A Conversation about Mary Pratt
Date: Nov 15
7:00 pm
- 8:00 pm
Where: Theatre
Engaging Evening
A Conversation about Mary Pratt with Curator Mireille Eagan and Biographer Anne Koval
Join art historian and Mary Pratt biographer, Anne Koval and Curator of Contemporary Art at The Rooms, Mireille Eagan as they talk about Koval’s latest work, Mary Pratt: A Love Affair with Vision. Koval wrote this book in close consultation with the artist. The book is informed by extensive interviews with the artist, her family and friends, and with colleagues. Koval was also given unprecedented access to Mary Pratt’s archival holdings at Mount Allison University.
This in-depth study of Mary Pratt’s life and work explores complex issues of gender, feminism, and realism in Canadian art. The result is a richly layered biography of an artist who redefined the visual culture of her time.
Based in Newfoundland and Labrador for most of her life, Mary Pratt’s art has captivated millions of people across Canada. Her luminescent paintings capture reality in a way that few artists have been able to achieve. Replete with symbolism, Pratt’s work elevates the traditional still life by transforming the everyday into the iconic.
Tickets: $12 (+HST). 10% discount for Rooms Members. Please reserve your ticket online or by calling 709-757-8090.
About the author:
Anne Koval is Professor of Art History and Museum and Curatorial Studies at Mount Allison University. She is the author of Mary Pratt: A Love Affair with Vision, Whistler in His Time, and the co-author of James McNeill Whistler: Beyond the Myth. She has written on Anna Torma for the Textile Museum of Canada and her writing on contemporary art has appeared in several edited volumes, including Stitching the Self: Identity and the Needle Arts, More Caught in the Act: An Anthology of Performance Art by Canadian Women, and the Radcliffe Line and other Geographies: Sarindar Dhaliwal, which includes a series of ekphrastic poems by Koval. She has curated exhibitions at the Owens Art Gallery, the Mendel Art Gallery, the Banff Park Museum, and the Confederation Centre Art Gallery.
Mary Pratt: A Love Affair with Vision by Anne Koval is available for purchase at The Rooms Giftshop.
Events & Programs
The Rooms presents a special International Women's Day films on a loop.
Join us as we celebrate women's voices in film with a retrospective screening from the Nickel Independent Film Festival's 25th anniversary, featuring a loop of films by talented women directors who’ve shaped the Newfoundland and Labrador's independent film scene.
Avon Ladies, Rural Style
Rhonda Buckley
2017 44 min
Rhonda Buckley’s 2017 documentary Avon Ladies, Rural Style showcases the industriousness of rural women in Newfoundland and Labrador. A loving tribute to rural Newfoundland and Labrador women who earned income, and provided for their families by selling Avon cosmetic products door-to-door in the 1960s.
Mystery of the Secret Room
Wanda Nolan
2016 5 min
In this inspiring portrait of family, adversity, and resilience, we meet a 10-year-old girl named Grace who uses her creative superpowers to navigate the emotional landscape of her mother's depression. Using hand-drawn animation to bring two distinct worlds together – the muted, solid world of reality and the saturated palette of Grace's imagination – the film is a moving collaboration between writer/filmmaker Wanda Nolan and animator Claire Blanchet. Featured as part of the 2016 Nickel Independent Film Festival.
Miss Campbell: Inuk Teacher
Heather Campbell
2023 15 min
Part oral history and part visual poem, Miss Campbell: Inuk Teacher tells the story of Evelyn Campbell, a trailblazer for an Inuit-led educational system in the small community of Rigolet, Labrador. Featured at the 2024 Nickel Independent Film Festival.
Talus and Scree
Ruth Lawrence
2013 10 min
Based on a true-story, Kate is 11 years-old when she accidentally hits her younger sister Daisy with a rock. When the accident reveals an underlying illness, one of the girls is set on a path of coming to terms with the weight of her love and loss. Featured as part of the Nickel's 2014 program.
The Gaze
Stacy Gardner
2023 9 min
Stacy Gardner’s directorial debut tells the story of Ginok Song, a South Korean artist living and painting in the small fishing village of Petty Harbour. The film explores Ginok’s choice to become an artist, her need for self-expression, and the journey to know herself through the female gaze. Featured as part of the 2024 Nickel Independent Film Festival.
Nalujuk Night
Jennie Williams
2021 13 min Documentary
Run as fast as you can, the Nalujuit are here! Featured as part of the 2022 Nickel Independent Film Festival, filmmaker Jennie Williams continues to thrill audiences with the story of an exhilarating and sometimes terrifying Nunatsiavut tradition in Nalujuk Night.
Presented in partnership with the Nickel Independent Film Festival and the National Film Board of Canada.
Peoples of Newfoundland and Labrador
Stroll across land and sea, and through time, to meet the peoples who have made Newfoundland and Labrador home for the past 9,000 years.
Tour is approximately 30 – 40 minutes and included in the cost of admission.