Made by and for the Simcoe County community, Headway is an experimental research project that shifts curatorial boundaries by inviting the public into the collection to decide what they want to see in the gallery. The public was asked to vote for their favourite artworks and to reflect on what they like and why they like it. With over 1,500 votes cast, the community selected 17 works of art to go on display.
Participants highlighted the diverse and personal ways that they connect with artworks, however, composition, colour, and subject matter stood out as key elements that tend to attract people to one work of art over another. These themes structure the exhibition, but visitors were invited to continue the conversation in the gallery, whether it be settling the score between artworks where the vote was too close to call or commenting on an artwork to share what drew them in, what it reminded them of, how it made them feel, and what it made them wonder.
Headway describes the forward movement of a ship, the slow and steady momentum as we progress towards a goal. As the conclusion to Anchor Point, a wider exhibition project exploring the Permanent Collection at the MacLaren Art Centre, perspectives shared throughout this exploratory and community-centred exhibition will inform efforts to strengthen connections between the collection and the community moving forward.
This exhibition was on view in the Laking Gallery from October 1 to December 30, 2022.
