Sp1 — Fowl play is encouraged here
Between Pheasants Contemporary hosts a unique gallery experience
WORDS BY EMILY PITTMAN
PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF BETWEEN PHEASANTS CONTEMPORARY
Beginning as a passion project for Alexander Rondeau, Between Pheasants Contemporary (BPC) is a thriving one-of-a-kind display space for artists and curators across all stages of their careers. BPC’s function is exactly as its name presents: art installed in a pheasant coop, with or without the pheasants present. Many artists choose to take advantage of this unique opportunity to share their exhibit with the coop’s feathered residents, allowing the curious hens to live among (and possibly interact with) their work. The building has a charmingly unassuming appearance, with its symmetrical window boxes and board and batten siding that provide only a little hint of the arts programming within.
Nestled on a farm in Kerns in rural Northern Ontario, BPC offers contemporary art discourse amid a practical, functional farm. Artworks are fastened to chicken wire and hung from wooden beams, each show is accompanied by well-considered statements, and the small exhibition space feels as polished as any urban white cube. With a curatorial mission of championing the emerging and underrepresented, the work displayed in this unorthodox space is selected for its thoughtfulness, innovation, and willingness to disrupt colonial and heteronormative power structures.
With programming that extends no further ahead than 6 months – a stark contrast to many traditional art spaces with lead times of two years or more – Rondeau prioritises flexibility, spontaneity, and, of course, pheasant safety when considering collaborations. If an artist has an idea beyond the constraints of this shared space, they can also exhibit on the 160-acre farm the coop is situated on, bringing the ceiling of possibilities to a height that feels earnestly limitless. Rondeau joined CANNOPY to share advantages and challenges of programming an art space with fowl tennants.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to VISUAL ARTS to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.