Permanent director announced for The Rooms Provincial Art Gallery;
vibrant Summer 2006 schedule unveiled

Dean Brinton, CEO of The Rooms Corporation, today announced the appointment of Dr. Shauna McCabe as permanent director of The Rooms Provincial Art Gallery. Dr. McCabe, who has been acting as interim director since December 2005, officially began her permanent post on April 1, 2006. Previous to commencing the position, Dr. McCabe was senior curator with the Confederation Centre Art Gallery in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island since 2001. Currently research associate with the University of Prince Edward Island and adjunct professor with Mount Allison University, she is also curatorial advisor for the 2006 Sobey Art Award and the RBC Canadian Painting Competition.

In combination with the announcement of Dr. McCabe as permanent director, The Rooms Provincial Art Gallery also announced a new series of exhibitions opening spring and summer 2006. Three gallery exhibitions originating from The Rooms and two exhibitions circulated by the National Gallery of Canada unite artists working from diverse areas of contemporary visual culture. "This summer we are pleased to present gallery visitors with varying and unique opportunities to see world-class exhibitions in St. John�s," Dr. McCabe commented. "From May 19 onward we will provide access to the work of a range of accomplished and renowned artists; the work of each is outstanding and singular in its appeal."

The exhibitions showcase Canadian artists with local, national and international profiles in a variety of media and genres, featuring work by Newfoundland and Labrador�s Christopher Pratt and Michael Massie, as well as Canadian artists Janet Cardiff and Douglas Coupland. A further interdisciplinary exhibition, Intangible Evidence, will feature work from a range of creative artists, including Michael Crummey, Sara Graham, Andy Jones, Alison Norlen, and Graeme Patterson.

"These gallery exhibitions are undoubtedly outstanding complements to The Rooms Provincial Museum and Archives programming," said Mr. Brinton, "and will continue to demonstrate the ability of The Rooms to attract and display world-class artists and their exceptional work here in St. John�s."

Media contact: Deanne Hayward, The Rooms, (709) 757-8070, 691-5681

Friday, May 19, 2006: Douglas Coupland: Play Again?
Public Reception: Friday, May 19, 2006, 8 p.m.
The spring exhibition lineup kicks off with Douglas Coupland: Play Again? on May 19, 2006 with a public reception at 8 p.m.

This exhibition, a new installation by writer and visual artist Douglas Coupland of Vancouver, is curated by The Rooms Provincial Art gallery director Shauna McCabe and is exclusive to The Rooms. Drawing from his strengths as a writer (Generation X, Eleanor Rigby, and jPod), artist (The Vancouver School, Super City), and designer (Concord City Place commission, Toronto), the exhibition brings together various aspects of his practice. Coupland explores the fine lines between word and image, between clear meaning and pure design. Conceiving a space solely of text, Coupland offers a satirical glimpse of the forces that define our contemporary environment, a fresh new way of seeing the replication of mass culture and the abundance of the world we live in.

The exhibition will be on view at The Rooms until September 17, 2006.

Friday, May 26, 2006: Janet Cardiff: Forty-Part Motet
Janet Cardiff: Forty-Part Motet, organized and circulated by the National Gallery of Canada, opens to the public on May 26, 2006. This sound installation has been on view in galleries internationally, ranging from the Museum of Modern Art in New York, to the Tate Gallery in London.

Janet Cardiff: Forty-Part Motet is a unique sound installation that has achieved international acclaim for its themes of transcendence and humility. The Salisbury Cathedral Choir members� voices have been individually mastered and rendered with precise clarity so that exhibition viewers can stand at the centre of forty voices and yet experience each voice and combination of voices personally and intimately as they progress through the very open and public work.

The exhibition will be on view at The Rooms until September 17, 2006.

Friday, June 2, 2006: Christopher Pratt
Public Reception: Friday, June 2, 2006, 8 p.m.
The National Gallery touring exhibition Christopher Pratt features 60 canvases produced between 1964 and 2004 by the seminal Canadian artist, which will open at The Rooms on June 2. The public reception celebrating the opening of Christopher Pratt begins at 8 p.m. with an official welcome by the Honourable Edward M. Roberts, ONL, QC, Lieutenant Governor of Newfoundland and Labrador and remarks by the artist.

Christopher Pratt is unique in highlighting the artist�s recent production and focusing on his paintings. Few Canadian artists have created works with the unique qualities of the northern landscape and express deep attachment to their surroundings with such abiding passion and commitment as Newfoundland�s Christopher Pratt.

The exhibition will be on view until September 4, 2006.

Friday, June 2, 2006: Silver & Stone, the art of Michael Massie
Public Reception: Friday, June 2, 2006, 5 p.m.
Silver & Stone, the art of Michael Massie presents the artwork of this Labrador-born artist who now resides in Newfoundland. Drawn from private and public collections throughout Canada, United States and Europe, Michael Massie�s contemporary forms are characterized by original designs and symbolism that have contributed to the redefinition of Inuit Art.

His first curated solo exhibition, Silver and Stone, the art of Michael Massie, presents 25 silver and seven stone-carved pieces created since 1996 that reflect tensions between traditional and non-traditional, urban and rural, Inuit and European. The public is invited to a cocktail reception on June 2, 5 pm, in the multi-level space specially created for the show. The reception will be highlighted by an introduction to the show by the artist and guest curator Gloria Hickey.

The exhibition will be on view at The Rooms until September 4, 2006.

Friday, July 14, 2006: Intangible Evidence
Public Reception: Friday, July 14, 2006, 8 p.m.
Intangible Evidence will open on Friday, July 14, 2006, featuring a multi-disciplinary look at the narratives embodied in historical and archival artifacts. Bringing together five creative forces working from various disciplines, Michael Crummey, Sara Graham, Andy Jones, Alison Norlen, and Graeme Patterson have drawn from material within the collections of The Rooms Provincial Archives and Provincial Museum to create innovative artistic projects in media ranging from drawing, animation, installation, audio, and text. Developed through a series of residencies with The Rooms Provincial Art Gallery, Intangible Evidence, is curated by gallery director Shauna McCabe.

The exhibition will be on view at The Rooms until October 8, 2006.

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