's Arts and Culture Centre in 1968, but remaining part of the university, the gallery took on a more active provincial role, organizing touring exhibitions to other arts and culture centres on a regular basis. Over the years, its curators have been Peter Bell, Frank Lapointe and Edythe Goodridge. Patricia Grattan, the current director, became curator in 1982. In 1994, Memorial's Art Gallery became the Art Gallery of Newfoundland and Labrador. The AGNL exhibition spaces are open to the public year-round, from Tuesday to Sunday inclusive from 12 noon to 5 p.m., and on Friday evenings from 7 to 10 p.m. (closed Mondays). Admission is free. Get in touch with us through the numbers and address below, or better yet, come by and visit your public gallery ... © 1998 AGNL AGNL Office Information Office Hours: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Office telephone number: 709-737-8210 (recorded information about exhibitions and events is available on 709-737-8209). Website: http://www.mun.ca/agnl E-mail: agnl@morgan.ucs.mun.ca Art Gallery of Newfoundland and Labrador P.O. Box 4200 St. John's, NF AlC 5S7