Category Archives: Features

Hi everyone! 

My name is Emma Metcalfe Hurst (she/her/hers) and I am excited to be the second half of the ArLiSNAP Canadian Co-Liaison duo with Ashely Huot. I am currently a third year dual MASLIS student at UBC iSchool in Vancouver, BC, on the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations, which is where I was born and raised. I also hold a BFA in Critical and Cultural Practices and a Curatorial Studies Minor from Emily Carr University of Art & Design, and am currently working as a Dance Archivist for Karen Jamieson Dance and interning at the Museum of Anthropology Library and Archives this summer. More recently, I held positions at grunt gallery, coordinating the multi-year program Recollective: Vancouver Independent Archives Week, did reference work at UBC’s Music, Art, and Architecture Library, and arranged and described the recent acquisition of ceramic artist Paul Mathieu’s fonds at Emily Carr University of Art & Design Library and Archives.   

I come from a background working in community archives, public programming, and experimental publishing, with a focus on contemporary, performing, and ceramic arts. My entry into information studies was largely informed by this context, as well as my work as an artist, curator, and writer, and participation in DIY initiatives and collectives. I am interested in intellectual property rights, bringing visibility to underused collections, creating educational, engaging, and accessible experiences with digital materials, and applying creativity in information practices and environments.  

I got involved with ARLIS/NA last year, in the months leading up to the virtual 2020 conference, and attended my first in-person conference this year in Chicago, where I gave a lightning talk presentation on an oral history and community archives project I’ve been working on over the last few years called Coming Out of Chaos: A Vancouver Dance Story. I am also partaking in the year-long mentorship program through ARLIS/NA this year and hope to join some SIGs once school wraps up.

I felt a strong sense of gratitude and relief when I first encountered ArLiSNAP – including the many resources and the community behind it – and was motivated to become more involved. In this Canadian Co-Liaison position, Ashley and I are keen to focus on building a stronger Canadian presence in the chapter and opening up the lines of communication across the provinces and affiliated chapters through outreach and advocacy, as well as to share more resources on arts librarianship and archives for students and emerging professionals in a Canadian context. We both welcome your ideas, recommendations, and / or input in our efforts to support your needs and look forward to connecting with you!

Hello, 

My name is Ashley Huot (she/her) and I am looking forward to being one of your new ArLiSNAP Canadian Liaisons alongside Emma Metcalfe Hurst. My life has somehow weaved art, museums and galleries, community advocacy and education work, and contemporary arts publishing, which has now accumulated into entering the world of libraries! 

I reside on the prairies in Winnipeg (Wiinibiigong), Treaty 1 Territory, and the homeland of the Metis Nation; and have a BFA in Art and Design and an MLIS from the University of Alberta in Edmonton (Amiskwaciwâskahikan, Treaty 6 Territory). As an MLIS student, I had the chance to support the Winnipeg Art Gallery Clara Lander Reference Library’s transition to its new location in Qaumajuq’s Niizhwaaso Collaborative Research Centre and had the opportunity to complete a practicum with the Manitoba Library Association’s Prison Libraries Committee which involved creating a new email reference service for people incarcerated in provincial institutions. My volunteer work with this group also delves into creative library programming, such as the publishing of chapbooks featuring writing and art by prisoners.

Since the summer of 2021, I have been a Humanities Liaison Librarian at the University of Manitoba’s Fine Art/Architecture Library, where I serve the Faculty of Architecture (Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Interior Design, City Planning, and Environmental Design) and the Faculty of Classical Studies. My own research interests involve library instruction and pedagogy, particularly in studio-based, research-creation practices and conceptualizing art as information, engagement in open access, and information access issues, specifically in prisons. I (rather inconsistently) try to maintain an artistic practice!

I’ve had the pleasure of being involved with ARLIS/NA and ArLiSNAP in various ways, as an ARLIS/NA mentee, attending and presenting at conferences, and being a member of the Architecture and Planning SIG, the Canada Chapter, and the Northwest Chapter. Most recently I’ve taken a position as co-editor of ARLIS/NA’s newest publication, Library Exhibitions Review, and further support scholarly communications through my role as Editor-in-Cheif of Pathfinder: A Canadian Journal for Information Science Students and Early Career Professionals.

As one of your Canadian Co-Liaisons, I look forward to collaboratively working towards highlighting opportunities and the work and concerns of art and architecture information professionals and institutions across Canada. I welcome ideas, recommendations, and input from our members as to how we can best serve you. Being more geographically dispersed and having fewer art libraries and institutions here in the north, I see networks such as ARLIS/NA and ArLiSNAP as absolutely vital and look forward to connecting with you! 

http://www.ashleyhuot.com/ www.linkedin.com/in/ashleyhuot

Hi everyone! My name is Freyja T. Catton (he/they), and I’m the new Communications Liaison for ArLiSNAP! I’m a recent MLIS graduate and a self-employed writer. With my love for both art and libraries, I joined ARLIS two years ago, and ArLiSNAP was the first to welcome me to the organization. Since then I’ve been involved with several committees, task force projects, and publications in ARLIS. I’m excited to take on this new role of Communications Liaison, and to help out my fellow new professionals as much as I can!

As an artist and an archivist, I’m passionate about art documentation and its connection to art history. During my undergrad degree at the University of Lethbridge (2012), I was an intern at the University of Lethbridge Art Gallery, and my job was to digitize the art exhibition records. I was introduced first-hand to how records are collected and maintained, what records are important, why they’re important, and how to retrieve them. This experience followed me to the print industry, then to library grad school at the University of Alberta (2021), and my other internship at the National Gallery of Canada, which I wrote about in 2020!

I think a lot about the kinds of questions people have, and the language and resources they use to find information. I love learning about absolutely everything and I find that everything is connected. I wanted to use my experiences and my natural inclination to draw connections between systems and details, so I started writing. My expertise in documentation and information management means that I have a long-term approach to short-term conversations. Through my conversations, research, and contributions to the arts and cultural sectors, I can build a stronger and more searchable record of contemporary Canadian art history. I want art history in our future to be more accessible, engaging, and inclusive than it has been in the past.

More of my work is available on my website at www.thewordeater.com and I can be found over on Instagram at @the_wordeater ! You can also find me over on our Slack channel, on ARLIS/NA Commons, or by email at freyjacatton(at)gmail(dot)com.

I look forward to working with you on our biweekly newsletter, Oh Snap!

Freyja

PS. please send coffee