The following is being distributed at the request of The Rooms:

New Multi Media Installation Exploring Climate Change Opens at The Rooms

Opening today at The Rooms Ice Flows and Sound Retreats: Jan Kabatoff. The world�s glaciers have become artist�s Jan Kabatoff�s source of fascination, reflecting deep concerns with change, transformation and the interconnectedness of the natural world, with water and ice becoming recurring themes in her work. Since 2005, Ms. Kabatoff has travelled to seven different glaciers from Alberta to the southernmost parts of South America, charting glacial movement as global warming accelerates melting.

The resulting work is the exhibition Ice Flows and Sound Retreats: Jan Kabatoff, a multi-media installation combining painting, mould impressions, hand-dyed textiles, photography and sound recordings of glacial �voices�; an experience linking science and human wonder with a shared and growing concern for the environment. Ice Flows and Sound Retreats: Jan Kabatoff will be on view at The Rooms until March 21, 2010.

Also opening today is the exhibition Dark Horse: Greg Bennett, a new body of work from St. John�s based artist Greg Bennett. Exploring the imagery and symbolic value of horses, Mr. Bennett�s paintings make use of numerous doubled and mirrored images along with overlapping and repeating motifs, offering the viewer surfaces where the images of the material world meet that of a dreamlike one.

Mr. Bennett is the latest artist-in-residence participating in The Rooms� Space-Based Program. This initiative supports emerging and mid-career artists in the creation of new work within The Rooms� on-site studio. Dark Horse, Greg Bennett will be on view until March 21, 2010.

�The Rooms Provincial Art Gallery is committed to developing and presenting the original work of our provincial artists along side that of their national and international counterparts� said Sheila Perry, director, The Rooms Provincial Art Gallery. �The result is an exhibition which speaks to the evolution of artists, from emerging to the newly inspired�

Ice Flows and Sound Retreats: Jan Kabatoff, as well as Dark Horse: Greg Bennett open today, December 18, 2009 at The Rooms, with a public reception at 7:30 p.m. Both artists will be in attendance and media are welcome to attend.

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Media contact:
Chrysta Collins
Communications Officer
The Rooms
709-757-8091
chrystacollins@therooms.ca

BACKGROUNDER
Also new for winter 2010 at The Rooms

Storefront
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Ranging from the late 1890s to the mid 1950s, Storefront consists of images of St. John�s storefronts located predominantly in the Water Street area.

This exhibition will be on view at The Rooms until May 31, 2010

Out of the Vaults: The Secret World of Artifacts
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Visitors are invited to come and explore the life cycle of an artifact as we prepare a wide selection of rarely seen treasures from our collections for their journey to our regional museum in Grand Bank. From carriages and sleighs, to lighthouses and fishing boats, watch, learn and discover the �whys� and the �hows� with our curators, conservators, cataloguers and collections managers as they clean, restore, and research the province�s treasures.

This exhibition will be on view at The Rooms until June 2010.

Broken Coins and Paper Promises:
The Currency of Ferryland in the 17the Century
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Visitors are invited to explore the history of some of the first money used in Canada at the Colony of Avalon in Ferryland. Rare coins and artifacts from this exciting archaeological site are featured along with coins from the National Currency Collection in Ottawa.

Broken Coins and Paper Promises: The Currency of Ferryland in the 17the Century is a travelling exhibition from the Bank of Canada�s Currency Museum and will be on view at The Rooms until January 2011.

2009 12 18                       2:15 p.m.