Go GOSA
University Centre is home to more than just a Timmy’s
TIMOTHY BROWN STAFF
GOSA’s coordinator, Jenny Moore Koslowsky, stands outside the University Centre Gallery
The Gallery of Student Art (or GoSA for short) might be the most highlytrafficked art gallery in Winnipeg. You probably pass by it almost every day on your way to Tim Hortons, GPA’s, Subway, or even, if you’re scholastically rather than capitalistically inclined, your next class. Though it sits quietly in the heart of University Centre, its presence never really goes unnoticed. Every time a person walks by, they turn their head to see what art is being displayed, and if the art is really appealing, that person might just go in and check it out.
You might be wondering how the artwork makes it into GoSA in the first place, and that would be a reasonable query. Does it, through magical (and probably satanic) powers, simply appear on the walls? Do tiny elves sneak in late at night and hang up their elf paintings? Does the artwork just appear, like some obscure symbolic reference, as in a David Lynch film? Personally, I could neither confirm nor deny these troubling suspicions. Luckily, however, the gallery’s coordinator Jenny Moore Koslowsky had some idea of how things work.
To get artwork up on the walls of GoSA requires no magic, satanic or otherwise. One just has to follow certain steps. To elaborate on this, Moore Koslowsky explained that artists submit a proposal to the UMSU office (you can find submission forms at www.umsu.ca/gosa under “submissions”). “This includes a short artist statement, talking about why the work is important and what kinds of things they are exploring in the work,” she said.
Then, said Moore Koslowsky, the artist provides a proposal including a description of how they intend to use the space, the technical support required to show the work, a list of the images in the exhibit, and of course, some examples of the work, or previous artwork the artist has made. After monthly submissions deadlines, the GoSA selections committee meets and helps Moore Koslowsky choose new exhibits.
Moore Koslowsky, a recent graduate from the University of Manitoba with a bachelor of fine arts (honours) degree, does pretty much everything for the gallery, including sweeping the floor. “I do recruit submissions, manage the budget, organize shows — which means meeting with artists, installing their work, fussing over the little details like signage, and plan opening receptions — of course I always bring food, take care of administrative stuff, manage the website, facilitate the selections committee, and try to promote shows,” explained Moore Koslowsky.
The Gallery of Student Art was established in 2004 and has been flourishing since. It is proof, along with other shining beacons such as the Black Hole Theatre Co., that studentrun and student-funded cultural institutions are not only a good idea in theory, but practical as well. GoSA has shown some very intriguing exhibits in the past, and the future will be no different. Coming March 13 and lasting until the 15 is FREE, a performance by Gwen Armstrong which will be in the context of University Centre’s “Market Days,” which is when University Centre is full of merchants that will be set up in the main corridors. “I expect that [Armstrong]’s piece will quietly contrast the busyness and business of this kind of environment. I think it’s really important and relevant when artists examine and question the spaces/societies they live in — it’s especially interesting in [Armstrong]’s case because she is addressing the gallery’s location and its relationship to University Centre,” said Moore Koslowsky. There will be an opening reception for FREE on Tuesday, March 13 at 2 p.m.. So keep your eyes out for what looks to be an interesting performance exhibit.
The artwork is just sitting there, in a gallery you walk by every day, so why not walk the extra 10 feet, spend an extra few minutes, and see the highquality artwork that people have come to expect from U of M students?
