SSHRC funding UofL Dean’s Artist-Run Centre’s history project

A project to preserve the histories of artist-run centres in Canada has received funding through a Knowledge Synthesis Grant.

The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council has allocated $29,127 to Dr. Devon Smither’s Oral Histories and Artist-Run Centres in Canada project.

Smither, an associate dean in the Faculty of Fine Arts at the University of Lethbridge, is working to produce the first national synthesis of how artist-run centres document and preserve their histories through oral storytelling and archival practices.

“This project positions oral history as a key tool for preserving and understanding artist-run culture,” says Smither. “By synthesizing scholarship from oral history and related fields, alongside artist-run centre practices, we aim to support more equitable, accessible, and sustainable ways of preserving artist-run culture in Canada.”