The gallery will now be known as the Remai
Modern Art Gallery of Saskatchewan. What does everyone think of this name change?
The article below states that they intentionally wanted to get away from the "RAGS" acronym (of course this wasn't the only reason). For me, I liked RAGS - a term that could be used disparagingly against the gallery, but in general, the common meaning of the word could be turned upside down into something fun, positive, unique. RMAGS doesn't have the same ring.
Remai gallery adds 'modern' to name
By Phil Tank, The StarPhoenix April 2, 2014
Quote:
The Remai art gallery project is going modern.
The $93.7-million gallery will be known as the Remai Modern Art Gallery of Saskatchewan, a brand that will be used this spring as fundraising for the project ramps up.
Executive director and CEO Gregory Burke, who came up with the name, said the new brand is relevant for the project and reflects the type of art people can expect to see at the gallery. The term ‘modern’ applies to the era from about the 1860s to today.
“The brand is actually what you do. It’s what you stand for. It’s what you promise to your customers and your consumers and your visitors,” Burke said Tuesday in an interview. “The word modern both applies to art, but also applies to the general character of the age that we live in.”
Burke was candid about wanting to prevent people from using the acronym RAGS if the name remained Remai Art Gallery of Saskatchewan.
Rebranding a gallery with the term ‘modern’ is not new and has a track record of success. As an example, Burke pointed to the Tate Modern in London, which he said saw a threefold increase in visitors after its name change.
“It really defines the period we will focus on, and that’s always been the case,” he said. “There’s nothing in the collection of the Mendel, for example — we don’t have any old masters going back to the Renaissance.”
Even the design of the gallery is inspired by the modern architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright, he said.
Burke said the new gallery will help define what he calls Saskatoon 2.0, a new era of prosperity as the city shakes its small prairie city roots.
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http://www.thestarphoenix.com/entert...934/story.html