Simultaneously in Bilbao (Vizcaya) and Toronto (Ontario), the Axe Head Art Exchange continues its third program of exhibitions between Canadian and Basque artists and institutions. During May and June 2015, the artworks of Taxio Ardanaz (Pamplona, 1978) and Jim Verburg (Canada, 1977) will be exhibited at Mercer Union (Toronto, Canada) and Bilbao Arte respectively. After a twomonth exhibition period, the artworks will be gifted to the participating artist of the host country. More information about the artists and the institutions is available on the Axt Head Art Exchange website.
Taxio Ardanaz, Nerve , 2015, acrylic on paper, 42 x 29.7 cm
Jim Verburg, Untitled (risograph circle test #5) , 2013, risograph colour print on paper (ed. ⅜), 28 x 35.5 cm
Axe Head Art Exchange is a contemporary exhibition program that echoes the earliest known exchange between European and North American cultures. Functioning as a promotional tool for Basque and Canadian artists and institutions, the program was inspired by the recent finding of a wrought iron axe head during the excavation of the Wendat Ancestral Village, near Stouffville, Ontario. The axe head was determined to have been created in the Basque Country over 500 years ago, 100 years earlier than the first official visit from Europeans to the Great Lakes region. It is believed to have been traded by native communities from a Basque whaling station in Newfoundland and Labrador, which was recently named a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The axe head, which is the earliest European artifact ever found in North America, has altered history books. The Axe Head Art Exchange is designed to renew this historic trade route and advance the culture of exchange between two nations an ocean apart. The Axe Head Art Exchange is a collaboration between ARMAR, a Basque association for the creation and research of contemporary art, and Bill Clarke, an art writer based in Toronto, Canada, who function as curators and facilitators for the project. Every two months, original works of art on paper are solicited for the program from a Basque and a Canadian artist. The artworks are mailed to the opposite country and exhibited in an existing art institution for the duration of two months. Working as a nomadic exhibition program, the first year includes the participation of 6 Basque artists, 6 Canadian artists and 12 different art institutions.
