In performance art it's sometimes called the "wrap-up come-down" or the "fade to black blues" which might describe what Meghan Hunter-Gauthier was feeling on Monday.
Her art exhibition, the first one she ever got to direct on the big stage at the Two Rivers Gallery, was coming off the walls and going into boxes.
The show was called Unbound, and maybe that was in deference to the theme of books and how they symbolically pertain to our lives, but it could also have meant how the assistant curator got to be the boss curator for this art show. Hunter-Gauthier is the main programmer for the Rustad Galleria inside the gallery and she is a major member of the overall curatorial team there under head curator George Harris, but for Unbound she was given the keys to the castle - one of the national A-class Canfor Galleries.
"The reach of the Canfor Galleries is quite a bit larger, so I got to work with artists from across the country," said Hunter-Gauthier.
"We were at a point a year or so ago where we had to do planning for our upcoming exhibitions into the years ahead, and George kept asking me about what I saw for myself and how I wanted to participate in that," she explained.
She talked to him about a show that would examine the book, and what society's relationship was to that ancient mode of communication that is at a technological crossroads.
"I pitched that. He felt it had potential, so he asked me if I wanted to run with that, all the staff here has been so supportive of me taking this step, George gave me a lot of trust and support, so it's been great."
Carolyn Holmes, the executive director at Two Rivers, said Hunter-Gauthier has been taking advancement steps ever since she got to Prince George.
"Meghan joined the gallery in 2016 as the interim assistant curator and became the permanent assistant curator in January 2018," Holmes said. "Unbound is the first main gallery exhibition that Meghan has curated and it is beautiful. The public has responded very well to the exhibition and the artists as well. One of the exhibiting artists, Guy Laram, visited P.G. for a panel discussion a couple of weeks ago and he couldn't believe it was Meghan's first exhibition. He praised her for the thought she gave to the selection of artists that are represented in the exhibition and each work that was selected."
The other artists in this group display included Jennifer Bowes, Robert Chaplin, Adam David Brown, and Angela Grauerholz. They were brought together through research done by Hunter-Gauthier as she went looking for pieces of visual art that somehow talked about the book or used the book as a focal point.
"I'm very proud of it," said Hunter-Gauthier.
"It was not without its moments of challenge, maybe moments of self doubt, but ultimately it was a great experience and the artists I got to work with were amazing people, and supportive and kind, and I'm sure it's not always the case where you can come out of a project not only with deeper connections to colleagues, but also new friends.
"I'm happy with how it all turned out."
Hunter-Gauthier grew up in Kipawa, Quebec. She earned her bachelor of fine arts in criticism and curatorial practice from the Ontario College of Art & Design University, then followed that up with a post-graduate certificate in arts administration and cultural management from Humber College.
She grew up in a community much smaller than Prince George, and one of her first jobs in the arts industry was with Four Elements Living Arts on Manitoulin Island (population about 14,000), but many of her peers entering the workforce with her were from larger centres and they had a harder time imagining themselves working in smaller urban settings, said Hunter-Gauthier.
When a job opportunity came up in Prince George, that was plenty big for her.
"It can be very hard in the Toronto context to get these sorts of opportunities that I've been getting here right from Day 1," she said.
She is now turning her attention back to the Rustad Galleria's rotation of art shows.
The focus of that viewing space is local and regional artists. Currently, the spotlight there is on Mo Hamilton's collection entitled The 100 Houses Project. Vanderhoof painter Michael Rees is up next.
"It continues to surprise me how many local and regional artists I get to meet and know over time," she said. "People keep coming out of the woodwork so that's very exciting."
She did not disclose if another opportunity was in the offing to program a second show in one of the Canfor halls, but senior administration agreed that Unbound was a rookie success for the up and coming Hunter-Gauthier.
