Uploaded March 2024 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
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Barbara Astman is a 2024 winner of the Governor General’s Awards in Visual and Media Arts.
Video directed by Sol Friedman.
A presentation of the Canada Council for the Arts and the Independent Media Arts Alliance.
The Canada Council for the Arts is a federal, arm’s-length Crown corporation created by an Act of Parliament in 1957 (Canada Council for the Arts Act) “to foster and promote the study and enjoyment of, and the production of works in, the arts.”
For more information, visit: en.ggarts.ca
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Transcript:
I’ve always felt I have stories to tell. I have a very busy mind, and sometimes those stories feel like they need to be told. That is what helps carry the idea forward. In the early days when I started using a camera, I did document things, but that very, very quickly changed to where I started performing for the camera. I realized the camera helped me to make my thoughts these tangible objects.
I don’t want to do things that are so predictable. I don’t want to have the answer before I get to the end. I want to slowly work it through till I get those answers. Otherwise, I think, why am I doing this? This could just be... I could just take on any design job and get to the end a lot faster.
I think the journey is really one of the most exciting parts, allowing your mind to take it to all those different levels until you feel you’ve resolved it. And at the end, you have this thing, whether this thing is a sculptural thing or whether it’s a photographic thing.
You know, I find inspiration all around me. It can come from something very personal within me. It can come from something that I’ve seen. It can come from a conversation I’ve had. Sometimes it’s just handling materials.
People think they can classify you and you’re a painter or you’re a photographer. But I don’t like classifying myself. I’m an artist. I come here, I explore, and I create. And if that creation takes me outside of the norms of photography, that’s great, because I’m all about this idea that anything can be a negative. You don’t need a camera.
You can use the materials you have around you, and you can create.
#GGArts2024 #BarbaraAstman #CanadaCouncil
Connect with us on social media:
Canada Council for the Arts
Instagram - instagram.com/canada.council
Facebook - facebook.com/canadacouncil
X - twitter.com/CanadaCouncil
LinkedIn - linkedin.com/company/canada-council-for-the-arts
Website - canadacouncil.ca
Art Bank
Instagram - instagram.com/artbank_banquedart
Facebook - facebook.com/CCartbank
YouTube - youtube.com/watch?v=x9fGIx7hZYk
Website - artbank.ca
CCUNESCO - Canadian Commission for UNESCO
Instagram - instagram.com/ccunesco
X - twitter.com/CCUNESCO
LinkedIn - linkedin.com/company/canadian-commission-for-unesco
Website - en.ccunesco.ca
Please like this video and subscribe to support the arts in Canada.
Barbara Astman is a 2024 winner of the Governor General’s Awards in Visual and Media Arts.
Video directed by Sol Friedman.
A presentation of the Canada Council for the Arts and the Independent Media Arts Alliance.
The Canada Council for the Arts is a federal, arm’s-length Crown corporation created by an Act of Parliament in 1957 (Canada Council for the Arts Act) “to foster and promote the study and enjoyment of, and the production of works in, the arts.”
For more information, visit: en.ggarts.ca
****
Transcript:
I’ve always felt I have stories to tell. I have a very busy mind, and sometimes those stories feel like they need to be told. That is what helps carry the idea forward. In the early days when I started using a camera, I did document things, but that very, very quickly changed to where I started performing for the camera. I realized the camera helped me to make my thoughts these tangible objects.
I don’t want to do things that are so predictable. I don’t want to have the answer before I get to the end. I want to slowly work it through till I get those answers. Otherwise, I think, why am I doing this? This could just be... I could just take on any design job and get to the end a lot faster.
I think the journey is really one of the most exciting parts, allowing your mind to take it to all those different levels until you feel you’ve resolved it. And at the end, you have this thing, whether this thing is a sculptural thing or whether it’s a photographic thing.
You know, I find inspiration all around me. It can come from something very personal within me. It can come from something that I’ve seen. It can come from a conversation I’ve had. Sometimes it’s just handling materials.
People think they can classify you and you’re a painter or you’re a photographer. But I don’t like classifying myself. I’m an artist. I come here, I explore, and I create. And if that creation takes me outside of the norms of photography, that’s great, because I’m all about this idea that anything can be a negative. You don’t need a camera.
You can use the materials you have around you, and you can create.
#GGArts2024 #BarbaraAstman #CanadaCouncil
Connect with us on social media:
Canada Council for the Arts
Instagram - instagram.com/canada.council
Facebook - facebook.com/canadacouncil
X - twitter.com/CanadaCouncil
LinkedIn - linkedin.com/company/canada-council-for-the-arts
Website - canadacouncil.ca
Art Bank
Instagram - instagram.com/artbank_banquedart
Facebook - facebook.com/CCartbank
YouTube - youtube.com/watch?v=x9fGIx7hZYk
Website - artbank.ca
CCUNESCO - Canadian Commission for UNESCO
Instagram - instagram.com/ccunesco
X - twitter.com/CCUNESCO
LinkedIn - linkedin.com/company/canadian-commission-for-unesco
Website - en.ccunesco.ca
