Mann Art Gallery Manager of Education Programs Lana Wilson is one of four inductees headed to the Prince Albert Arts Hall of Fame on Friday.
In her role as Manager of Education Programs, she has developed extensive visual arts programs and built relationships with a diverse range of people. Wilson said connecting people to art is the most important part of her role.
“It means that I helped people in Prince Albert have engagement with the visual arts, which is what I want. (It’s) what I’ve always wanted since I first learned that education within the gallery and museum space was even a career option that I could do.
“I’m glad to have a job where I can talk about art every day and learn from other people when we make art together. That’s been pretty great,” she added.
Wilson said art is about communication and the role of a gallery educator is to help people find points of engagement. These can be personal experiences, memories, or ideas from seeing artwork.
“Whatever those will be, whether it is to help provide a range of ways to engage with, to experience, and to interact with the artwork. I’m always trying to find those points of engagement,” Wilson said.
“Maybe a visitor is having difficulty connecting with those things with the work, but maybe the technical aspects of the creation of the artwork can provide some inquiry or a point of entry. It’s always really gratifying to see people’s eyes light up or that spark that shows that they’re interested in it or want to engage further. That’s really important to me and I’m glad that people feel that I have been to some degree successful in that.”
When she started in November 2014 her title was Gallery Educator. Now her title is Manager of Education Programs.
She has also done two stints as the Mann Art Gallery acting director or curator, but she prefers the educator position.
Outside and inside the gallery, there have been projects like the Intergenerational Metis Mentorship Program and the chance to connect people with art through installations led by Leah Dorion.
“I’ve had an incredible opportunity to meet so many artists and community members, volunteers, board members and the visitors to the gallery or the people that we encounter when we bring the art tent,” Wilson said.
“It’s been an incredible experience to meet and learn with and make art with those people. We have been really deliberate in trying to reach a wide audience and wide engagement, and not just within the gallery space,” she added.
Wilson has also been able to connect with artists in Prince Albert. She has already gone through the list of inductees to think of artists who should be nominated in the future.
“I think that George Glenn has not (been inducted) at this time. He has regularly refused nominations, but his day will come,” Wilson said.
When Wilson found out she was going to be inducted after a text message from Jesse Campbell her first reaction was that it was too soon.
“I laughed and I said ‘That’s ridiculous. This is like 25 to 30 years too early, is what I said. I said. If I was ever going to be inducted, it feels like it’s 25 years too early,” Wilson said.
Wilson started a spreadsheet when she began her job in 2014 and monitors everything that she does. According to her own calculations, she has had 15,150 engagements in 771 activities with people since her job began. Engagements can be anywhere from five minutes to eight hours. An engagement can be something as simple as an interaction in an art tent to something like an art camp lasting eight hours.”
“Of course I helped to organize other programs that I was not directly teaching at, so It’s actually a shocking number,” she said.
“With our outdoor art or projects that we were part of in the wider community, the number of people driving by or the number of people who saw it on social media or things like that.”
Wilson remembers people visiting the Mann Art Gallery in Grades 10 to 12, then visiting as post-secondary students at SUNTEP.
“Then there was one person who brought their class because now they are a full-fledged teacher. They brought their class to the gallery and had a gallery tour,” Wilson said.
“There were a lot more children, but then also I have always been really interested in adult education…. One of the things I’m proud of is being able to have built up the number of post-secondary tours that we do. I’m pretty proud of that.”
Overall, she feels that the award is too soon and she is not really deserving.
“I helped,” Wilson said. “I’m glad that it made a difference. I really don’t feel like I deserve this, but I trust I can come to a point where I can trust the people who I admire because those people made the nomination and accepted it and that means that means a lot to me because I admire those people so much.
“It’s just a pleasure to help people encounter artworks to have a chance to meet artists. I’m so incredibly lucky.”
Wilson said that the arts community in Prince Albert is incredibly rich and vibrant pointing to the Prince Albert Council for the Arts and Prince Albert Arts Board.
These organizations have been great partners, and she has sat on several committees in her decade in Prince Albert.
“That’s wonderful to be able to be invited to the table and see what other groups are doing and how we can have the opportunity to help them. So that’s been really gratifying,” Wilson said.
She also recalls students she has had in art camps going on to careers of their own in the arts. One example was Brennan Cantin who recently was a winner at the Winter Festival Art Show and have their own shows at the Hicks Gallery. Many came through the High School Juried Art Show which Wilson said is another highlight each year.”
“That is just incredible, the fact that I get to meet these people and see some of their careers,” Wilson said.
The 2024 Prince Albert Arts Hall of Fame Induction Gala will be held at the E.A. Rawlinson Centre on Friday. The event begins with cocktails at 5 p.m., followed by dinner at 5:30, and celebrations and performances at 7:30. For ticket information, please call the E.A. Rawlinson Centre Box Office at 306-765-1270.
Wilson is being inducted along with poet Darcy Blahut, entertainer Brian Sklar, and the Prince Albert Concert Band.
michael.oleksyn@paherald.sk.ca
