No date for Annie Leibovitz show at Nova Scotia gallery, 3 years after work donated

The chief curator of the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia says she knows people are anxious to see its collection by celebrity portrait photographer Annie Leibovitz.

Sarah Fillmore said Wednesday she gets asked about the much-touted exhibit at "just about every cocktail party I go to."

"Every show does take an awfully long time to put together so there isn't really a hold up," she said following the unveiling of the art gallery's 2016-2017 program, which does not include Leibovitz's work.

Work in progress

"It's about building the exhibition carefully and involving a very busy and in-demand artist, and creating space so the appropriate works can be seen in the appropriate way," she said. 

It's been three years since Toronto's Mintz family donated 2,000 of Leivbovitz's works, but Fillmore insists an exhibition is still on the way.

No timeline

However, she is not giving any time frame on when those photos, which includes the iconic image of John Lennon and Yoko Ono hours before he was killed in 1980, will be shared with the public.

"I've learned not to say dates because then you have the three-year anniversary," she said with a laugh. "I don't have a date yet but it's in active preparation."

Collection 'being prepared for exhibition'

Fillmore said there is no way the art gallery could lose the collection. 

"That gift is irrevocably the people of Nova Scotia's. It's here in the building and it's being treated by our staff here," she said.  "It's being prepared for exhibition, catalogued and it's in safe hands. It's here and ours."

Collection in 'pristine' condition

She said the collection arrived in "pristine" condition and remains that way, stored in their Class A gallery. Fillmore said they are in contact with Leibovitz's office just about every week. 

"We are building a relationship and she is definitely happy to be working with the gallery," she said. 

Work deserves major show

When asked about the possibility of a smaller Leibovitz exhibit in the meantime, Fillmore said her work deserves a major show.

"It's something that is weighty. It's an important moment for us to demonstrate our skills, our research," she said.

"We've been giving people a little taste of what's to come. But our hope is to just showcase it in a full spread, the way it deserves to be seen."