Guelph - An exhibit curated by a University of Guelph professor that celebrates the career of a renowned stage designer and the evolution of Canadian theatre opens this week using works from U of G's theatre archives.

"Risking the Void: The Scenography of Cameron Porteous," co-curated by Pat Flood of the School of English and Theatre Studies, will be at the Niagara Pumphouse Arts Centre July 4 to Aug. 31. It will make its way to Guelph’s Macdonald Stewart Art Centre early next year after a stop at the Design Exchange in Toronto.

The exhibit is a comprehensive retrospective of Porteous’s 40-year career and his contributions to theatre in Canada. Flood worked on the project with Sean Breaugh using artwork from private collections and work donated by Porteous to U of G’s L.W. Conolly Theatre Archives.

The exhibit offers a glimpse into the creative process of making theatre today and provides a historical perspective on how professional theatre in Canada has evolved in the past four decades. It’s a collaboration among U of G, Theatre Museum Canada and the Shaw Festival.

The L.W. Conolly Theatre Archives is the largest collection devoted to professional Canadian theatre and Shaw-related materials in Canada. It holds 130 collections, with an electronic theatre guide providing access to these resources. The collection focuses on Bernard Shaw, modern Ontario theatre companies and playwrights, actors, directors, and designers active in Ontario theatre life.

The Cameron Porteous exhibit is funded in part by grants from The Ontario Trillium Foundation and the Ontario Arts Council's Touring and Collaborations program.