Under New Management – Saint John (2014)

Under New Management : Straight to Video

Curated by Suzanne Carte and Su-Ying Lee

January 18, 2014 – February 28, 2014

Reception & Talk with Curators: February 15th, 4:30 to 6:30

Third Space Gallery – 49 Canterbury Street

Frankly, we’re not your typical video store. Far from it! In fact, Under New Management is a virtual entertainment funhouse allowing you to pay-what-you-wish. We have many rare titles and a unique rental policy!

Under New Management: Video Store exhibition takes the form of a video rental store that carries artists’ videos. The project employs the characteristics of the retail environment to connect to the local community while, challenging the gallery’s role as an intermediary that delimits the viewer’s direct access to art. Video titles in stock are artists’ works procured through an open call for submissions. “Customers” are asked to pay what they wish, which can be interpreted as cash, a non-monetary exchange, critique, or no remuneration. This facet is in place as an experimental form of engagement, where artists have the opportunity to receive responses directly from viewers. In turn, the viewer has an uncommon channel to the artist. In addition to payment, rental and return are also on an honour-system basis to remove barriers that exist due to membership requirements, deposits, and return policies at commercial ventures.

Boundaries are blurred and expectations subverted through a presentation model that proposes a hybrid between the gallery context and the broader public sphere. Currently, we are on the cusp of the dematerialization of the video rental business. Large corporate chains and family run businesses share in the same fate. The most unfortunate loss is that of the local independent operation that carried rare titles, cult favorites, documentaries, experimental films, and hard to find foreign titles. Under New Management: Video Store provides audiences with the opportunity to view content that is not produced strictly by Hollywood with blockbuster aspirations.

All good things must come to an end. Unfortunately the trend of vanishing family-owned establishments is not just affecting the mom & pop shops that conveniently distribute videos and stale popcorn, but even the bigger institutions fall. Honest Ed’s is on the chopping block to be sold to the highest real estate bidder. In wake of this current news, Lena Suksi’s bright hand-painted video store signage too will soon become a nostalgic part of our recent past.

Our dvd collection boasts over 200 titles including a cross-section of documentaries, experimental, drama, science fiction, comedy, and horror. We also have a growing collection of VHS tapes! Don’t miss out. Rent today!

You will find works by Alleyway A.G., Jose Angeles, Alleyway A.G. (Dr. Oliver Love), Artlitwell, Bambitchell, Perry Bard, Aleks Bartosik, Steve Basham, Sarah Beck, Ashley Bedet, Simon Belleau, Stephane Boutet, Theodore Boutet, Pierre Chaumont, Millie Chen, Emelie Chhangur, Michèle Pearson Clarke, collectif_fact, Eva Colmers, Claro Cosco, Department of Biological Flow, Sarah DiPaola, Robert Dayton, Zoran Dragelj, Daniel Dugas, Megan Dyck, Caz Egelie, Clint Enns, Sky Fairchild-Waller, Fake Injury Party, Simon Frank, Lisa Folkerson, Magill Foote, Barbara Fornssler, Sarah Fortais, Kandis Freisen, Stephen Paul Fulton, Daniel Gallay, Paul Gordon, Shlomi Greenspan, Keeley Haftner, Martin Hamblen, Ursula Handleigh, Sienna Hanshaw, Mike Hansen, Paul Harrison, Mathew Hayes, Stefan Herda, Karen Hibbard, Candice Irwin, Shawn Olin Jordan, Felix Kalmenson, A.S.M Kobayashi, Eva Kolcze, Apostoly Peter Kouroumalis, Lamathailde, Toni Latour, Anastasia Lognova, Christopher Lacroix, Valerie LeBlanc, Renee Lear, Julie Lequin, Melanie Lowe, Duncan MacDonald, Logan MacDonald, Adrienne Marcus Raja, Mani Mazinani, Penny McCann, Arlin McFarlane, Francis Adair KcKenzie, Kristine Mifsud, Gordon Monahan, Caroline Monnet, Didier Morelli, Lydia Moyer, John Monteith, Grey Muldoon, Midi Onodera, Juan Ortiz-Apuy, Ryan Park, Jason Penney, Sarah Pupo, Jai Arun Ravine, Richard Reeves, Iqrar Rizvi, Nicki Rolls, Kuk Del Rosario, Jade Rude, Lyla Rye, Matthieu Sabourin, Nathan Saliwonchyk, Juli Saragoas, Liana Schmidt, Melinda Seville, Olivia Simpson, Tom Smith, Barbara Sternberg, Leslie Supnet, Maya Suess, Laura Taler, Aislinn Thomas, Peter Von Tiesenhausen, Carolyn Tripp, Carmen Victor, vsvsvs, Ellen Wetmore, Elinor Whidden, Paul Wiersbinski, James Brendan Williams, Oauk Wiersbinski, Damien Worth, Robert Zverina… and many more!

Under New Management is comprised of the curatorial team Suzanne Carte and Su-Ying Lee, a collective of cultural producers working in contemporary art. Operating as a mutable entity, UNM re-invents roles and shifts boundaries to inspire production and engagement. Collaboration with new and experimental strategies is at the forefront of their practice.

Suzanne Carte is an independent curator and critical art writer. Currently, she works as the Assistant Curator at the Art Gallery of York University (AGYU) focusing on an integrative model to utilize public programming as a pedagogical tool within the academic institution. Previously she held positions as outreach programmer for the Blackwood Gallery and the Art Gallery of Mississauga and as professional development and public program coordinator at the Ontario Association of Art Galleries. She is on the Board of Directors of C Magazine, an international art quarterly devoted to promoting critical discussion about contemporary art. Within Suzanne’s independent practice, she has curated exhibitions in public spaces, artist-run centres, commercial and public art galleries including All Systems Go!, Under New Management, MOTEL and Man’s Ruin. Suzanne recently completed her Masters of Contemporary Art at the Sotheby’s Art Institute in New York City.

Su-Ying Lee recently completed a one-year curatorial residency at the Justina M.Barnicke Gallery, funded by the Canada Council for the Arts. Lee has both institutional experience and a number of independent projects to her credit. She has curated exhibitions that include the work of Kent Monkman and Lawrence Weiner and commissioned the work of Harrell Fletcher and Wendy Red Star. Her curatorial practice has been steadily evolving into the expanded field. Lee is interested in the role of curator as co-conspirator, accomplice and active agent. She seeks new ways to mobilize art, audiences and context.