Visual Arts News in partnership with the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia is pleased to announce our first-ever Emerging Critical Art Writer-in-Residence, Merray Gerges.

“We are grateful to the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia for their partnership in this project and hope it will set a precedent to further develop critical writing across the Atlantic region,” says Briony Carros, Executive Director of Visual Arts Nova Scotia.

Merray Gerges recently completed her undergraduate degree in art history and journalism. She also co-founded CRIT, a free biannual publication curating contemporary criticism in partnership with The Khyber Centre for the Arts. In May 2015, she went to the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis to attend Superscript, a conference deliberating over the futures of art criticism in a digital age, as a Hyperallergic Blog Mentorship mentee.

The four-month residency is designed to help develop and promote the work of emerging art critics. “This is an exciting opportunity to nurture contemporary art criticism in our region, says Lizzy Hill, editor of Visual Arts News. “The Writer in Residence program will help us provide our readership with a deeper look at issues and ideas that affect the Atlantic Canadian art world.”

This is Gerges’ first residency and she looks forward to “a conscious uncoupling from the Internet to do IRL [in real life] research about tokenism in Canadian cultural policy.”

“The Art Gallery of Nova Scotia is thrilled to partner with Visual Arts Nova Scotia on this important initiative. The residency program will directly and positively impact our communications as we position ourselves for the future,” says Sarah Fillmore, Chief Curator, Art Gallery of NS. “The opportunity will allow us to further explore innovative ways to connect with our various audiences, while promoting the vital contributions made by emerging writers to the arts in Nova Scotia.”

The Writer-in-Residence program is made possible through project support from the Halifax Regional Municipality. Visual Arts News is a publication of Visual Arts Nova Scotia.

Contact: 
Briony Carros
Visual Arts Nova Scotia/ Visual Arts News
director@visualarts.ns.ca

Camille Dubois Crôteau
Communications & Marketing Officer, Art Gallery of Nova Scotia
camille.duboiscroteau@novascotia.ca