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Director looks to raise awareness of contemporary art 25 · Wednesday, January 20, 2010 OAKVILLE BEAVER · www.oakvillebeaver.com Continued from page 23 "We look forward to continuing to build on our many recent accomplishments through Matthew's leadership," said Tom Dutton, president of Oakville Galleries' board of directors. "His superior organizational planning and human resource capabilities along with his enthusiasm for local and national art scenes will be incredible assets in his new position. These are important and exciting times for Oakville Galleries and Matthew will be a strong leader, guiding us towards a very bright future for the organization." What makes Oakville Galleries special, according to Hyland, is its mandate of presenting and promoting contemporary art. While some art aficionados prefer the masters, like Rubens or Rembrandt, and others the Impressionist palate of Renoir and Degas, Hyland puts contemporary art on a pedestal. "Contemporary art can be a tough nut to crack and there is so much to figure out," he said. "There are lots of ways to introduce people to contemporary art and provide entry points to it. I think it is a fascinating way of looking at the world. I'm very interested living artists and in what they have to say about what is happening in the world today, the country today and Oakville today." He acknowledges contemporary art isn't everyone's cup of tea. His goal is to get people to at least give it a chance. "Contemporary art requires you as a viewer to activate the work and I think the art that most of us are introduced to as young people is art that was to be looked at rather than be thought about and responded to," he said. "Contemporary art requires a different set of tools to look at and that is what we hope to provide here at the galleries." As director, a main responsibility of Hyland's is working with curator Marnie Fleming to develop the 8-10 exhibitions hosted at the galleries each year. Hyland spends a substantial amount of time communicating with other Canadian galleries about current contemporary shows and how they can be brought to Oakville, and vice versa. Exhibitions are also chosen based on portfolios submitted by artists from across the country and around the globe, as well as drawn from the galleries' permanent collection. This collection now comes in at about 1,200 pieces. Speaking with the new director, it is easy to see that art is his raison d'etre. Even his vacation time is spent travelling the globe, visiting galleries and meeting other likeminded individuals. Most recently he travelled to various locations in Italy, such as Venice and Milan, as well as New York, Montreal and Vancouver. As a nominee for the 2009 Lorenzo Bonaldi Art Prize, which is an award for international curators under the age of 30, Hyland also went to Bergamo, Italy last year to meet with other up-and-coming curators. "I was nominated by Gregory Burke, who is the director of The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery," he said. "It was an incredible honour. I went to a symposium for curators under 35, so 15 of us got together and talked about what's happening in the contemporary art world, what's happening in museums and galleries around the world. We exchanged ideas on how to best serve our communities and the artists we work with. It was a wonNIKKI WESLEY / OAKVILLE BEAVER derful experience." As for future goals. Hyland said NEW TITLE, FAMILIAR FACE: Matthew Hyland, 27, has been named director of Oakville Galleries. Hyland raising awareness of the Oakville started working part-time at the galleries in 2006. He worked his way up over the years, eventually filling in as interim Galleries in and around the commu- director in Feb. 2009. nity is a major focus. The gallery draws in between 15,000 to 20,000 visitors each year. That is a good number, but there's always room to grow, he added. "If you had to boil it down to one primary goal, it is to connect people and ideas through art and we've been working really hard at breaking open what that means and how people think about art," he said. "You're going to see us holding programs outside of the galleries across the community." For information on Oakville Galleries, call 905-844-4402 or visit www.oakvillegalleries.com. Friday, January 29 at 8 p.m. Hamilton Place Tickets available at the Copps Coliseum Box Office, or call 905-527-7666 COLIN JAMES