Tompalski’s Talking Portrait Talk at Art Gallery of Victoria
Dr Sherry Tompalski gave a talk about her Talking Portrait series at the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria on September 8, 2017.
What is a Talking Portrait?
A Talking Portrait is a portrait that includes traditional portraiture and an accompanying video. Initially the video was of the painting developing in Sherry’s studio with audio of what was said spontaneously during the portrait sitting. However, over the seven years of the project the portraiture and the accompanying video evolved. The portraits expanding to include drawing, collage and mixed media and the videos becoming more biographical and stylized. The work has been exhibited extensively, including the Museum of Civilization, Library and Archives Canada, the National Gallery and internationally in Chicago, New York, Argentina, Brazil, Spain, France, the UK and Montenegro. Currently there are Talking Portraits of psychiatrists, psychoanalysts, artists, Pierre Trudeau, Lotta Hitschmanova, refugees from Guatemala, El Salvador, Congo, Sudan, Guinea, Afghanistan, Iran and also several Residential School survivors. The work has been supported by the United Nations, Ministry of Citizenship Immigration and Multiculturalism, Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council and the City of Ottawa as well as several other organizations. Sherry Tompalski did the portraits and her husband Graham Thompson the videos. There are a total of 50 Talking Portraits.
Art Gallery of Greater Victoria
Since the 1950’s, the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria has been at the center of the Greater Victoria community. Over the past 60 years the AGGV has grown to be the second largest public gallery in the province. Located in the heart of the City of Victoria’s cultural precinct, the AGGV collection currently contains over 19,000 pieces held in trust for the people of Victoria, British Columbia and Canada. Every year, over 100,000 people visit the Gallery to view captivating and innovative exhibitions and attend entertaining and informative events. The AGGV also provides accessible outreach programs to families, youth, school districts and post-secondary institutions across Southern Vancouver Island. Each year, in excess of a quarter million people also access the Gallery online through the AGGV’s extensive community-based programming website and comprehensive art database.
The Associates of the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria
The Associates share a rich and vibrant history with the Gallery. The Associates were founded in 1952 to, “foster interest in, and give voluntary service to the gallery.” Over the years, the Associates have raised well over $800,000 to contribute to the Gallery. Celebrating and fostering enjoyment of the Gallery continues to be at the heart of their activities. The Associates also offer a wide range of educational programs and art related activities in their programs for members.
The Associates of the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria include: Pieta VanDyke President; Scott Vannon First Vice President; Wendy Lovitt Warren Second Vice President; Cindee Wind Secretary; Marci Shilliington Treasurer; Paulette Moser Membership Chair; Yvonne MacKenzie Programme Chair; Patti-Anne Kay Past President, Art Tours & Artist’s Studio Tours Joan Huzar and Wendy Warren; House Tour Bill Huzar; What’s It Worth? Bill Huzar and Penny Davies; Newsletter Joan Shimizu and Charlene Brown; Book Club Joan Shimizu, Pat Katz and Joan Fraser; Government House Nancy Newton and Alma Alexander; Social Helen Mawson and Sheila Mawson.