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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size:9.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Avenir 55""><img width="399" height="264" style="width:4.1562in;height:2.75in" id="_x0000_i1027" src="cid:image001.jpg@01D9201A.B4A7E1C0"></span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Avenir 55""><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Avenir 55"">Leading Tickles Lesbos</span></i><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Avenir 55"">, 2020 <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Avenir 55"">Crocheted wool yarn and rughooked wool yarn on burlap
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Avenir 55"">70 X 171cm<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Avenir 55"">courtesy of the Artist<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" align="right" style="text-align:right"><b><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Avenir 55";mso-fareast-language:EN-CA">MEDIA RELEASE</span></b><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Avenir 55";mso-fareast-language:EN-CA">
<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="right" style="text-align:right"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Avenir 55";mso-fareast-language:EN-CA"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="right" style="text-align:right"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Avenir 55";mso-fareast-language:EN-CA">For immediate release from
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="right" style="text-align:right"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Avenir 55";mso-fareast-language:EN-CA">Kamloops Art Gallery<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="right" style="text-align:right"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Avenir 55";color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA">January 4, 2023<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" align="right" style="text-align:right"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Avenir 55";color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA"><img width="187" height="81" style="width:1.9479in;height:.8437in" id="Picture_x0020_2" src="cid:image002.jpg@01D9201A.B4A7E1C0"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" align="right" style="text-align:right"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Avenir 55";color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Avenir 55";color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Avenir 55";color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size:18.0pt;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size:18.0pt;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA">Lucas Morneau<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;background:white;vertical-align:baseline">
<i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size:18.0pt;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA">Queer Newfoundland Hockey League (QNHL)</span></i><i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size:18.0pt;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA"><o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size:14.0pt;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA">January 14 to April 1, 2023<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size:14.0pt;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA">Artist and Curator, Seated Conversation // Saturday, January 21, 5:30 pm<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size:14.0pt;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA">Opening Reception // 6:30 to 8:00 pm<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size:14.0pt;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA">Everyone Welcome<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;background:white;vertical-align:baseline">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA">Playfully and provocatively challenging the prevalence of homophobia and hyper-masculinity in the culture of team sports, Lucas Morneau’s
<i>Queer Newfoundland Hockey</i> <i>League (QNHL) </i>proposes 14 fictional teams that reclaim, empower, and amplify LGBTQIA2S+ voices (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and/or Questioning, Intersex, Asexual, Two-Spirit, and the countless affirmative
ways in which people choose to self-identify). With team names that include the <i>
St. John’s Sissies</i>, <i>Bonavista Buggers,</i> and <i>Ferryland Fairies</i>, Morneau subverts pejoratives used against the LGBTQIA2S+ community, paired with places historically associated with senior hockey league teams in Newfoundland and Labrador.
</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;background:white;vertical-align:baseline">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA">Each team is represented by a hand-crocheted and rug-hooked jersey, a doily goalie mask, and a hockey card modeled by men, women, and gender-nonconforming players. The colours
and jersey design reference senior teams associated with rural hockey leagues and now out-of-fashion National Hockey League team colours. The doily goalie masks reference Jacque Plante, who is considered the first goalie to wear a mask after suffering a serious
facial injury. Plante was initially ridiculed for wearing a mask by players and fans who questioned his bravery and
<a name="_Int_pFR9UaNs">manhood</a>. Over time wearing a mask became the norm and the narrative flipped; goalies would no longer be considered “brave” or “more of a man” for
<i>not </i>wearing a mask. Morneau also offers a critical re-reading of female-gender stereotypes through material and imagery choices that reference the idea of “women’s work.”
</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;background:white;vertical-align:baseline">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA">Through
<i>QNHL</i>, Morneau attempts to reclaim the derogatory comments often heard on the ice, in “locker room talk,” and off the ice towards those players who do not adhere to the unspoken masculine code often found in team sports. Morneau challenges the “old school”
idea that athletes must act without emotion, must not draw attention to themselves ahead of the team, and must toe the line and keep things in the locker room. This project points to the unwritten rules and “back in my day, the right way” mentality that tends
to dominate sports and so-called social norms. </span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;background:white;vertical-align:baseline">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA">By re-presenting jerseys, goalie masks, and hockey cards in this way, Morneau aims to deconstruct prevailing attitudes about the relationship between sports and the LGBTQIA2S+
community while bringing awareness to toxic behaviour both on and off the ice in sports culture, and beyond.
</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;background:white;vertical-align:baseline">
<u><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA">The Artist</span></u><u><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA"><o:p></o:p></span></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;background:white;vertical-align:baseline">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA">Lucas Morneau is a queer interdisciplinary artist and curator of
<a name="_Int_rcJJJnXz">English-Newfoundlander</a> and French-Québeçois European settler descent from Ktaqamkuk (Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada). They received their Bachelor of Fine Arts at Memorial University, Grenfell Campus, Corner Brook, Newfoundland,
in 2016, and their Master of Fine Arts at University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, in 2018. They have received multiple awards, including the 2016 BMO First Art Award for Newfoundland and Labrador and the 2018 Cox & Palmer Pivotal Point Grant.
Their work has been supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, ArtsNL, and ArtsNB.<br>
<br>
Through drag and masquerade, Morneau has created an alter-ego, The Queer Mummer, to explore gender performativity and to address hegemonic masculinity and its effect on gender expression and identity. Their practice employs several mediums, including photography,
fibre art, performance, video, installation, printmaking, and sculpture.</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black">Please direct all media inquiries to Craig Willms, Assistant Curator, Kamloops Art Gallery, (250) 377-2406 or
</span></b><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><a href="mailto:cwillms@kag.bc.ca"><span style="color:blue">cwillms@kag.bc.ca</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black;mso-fareast-language:JA"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">@kamloopsartgallery<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black">About the Kamloops Art Gallery<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black">Founded in 1978, the Kamloops Art Gallery offers inspiring, provocative and transformative art experiences of national caliber. Located in Secwepemcúlecw, it is the largest art gallery
in the Interior of British Columbia and boasts a collection of over 3,000 works of art. With more than 12 exhibitions every year, the Gallery offers diverse, accessible and affordable experiences including talks, tours and studio-based programming for people
of all ag</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size:12.0pt"><img border="0" width="830" height="48" style="width:8.6458in;height:.5in" id="Picture_x0020_3" src="cid:image003.png@01D9201A.B4A7E1C0" alt="signature_1840475354"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in;line-height:12.65pt"><span style="font-family:"Avenir Next";letter-spacing:1.0pt">CRAIG WILLMS [he/him]
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in;line-height:12.65pt"><span style="font-family:"Avenir Next";letter-spacing:1.0pt">ASSISTANT CURATOR</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family:"Avenir Next";color:#222A35"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in;line-height:12.65pt"><span style="font-family:"Avenir Next";letter-spacing:1.0pt"><a href="mailto:cwillms@kag.bc.ca"><span style="color:#0563C1">cwillms@kag.bc.ca</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family:"Avenir Next";color:#222A35;letter-spacing:1.0pt"> </span><span style="font-family:"Avenir Next";color:#222A35;letter-spacing:1.0pt"> <br>
250.377.2400 </span><span style="font-family:"Avenir Next";letter-spacing:1.0pt">x 2406<span style="color:#222A35"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:12.65pt"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Avenir Next";color:#222A35"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:12.65pt"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Avenir Next";color:#222A35"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Avenir Light";color:#333F50;letter-spacing:1.0pt">KAMLOOPS ART GALLERY<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Avenir LT Std 35 Light";color:#333F50;letter-spacing:1.0pt">101 – 465 Victoria Street, Kamloops, BC V2C 2A9</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Avenir LT Std 35 Light";color:#333F50"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Avenir LT Std 35 Light";color:#333F50;letter-spacing:1.0pt">250.377.2400 | </span><a href="http://www.kag.bc.ca/"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Avenir LT Std 35 Light";color:#333F50;letter-spacing:1.0pt">www.kag.bc.ca</span></a><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Avenir LT Std 35 Light";color:#333F50"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Avenir LT Std 35 Light";color:#333F50;letter-spacing:1.0pt"> </span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Avenir LT Std 35 Light";color:#333F50"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Avenir LT Std 35 Light";color:#333F50;letter-spacing:1.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Avenir LT Std 35 Light";color:#333F50;letter-spacing:1.0pt">The Kamloops Art Gallery is situated on the traditional unceded lands of the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc
within Secwepemcúl’ecw; the traditional territory of the Secwépemc people.</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Avenir LT Std 35 Light";color:#333F50"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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