Creative Minds: A Conversation with Teresa Hubbard / Alexander Birchler and Melanie O'Brian
Schedule
Sat Nov 08 2025 at 02:00 pm to 03:00 pm
UTC-04:00Location
1723 Hollis Street, Halifax, NS, Canada, Nova Scotia B3J 1V9 | Halifax, NS
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Join us for an engaging discussion with artists Teresa Hubbard and Alexander Birchler, and panelist Melanie O’Brian as they share insights about the exhibition No More Boring Art which will be on view from November 8 – January 25, 2026.No More Boring Art is based on Hubbard / Birchler’s multi-faceted exploration of John Baldessari’s “Punishment Piece” which took place at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design in 1971. Until now, the participants, mostly art students, who repeatedly wrote “I will not make any more boring art” across the walls of NSCAD’s Mezzanine gallery, have remained unknown. As visual artists, Hubbard / Birchler seek engagement with adjacent fields of study that have more conventionally been considered the domain of the anthropologist, archeologist or historian. The works in No More Boring Art lead the viewer on a journey exploring the connection between life and art.
Registration suggested due to limited seats, but walk-ins are welcome. This event is included in the price of admission.
This discussion will be moderated by exhibition curator, David Diviney, Chief Curator, Art Gallery of Nova Scotia.
This program will be recorded and ASL interpretation will be available.
About Creative Minds
The Creative Minds series hosts community leaders and creatives to respond to current events, exhibitions on view, or artworks in the Gallery. Through conversation, music, poetry, or movement, these events aim to provoke new ideas, explore the unexpected and create more understanding for everyone involved.
About the Artists
Teresa Hubbard (Irish/ American/ Swiss, born in Dublin, Ireland 1965) and Alexander Birchler (Swiss, born in Baden, Switzerland 1962) have been collaborating as an artist team since 1990. They began collaborating as artists-in-residence at the Banff Centre for the Arts, in Banff, Canada and completed graduate degrees at NSCAD in 1992. Their work, primarily grounded in time-based media, aims to inspire sensorial interactions and explore connections between social life, history and memory. Hubbard / Birchler often seek engagement with adjacent fields of study that have more conventionally been considered the domain of the anthropologist, archeologist or historian.
Hubbard / Birchler represented Switzerland in the Swiss Pavilion at the 57th Venice Biennial, presenting Florain the exhibition “Women of Venice,” curated by Philipp Kaiser. Hubbard / Birchler have also presented their work in the 48th Venice Biennial; Giacometti Institute Paris; Hamburger Bahnhof, Museum für Gegenwart, Berlin; Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin; Kunsthaus Graz; Mori Museum Tokyo; Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago; Reina Sofia Museum Madrid; Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam; Tate Museum Liverpool and the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York.
Their work is held in numerous permanent collections including the Art Institute of Chicago; Goetz Collection Munich; Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden at the Smithsonian, Washington, D.C.; Kunsthaus Zurich; Kunstmuseum Basel; Los Angeles County Museum of Art LACMA; Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth; Museum of Fine Arts Houston; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles MOCA; National Museum of Art Osaka and the Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich.
Hubbard / Birchler are Professors in the Department of Art and Art History at the University of Texas at Austin.
About Melanie O'Brian
Melanie O’Brian is Associate Director/Curator at the Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery, University of British Columbia. As a curator of contemporary art, she has an abiding interest in artist-led initiatives, experimental forms, the intersection between visual art and writing, and the history of institutions. Past curatorial projects include work by artists such as Abbas Akhavan, Stan Douglas, Richard Ibghy/Marilou Lemmens, Carole Itter, Marianne Nicolson, Walid Raad, Hito Steyerl, and Althea Thauberger. She has collaborated widely with other curators and institutions, edited numerous publications and written for catalogues and magazines. Previously, O’Brian was Director/Curator at Simon Fraser University Art Galleries, Curator/Head of Programs at The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery in Toronto, Director/Curator at Artspeak in Vancouver and Assistant Curator at the Vancouver Art Gallery, and has taught at the University of British Columbia, Emily Carr University and Simon Fraser University.
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Where is it happening?
1723 Hollis Street, Halifax, NS, Canada, Nova Scotia B3J 1V9Event Location & Nearby Stays:
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