Intelligencer Article, Jan. 27, 2012

by Carol Feeney, QAC

Art can be a very powerful tool and a provocative instrument in identifying the human condition.  A recent example of this is T. J. Le Blanc’s Baggage Project and the controversy that resulted once she mounted her exhibit.

First let me begin with a bit of background information.  The Quinte Arts Council ran an article about the Baggage Project written by T. J. LeBlanc in the November/December 2010 issue of our arts newspaper, Umbrella, in an effort to support the artist and her project.  The article stated the purpose of the exhibit and requested participation explaining that “The Baggage Project stemmed from an idea that all of our life experiences impact the way we do everything. When we remove all of the things with which we usually surround ourselves, we are left with who we really are and the reason why we make the choices that we do.  It (baggage) goes with us everywhere. It’s there when we wake up, when we take our kids to school, head to work, cook dinner, have a shower and when we go to bed. It’s our baggage.  Not our purse, our wallet, our backpack or our briefcase. It’s the stuff that defines us, the experiences we have had throughout our lives that have impacted who we are.  It’s our essence and I want to photograph it.”  With this article ran a picture of a nude person with baggage in front so that people had an understanding of the content of the exhibit.  We were excited about the project and asked to be kept informed of T. J.’s progress and offered the assistance of the Council’s services when she was ready to mount and promote the event.  That is the last that we heard of the artist.

That is, until after we returned on January 10 from the gallery and office shut down that began before Christmas to give staff a bit of recuperation period after having worked 7 weeks straight overtime with Festival of Trees.  By that time, the exhibit had opened, been shut down and then moved to a new home at Richard Davis/Destiny.  The QAC board sent a letter of congratulations to Richard Courneyea for his quick action while our gallery was closed but, as some people have been questioning our lack of response to the shutdown of Le Blanc’s exhibit, I thought it was time to set the record straight. 

QAC has a reputation for supporting artists, including controversial ones, as was demonstrated in our series of Unbridled life form art exhibits where the subject matter was fully exposed, no baggage required.  The opportunity to continue to work with us to promote and potentially mount the Baggage project exhibit was not acted upon.  Instead, the artist chose to mount a surprise, in-your-face exhibit in the windows in a building at the 4 corners of Belleville’s Downtown rather than a traditional gallery space.  T. J. took a brave, bold, provocative step and exercised her right as a Canadian citizen to freedom of expression.  Freedom of expression is a two-way street.  Some members of the public reacted negatively and the landlord, folding under public pressure, asked that the exhibit be shut down.   T. J. LeBlanc is not only a photographer, but a writer and a journalist.  Her media savvy paid off.  She went to the news media which resulted in a new space for her exhibit and, more importantly, raised awareness for her work as an artist and the Baggage Project.  You can’t buy that type of publicity.  Well played, T. J. Had the timing been different and our gallery space not closed for the shut down, we would have offered our gallery as an alternative.  Had the media contacted us for comment during the controversy, we would have had an opportunity to express our position in support of the artist.  

Our hope is that, if T. J. LeBlanc is considering a remount of this exhibit, she consider using our gallery space to avoid having to hang the next one twice and to reap the benefits of the positive publicity that the QAC can generate.  We also look forward to more opportunities with other artists to assist them with their projects.  For more information about the QAC and its programs and services for artists go to www.quinteartscouncil.org.