The new curator at the Estevan Art Gallery and Museum wants to help foster an artistic community that is open to all.
Ali King hails from England's London, and spent time in Gothenburg, Sweden before working the last two years in Winnipeg.
Living in London, King worked at Sotheby's, the British Museum and a contemporary commercial art gallery.
"I have an art history background," she said regarding her bachelor's degree in visual culture.
She then pursued a master's degree in museum studies, which she completed in Sweden.
"I was interested in museums, so I went to Gothenburg for that. As part of that course I had to do a practicum in a museum or gallery, so I ended up coming to the Winnipeg Art Gallery and I just sort of stayed for a year working for them."
Now at the EAGM, King will be in charge of the programming, which is set a couple of years in advance. Amber Andersen has been the acting director/curator at the EAGM for the last couple of years and will continue as the gallery's director. King will be involved in curating the exhibits.
"I will be developing my own programming, but I will be dealing with the programming that Amber has already established."
Having come from larger institutions, King commented on how the role of curator may differ in a small community gallery like the one in Estevan.
"There are benefits and disadvantages. The bigger the institution you're in, the more focused your job is. The good thing about being here is that I can be more involved in marketing and programming as well as exhibition making," she said.
"I feel like an art institution should really take a less holistic approach to itself. Its exhibitions should be produced in conjunction with education, and we should be considering all of those aspects when we make things."
That's something that she thinks will come naturally at the EAGM. She said the roles often overlap with she and Andersen acting as curator and director, respectively, along with Karly Garnier overseeing education.
"We're really, sort of, bleeding into one another. I think that's a real positive aspect (of the small gallery). And because it's a small community, I hope it will be fairly easy to connect with people here. I hope that we can be an approachable space for people to come in."
Upcoming at the EAGM on Nov. 28 are a pair of community shows, the Estevan Arts Council's Adjudicated Art Show, and the EAGM's member show, which features submissions from the community that runs until mid-December.
King will be curating the community art show, her first in Estevan. She is hoping that show will act as a good introduction to the local art scene.
"I feel, because it's a small institution, I can do a little bit more than just making exhibitions," said King. "I really want to connect with the community here and get to know what people like. I really want to reach out to anyone who is making any kind of visual art or craft in the community. I really want to meet with them and encourage more attendance at the gallery."
She said part of her job will be raising the EAGM's profile in the community, a task that management is always grappling with.
She is hoping to ask what people want from their gallery and what they want to see inside the main viewing rooms.
"We're very open. It's a community space, and we want people to take some ownership of this space."
King said the gallery is looking to open up to groups who are looking to learn a new crafting skill or hone their artistic outlets.
"We do workshops, but we're always looking to see what we can expand with those," she said. "We want to activate the space and have people enjoying it."
