New executive director outlines vision for SAAG

By Al Beeber - Lethbridge Herald on July 15, 2022.

Herald photo by Al Beeber SAAG executive director Su Ying Strang, seen here posing with a work by artist Azadeh Elmizadeh, wants the gallery to be welcoming and inclusive to all.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDabeeber@lethbridgeherald.com

For executive director Su Ying Strang, the Southern Alberta Art Gallery is a space for all to feel welcome. It’s a space where contemporary art is not only exhibited but in which dialogue and questions about art are part of the experience.
Strang came to the city after spending nine years at The New Gallery in Calgary. While in Calgary, she became familiar with SAAG, its mission and focus and as the person in charge of leading SAAG into the future, she’s excited about what that future holds for the gallery.
Strang wants people who have never visited SAAG before or who haven’t been to the gallery for some time to give the gallery a chance and experience what it has to offer, she said in an interview this week.
“If there’s one thing that I want folks to know is that they have every right to come in, form an opinion about the work but feel the opportunity to be curious and have wonder and ask questions and agree or disagree. But come in and try it. Experience, be open to learning something or approaching in a different way by seeing one of our exhibitions,” said Strang.
“And if this exhibition isn’t for you then come into the next one and see if that one is. In over 10 years in this sector, I’ve seen an incredible range of artistic practice and in the shows I’ve seen here over the years, even before I started, just coming down on occasion, there’s just been such an incredible breadth and quality of artwork that is shown here at the Southern Alberta Art Gallery. And I am hopeful that folks will give it a chance even if they went once and didn’t connect that particular show, that they’ll find a show that resonates with them, that they’re excited about. And that’s something that I wish for every one of our audience members,” said Strang.
Strang has a vision for the gallery that in part is to “uphold that artistic excellence, that long-standing history of really offering exceptional contemporary to our communities here in Lethbridge and across southern Alberta. I’m so excited to continue championing that and continuing the good work of my colleagues from the past,” said Strang.
The new director says there are a couple of new challenges returning from the COVID pandemic, one of them being accessibility and welcoming people back into the gallery. Or into it for the first time if they’ve never stepped through the doors of SAAG.
Strang said she wants to make SAAG a “place that feels welcoming and accessible to all of our visitors, all of our staff, our volunteers and our partners.
“And alongside that I think what comes with that is identifying where have we had under-served or under-represented communities and how do we not just make sure we’re accessible to those folks but welcome those folks and as well as the communities we’ve continued to serve over the years,” said Strang.
“So I’m really interested in being able to reach folks who maybe have never come into the gallery before, who haven’t thought of this space as a space for them and not just say ‘of course, you’re welcome here’ but explicitly extend an invite and hope that we can build relationships into the future,” added Strang.
She said that type of community engagement alongside continued artistic excellence is important to her.
“I’ve had predecessors here that have done an incredible job throughout their tenures doing that work as well but I think it’s all the more important following COVID where folks are getting to know how to be with one another again, getting to know how to re-join communities after a period of isolation. So I’m quite excited about that piece, as well,” said Strang.
Strang said it’s important SAAG is a space that people, no matter what their previous engagement was like or their understanding and knowledge of contemporary, should feel welcome in the gallery.
“They can show up here, they can ask any questions they want about the work. They can love the art, they can dislike it but they have a place to come and engage, and ask questions and connect with community and build bridges between communities.
Strang said she sees the gallery as a place where people can come together with the work SAAG does, this creating an opportunity that only exists when community members and partners are in the same room together.
“I’m excited about what this organization can be with the artist, and the staff and the board and the community members. But I’m also excited about where this organization can go when we partner with other organizations and other communities across southern Alberta, across Lethbridge.”
She said SAAG can help others achieve their mandate and vision through contemporary art practices.
“So collaboration is another huge priority for me. And I think it’s by going outside of the gallery walls that we have an opportunity to fully engage folks because there’s always going to be some barriers for people coming into the doors of a contemporary art gallery, whether it might be a psychological barrier, it might be a socio-economic barrier. It might just be a lack of interest. So we have a role to play of not only doing our work here in this space, but also going out and being in the community and contributing elsewhere across the city and sharing what we do best, which is programming contemporary art projects, sharing that with others to help them meet their mission in some way, shape or form,” said Strang.
She said SAAG is still figuring that out “Because all partners will have a unique priority and role that they want and the gallery has an opportunity to learn more about what partners want to do,” added Strang.

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