They have held high-level positions in the iconic modern art galleries of London and are now bringing their global expertise to the New Media Gallery at New Westminster's Anvil Centre.
Husband-wife team Sarah Joyce and Gordon Duggan are the curators/directors at the local gallery that will show new media art - a medium that uses technology and unconventional materials to convey ideas.
"New media art is contemporary art, first of all, which is a very important distinction," Joyce says. "It's not different than other types of art. It is art, but artists who use new media use unconventional materials. Since the beginning of art, artists have used the latest technology ... what new media artists are doing is they are actually using the materials of today - so they are using video, robotics, interactive technology, light, sound," explains Duggan.
If their impressive resumes are any indication, the couple knows their stuff when it comes to new media art. Joyce previously worked as a conservator of electric media at London's famed Tate Modern Gallery, and Duggan was the electronic media manager for the Lisson Gallery, one of the oldest contemporary commercial galleries in the United Kingdom.
The glamorous jobs took them all over the world, but it was family that brought them to British Columbia. They stayed to care for aging family members. The couple left the high-art world of London, settling for the slow pace of life on Denman Island.
A move to New Westminster came after they landed their new jobs with the New Media Gallery in March. They've spent the last few months pouring all of their combined experience and connections into building an art gallery they expect will be a magnet for art lovers in the city and beyond.
"The gallery will focus on international national and regional, so the gallery will bring in some of the top artists," Joyce says. "It's really, really exciting for us, because we have worked around the world with international-level artists, this is really attractive. Our focus is always quality in everything we do."
The pair will announce the first show, called Musicircus, in August and say it will feature five talented new media artists.
The plan is to hold five to six exhibits a year, each eight-weeks long.
"You must be fresh in people's mind," Duggan. "You want people to come back. I think if you wait too long they kind of drift off."
The New Media Gallery was established by the City of New Westminster in March and officially opens on Sept. 14, along with the rest of the Anvil Centre, an 84,000-square-foot civic arts and culture centre. The New Media Gallery will be located at the top of Anvil Centre's grand staircase.
Ultimately, Joyce and Duggan say their goal is to promote an understanding and a greater appreciation of contemporary art.
