The following is being distributed at the request of The Rooms Corporation. 

The Rooms announces unique partnerships and collaborative exhibits;
Cottage hospitals exhibit opens today  

The Rooms today announced its fall 2006 line-up of dynamic exhibits which build upon unique partnerships and collaborations with community groups and galleries � in St. John�s, Halifax and across the country � and, innovative public programming designed to engage the public in new ways.  Opening today is the Cottage Hospitals: Celebrating 70 Years of Caring exhibit, chronicling the unique health care system � made up of a series of cottage hospitals, six nursing stations and a clinic on a boat � which once provided quality medical care throughout Newfoundland. 

�Our fall 2006 programming line-up is truly diverse,� said Dean Brinton, CEO, The Rooms.  �It builds upon our partnerships and balances the programming between traveling exhibits, such as the French realists, and exhibits that showcase the stories of our province.  Thaddeus Holownia�s exhibit showcases our province�s changing landscape.  Mary Pratt�s Simple Bliss details the work of one of our very own established and premiere artists.  Those who wish to learn more about our history can explore the War Brides, Cottage Hospitals and upcoming rug-hooking exhibits.  And, with the recent unveiling of the archives StonePics database, we are the very first state/province in North America to house a comprehensive database of cemeteries and headstones.  These exhibits speak not only to the diversity of our work, but the diverse interests of the people of this province.� 

Opening today, Cottage Hospitals � produced in partnership with Newfoundland and Labrador Health and Community Services Archive and Museum � is an example of the recent collaborative efforts.  �This exhibit was made possible solely because of the partnership between The Rooms and the Health and Community Services Archive and Museum� commented Erin Russell, manager, Newfoundland and Labrador Health and Community Services archive and museum. �This exhibit is extraordinary because it seems to take you inside the hospitals and provide you with a glimpse into the lives of the dedicated people who worked in these unique places.  We�re very proud to have it on display at The Rooms.�

Also opening this week, September 29, is Thaddeus Holownia: The Terra Nova Suite.  During the past 25 years, Holownia has made repeated and extended visits to Newfoundland and Labrador.  Throughout these journeys, Holownia�s signature medium, the banquet camera, has traveled with him documenting the changing landscape � from ferry�s berth in Argentia, through Gros Morne�s Trout River Gulch and the nickel cores of Labrador�s Voisey�s Bay, to the urban and industrial harbour of St. John�s.  

�This exhibit is the result of three years work on the part of the gallery to develop a major exhibition by a Canadian photographer,� said Shauna McCabe, director, The Rooms Provincial Art Gallery.  �We are happy to have Thaddeus here with us for the opening and hope that his work will mean a lot to the people of the province.�    

In collaboration with the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia (AGNS), The Rooms Provincial Art Gallery also recently opened Two Artists Time Forgot, on Wednesday, September 20, in Halifax, Nova Scotia.  Co-curated by Caroline Stone, The Rooms Provincial Art Gallery, the exhibit reintroduces F.M. Jones of Nova Scotia and M. Campbell Macpherson of Newfoundland and Labrador, two women artists who were most active at the turn of the century, by providing access to their paintings in order to enhance public awareness of the richness of their contribution to Canadian heritage.  

Two Artists Time Forgot will be on display at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia in Halifax from September 22 through January 7, 2007, and will be exhibited at The Rooms Provincial Art Gallery in the summer of 2007 and other galleries in Canada. �This is an exciting partnership between The Rooms and the AGNS,� commented Ms. McCabe. �Other collaborative productions underway include a fabulous night of art and experimental film on Friday October 20, in conjunction with the St. John�s International Women� Film Festival. In November, we will be partnering with Eastern Edge to display Click!, an exhibit showcasing the everyday images taken by people such as Andy Jones, Damnhait Doyle and Karen Kain. As well, the MUN School of Music is performing at The Rooms this fall on October 1 and November 19, presenting unique musical programming in support of two of our current exhibitions - Giddy-Up! and Masterworks of Nineteenth-Century French Realism.� 

�These efforts propel the work of The Rooms into the community, and we are very proud of these accomplishments,� said Mr. Brinton.  �We hope that the community continues to visit The Rooms and find meaning in what we do.� 

NOTE TO EDITORS:
Media representatives are invited to attend the official opening of Cottage Hospitals: Celebrating 70 Years of Caring taking place this evening at 7:30 p.m. at The Rooms Provincial Museum.  Provincial government, Eastern Health and Health and Community Services representatives will be on-hand for the event. 

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

BACKGROUNDER:
List of Exhibit Openings and Public Receptions
The Rooms Provincial Art Gallery

Masterworks of Nineteenth-Century French Realism
September 15, 2006 to January 7, 2007
Organized and Circulated by the National Gallery of Canada
Being one of only five galleries in Canada to host this prestigious exhibition, The Rooms Provincial Art Gallery is proud to bring to Newfoundland and Labrador some of the most important French nineteenth-century paintings in the National Gallery of Canada�s collection.  The 16 Realist canvases in this exhibition represent the reforming movement which transformed French art during the 1800s: a revolution in how artists saw themselves and the world around them.  

Among the 12 artists included are some of the most influential in the history of western art: Paul C�zanne, Camille Corot, Gustave Courbet, Honor� Daumier, Edgar Degas, Jean-Fran�ois Millet, and James Tissot. Their work left a lasting legacy of brilliant observation and dedicated social engagement, and set the stage for their artistic successors for years to come.  

Giddy Up!
September 15, 2006 to October 29, 2006
Organized and circulated by the Walter Phillips Gallery
Giddy Up!, organized and circulated by the Walter Phillips Gallery, Banff Centre, is a project by Canadian artist, writer and curator Andrew Hunter. Working with storytelling and exploring the construction of myths of �the West,� in Giddy‑Up Hunter brings together historical artworks and artifacts as well as new works by artist William Eakin commissioned specifically for the exhibition. The exhibition tells the tale of Andy, a young boy from Southern Ontario who yearns to visit Banff, ride the trails, sleep under the stars, and be a �real� cowboy.  In the exhibition, the boy�s fantasies are fuelled by popular Canadian television programs from the 1960�s such as the Tommy Hunter Show, icons Roy  Rogers and Dale Evans, and by Maritime country music legends of the time Hank Snow and Wilf Carter.
 
Open to the public:
In conjunction with Masterworks of Nineteenth-Century French Realism and Giddy Up!, The Rooms Provincial Art gallery will present two afternoons of classical music featuring performers from MUN School of Music.   

As part of Giddy Up!, a performance will be held on Sunday, October 1 at 3 p.m. highlighting the music associated with the West, such as: Aaron Copland�s Appalachian Spring performed by the MUN Chamber Players, conducted by Dr. Vernon Regehr; Robert Muczynski�s Maverick Pieces performed by Brian Way on piano, and Cowboy Songs by Libby Larsen performed by Suzanne Rigden, soprano, and Lelee Hayes, piano.  

In conjunction with Masterworks of Nineteenth-Century French Realism, Dr. Caroline Schiller, soprano and Dr. Tom Gordon, piano will present Cinq Melodies de Venise by Gabriel Faure on Sunday November 19 at 3 p.m. 

Events included in the cost of admission to The Rooms. 

Selected Recent Acquisitions
September 15, 2006 to November 12, 2006
A selection of new acquisitions to the Art Gallery�s permanent collection, which comprises over 7,000 works, which are both historical and contemporary in nature, produced by local artists, as well as significant national and international works. 

Thaddeus Holownia: The Terra Nova Suite
September 29, 2006 to January 7, 2007
Public Reception: Friday, September 29, 2006, 8:00pm
Thaddeus Holownia: The Terra Nova Suite offers powerful evidence of the changing landscapes of the province and its complex culture and society. Drawing on pieces from The Rooms Provincial Archives, The Terra Nova Suite also integrates an educational component, presenting documentary elements of the extensive history of photography in Newfoundland and Labrador. 

Simple Bliss: The Paintings and Prints of Mary Pratt
November 10, 2006 to February 4, 2007
Organized and circulated by the MacKenzie Art Gallery, Regina, Saskatchewan
The Paintings and Prints of Mary Pratt encompasses a 10-year period in the artist's life (1993-2003). This exhibition focuses on a number of still life paintings, as well as the collaboration between Pratt and Japanese master print maker Masato Arikushi, entitled Transformations, which includes the actual woodblocks used to create the final series of prints. With its realism, sumptuous colors and technical perfection, Mary Pratt's work brings a sense of rich symbolism to our most intimate domestic experiences. 

Click!
November 17, 2006 to February 4, 2007
Snapshots created with disposable cameras by over 40 personalities such as Andy Jones, Damnhait Doyle and Karen Kain. Click! is a collaboration between The Rooms Provincial Art Galley and Eastern Edge. 

The Rooms Provincial Museum 

Cottage Hospitals: Celebrating 70 Years of Caring
September 26, 2006 to January 12, 2007 
A unique system of cottage hospitals once provided quality medical care all over Newfoundland.  This exhibit takes you inside their walls to share the stories of the dedicated people who worked in these distinct hospitals. 

One Way Passage: Canada's War Brides
October 22, 2006 to January 21, 2007
Between 1942 and 1948, almost 44,000 women came from Europe to Canada to join their servicemen husbands.  To celebrate their lives and to mark the Year of the War Bride, artist Bev Tosh has created this inspiring installation with 52 life-sized portraits. 

Traditions in Transition: Contemporary Hooked Rugs of Newfoundland and Labrador
November 2, 2006 to January 21, 2007
Curator Gloria Hickey has put together the recent work of 21 textile artists to show how they are taking this traditional craft in whole new directions using some very unconventional materials and processes. 

The Rooms Provincial Archives 

The StonePics database is accessible at The Rooms Provincial Archives reference room on Level 3, The Rooms.  The database contains 221,000 records of names and dates from the headstones and monuments of Newfoundland and Labrador and was compiled from 2000-2004.  Reference room staff will provide additional assistance with use of the database. 

For more information, please visit www.therooms.ca or contact (709) 757-8000. 

2006 09 26                                                        5:00 p.m.