Bruno Vinhas
An interview with the Gallery Director and Curator for the Craft Council of Newfoundland and Labrador.
What is your job title and description?
I currently work as the Gallery Director and Curator for the Craft Council of Newfoundland and Labrador. I am a textile and installation artist originally from Brazil who travelled extensively before settling in Newfoundland to attend the College of the North Atlantic’s Textiles: Craft and Apparel Design Program. My work centres on experiences of cultural displacement, spirituality and transformation.
Annual Members Exhibition, Craft Council Of Newfoundland and Labrador.
What does a typical day look like for you?
Between meetings, research, and grant and report writing, my days are usually spent studying artists and work that will be exhibited in our space. I like to keep a clear and straight communication with all the craftspeople exhibiting or completing residencies in order to provide the best curatorial view for their work.
A lot of curatorial and gallery work happens behind the scenes in a not-so-glamorous environment. I am an art administrator, graphic designer, photographer, marketing specialist, counsellor, researcher — and the list keeps going on. I spend quite a few hours daily in conversation with artists about their work.
What career/educational path did you take to get here?
I fell in love with the arts in Brazil while studying and working in theatre, where I started as an actor. I moved into becoming a director — backstage, I became amazed by textile art. I studied cultural tourism in my undergraduate degree, where I delved into understanding the cultural importance of craft as a means of storytelling.
During my travels, I was always drawn to craft objects and their intrinsic relations to place. I volunteered with Ashleigh Downey at The Ark, a cultural centre for children in Dublin, where I was drawn to storytelling in craft.
In 2017, I started working with the Craft Council — in the shop at first, then as a gallery assistant. I was drawn mostly to curation, and I did several self-guided studies as well as asked a lot of questions to other curators in the community.
Today I find myself combining storytelling and theatre techniques to curate shows in the gallery that amaze, educate and immerse viewers in the fantastic world of craft. What keeps me going is an eagerness to learn and communicate the past and present of craft, and inquire about its future.
What is the most exciting part of your work?
To bring craft alive in the gallery space. Connecting the artist, the art and the visitors in a unique experience is a fundamental part of my job, especially when you make the gallery space accessible to all public. When curating an exhibition, the research and connection with the craft artists are for sure the most pleasurable. Exhibition opening days are about the artist, while bringing everything together is the highlight for the curator or gallery director.
Crafted Beasts, 2019. Craft Council Of Newfoundland and Labrador.
What is your biggest challenge?
Language. The craft/art world is very westernized and Eurocentric. As a foreigner to Canada, I feel that art language is inaccessible to many people. Forms, calls, grant requests and artist statements can create barriers when you grew up in a different culture or you don’t have so-called “formal” training. In my position, I try to change the way we present this but it is a much bigger conversation.
Tell us a brief story about an object you have worked with.
For a recent exhibition celebrating the 50th anniversary of the council, I dove into the permanent collection of the organization to identify objects by artists selected for the exhibition. I found a small handmade book by Tara Bryan called Tablelands; I invited Stephanie Stoker, a textile artist, to respond to Bryan’s work. Stoker produced a woven book titled For The Birds. Stoker’s handmade, natural-dyed, woven book summarizes my practice: it tells a story through intricate drawing, and it is a tangible object that provokes the ephemeral feeling that things don't stay the same forever. Both pieces reflect what I believe to be the pillars of craft: strength, skill and respect for the material and the story.
Anything to add?
I’d like to thank all the artists that I have worked with so far — for their commitment to their practice. Their work is an essential part of the cultural development of societies, and it has been since the humble beginnings of craft. You are seen, you are heard and you are important!
Bruno Vinhas is a curator and a textile and installation artist. Originally from Brazil, he travelled extensively before settling in Newfoundland. Vinhas’ work centres on experiences of cultural displacement, spirituality and transformation. He has been working as the Craft Council of Newfoundland and Labrador’s gallery director since August 2018.
This article was published in the Spring/Summer 2023 issue of Studio Magazine.
