When From Women’s Eyes: Women Painters in Canada opened at the Agnes Etherington Art Centre in 1975, it was the first exhibition to present not only a history, but also a feminist history, of women’s art production in Canada. Curators Dorothy Farr and Natalie Luckyj brought together eighty-two works from public and private collections across the country and, in the catalogue, investigated the gender-based context of their making. Now, on the fortieth anniversary of From Women’s Eyes, this panel reflects on its legacy by examining curatorial work—then and now—involving the exhibition and collection of Canadian women artists. Dorothy Farr and Linda Jansma join Alicia Boutilier and Tobi Bruce, curators of The Artist Herself: Self-Portraits by Canadian Historical Women Artists, and Sarah E. K. Smith, curator of I’m Not Myself At All: Deirdre Logue and Allyson Mitchell, for an illuminating exchange.

The panel, moderated by Alicia Boutilier, will comprise four 10-minute presentations and a Q&A discussion. Dorothy Farr will reveal how From Women’s Eyes came about, why it felt important at the time, and how it affected her own subsequent projects. Linda Jansma, Senior Curator at The Robert McLaughlin Gallery, will focus on the role that another trailblazing curator, Joan Murray, played from the 1970s onward in building the representation of Canadian historical women artists at several key public galleries. Tobi Bruce will speak about carrying forward Farr and Luckyj’s project in the current exhibition The Artist Herself. And Sarah E. K. Smith will talk about curating the work of Deirdre Logue and Allyson Mitchell, and how these contemporary Canadian artists reflect on feminist art history and historical precedence. The discussion will be followed by the Seasonal Launch at the Agnes, 5:30 to 7:30 pm.

Presented in conjunction with the Canadian Women Artists History Initiative national conference, this panel session is free and open to all.

Dupuis Hall Auditorium is located at 19 Division Street.

Video from this event is available here.