Helga Pakasaar Explained

Helga Pakasaar is a contemporary art curator and writer based in Vancouver, Canada. She has worked as Audain Chief Curator at Polygon Gallery (formerly Presentation House Gallery).^{[1] [2]} She has also curated exhibitions for Griffin Art Projects in North Vancouver^[3] and previously worked as a curator at the Art Gallery of Windsor and the Walter Phillips Gallery.

Curatorial work

Pakasaar has produced exhibitions, commissions and publications with a focus on historical and contemporary photography and media art,^[4] such as C. 1983,^[5] Not Necessarily In That Order, Larry Clark, Lee Friedlander, Miroslav Tichy and Kohei Yoshiyuki. Her curatorial endeavours encompass public art commissions as with Moodyville, including a special issue of The Capilano Review,^[6] Territory, produced in partnership with Artspeak, Vancouver^{[7] [8]} and Rebecca Belmore's hacer memoria. Pakasaar has presented international artists, including Rosella Biscotti, Cao Fei, Keren Cytter, Jimmie Durham, Susan Hiller, Gonzalo Lebrija, Anna Oppermann, Walid Raad, Batia Suter, Wael Shawky, and Simon Starling, and many westcoast artists.^[9]

In 2015, Pakasaar curated the inaugural exhibition at Griffin Art Projects, showcasing art held in private collections and emphasizing the role of women collectors.^{[10] [11]}

Selected curatorial projects

• Jeremy Shaw: DMT, (publication) & Jack Goldstein: Under Water Sea Fantasy (publication), 2004
• Judy Radul: Downes Point and So Departed (Again), 2005 (publication)
• Territory, 2006 (publication)
• Laszlo Moholy-Nagy & Simon Starling, 2007
• Moodyville, 2008 (publication)
• Not Necessarily in that Order, 2010
• Flakey: The Early Works of Glenn Lewis, 2010
• C.1983, Part I and Part 11, 2012
• Anna Oppermann / Andrea Pinheiro / Marianne Wex, 2013
• Stan Douglas: Synthetic Pictures, 2014
• A Thousand Quarrels: Liz Magor, 2014
• Tris Vonna-Michell, 2015
• B.C. Almanac(H) C-B, 2015 (publication)
• Susan Hiller: Altered States, 2018
• Hannah Rickards: one can make out the surface only by..., 2018
• Wael Shawky: Al Araba al Madfuna, 2019
• Rebecca Belmore: hacer memoria, 2023

Honours

• Alvin Balkind Curator's Prize, 2013

Notes and References

1. Web site: Presentation House Gallery Staff. Presentationhousegallery.org. 2016-09-11.
2. Web site: Contact Us – The Polygon Gallery. The Polygon. en-US. 2019-03-09.
3. Web site: Account Suspended . Griffinartprojects.ca . 2016-09-11.
4. http://cielvariable.ca/en/issues/ciel-variable-79-colours-of-the-city/fred-herzog-the-citys-fabric-helga-pakasaar-free-observer/
5. C. 1983: Picture Making Made History. Rhodes. Richard. April 19, 2012. 2017-03-11. Canadian Art.
6. Web site: The Capilano Review - Spring 2009, Issue 3.8. 1938-05-28. Thecapilanoreview.ca. 2016-09-11.
7. Web site: Territory | Artspeak. Artspeak.ca. 2016-09-11.
8. Territory. Laurence. Robin. July 20, 2006. 2017-03-11. The Georgia Straight.
9. Web site: Polygon Gallery Curator Helga Pakasaar's Expansive Thinking. BC Alliance for Arts + Culture. en-CA. 2019-03-09.
10. Web site: New gallery designed to show work held by private collectors. Kevin. Griffin. Vancouver Sun. 2015-09-28. en. 2019-03-09.
11. Web site: Changing order of names is deliberate at Griffin Art Projects. Vancouver Sun. Kevin. Griffin. 2015-10-02. en. 2019-03-09.