Collection consists of materials accumulated by Margaret Griffin and Clara Gutsche, mostly relating to the founding and first exhibition of Powerhouse Gallery, now La Centrale Galerie Powerhouse. Items also document The Flaming Apron craft store, and various exhibitions held at La Centrale Galerie Powerhouse. This collection contains items created by Margaret Griffin, Leslie Busch, Billie-Joe Mericle, and Stansje Plantenga, founding members of Powerhouse Gallery. Materials in this collection are primarily dated 1972-1974, with select documents dated 2001 and 2004. Some documents were annotated by Margaret Griffin and Clara Gutsche in 2014.
Materials documenting the establishment and history of Powerhouse Gallery include: correspondence, newspaper clippings, proposals, descriptions, timelines, publications, posters, slides, negatives, a leaflet, a drawing, a paintings, and clothing. These materials primarily concern the Gallery’s first exhibition, Windows: From the Inside Out: Painting, Photography, Ceramic and Sculpture (1973), presented at 1210 Greene Avenue in Westmount, Quebec. Items also document various exhibitions held at Powerhouse Gallery and La Centrale Galerie Powerhouse, including: Codpieces: Phallic Paraphernalia (1974), The Past to the Present (2001), and Powerhouse: Where are we now? (2001). Materials concerning the activities of The Flaming Apron, a craft store in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, include: clothing, ceramics, and a newsletter. This collection also contains La Centrale Galerie Powerhouse publications, including Women’s Bookworks (1979) and Les Centrelles (2004), as well as items related to art and artist run centers in Canada.
Collection is divided into 3 series:
C011/A. Powerhouse Gallery/La Centrale Galerie Powerhouse
C011/B. The Flaming Apron
C011/C. Art in Canada