Communities

A Selection of Specimens is a solo exhibition be artist Kristin Teetaert. This exhibition features drawings, felt sculptures, and painted tiles. Kristin states: "The specimens came to life in 2012 in the form of a charcoal gestural sketch. The idea of sculpting them in wool followed. Wool allowed me to use bright colours and to create sculptures that were malleable. A tactile person, I wanted to play with my sculptures. This idea of being able to play with and manipulate the sculptures inspired the tiles; they are all able to interconnect with each other on all four sides. An important aspect of them was the ability to create different paths between the specimens by physically moving the tiles, or as a viewer, by following the shapes as they weave through the installation. I often alternate between two and three dimensions as I work. They are surprisingly autobiographical. I have always had a fascination with botany and nature, and a love of the unique shapes found in the natural and microscopic world. This, combined with my love of colour, has resulted in this series of playful sculptures and drawings that explore the ideas of interconnection, growth, spontaneity, and evolution."A Selection of Specimens is a solo exhibition be artist Kristin Teetaert. This exhibition features drawings, felt sculptures, and painted tiles. Kristin states: "The specimens came to life in 2012 in the form of a charcoal gestural sketch. The idea of sculpting them in wool followed. Wool allowed me to use bright colours and to create sculptures that were malleable. A tactile person, I wanted to play with my sculptures. This idea of being able to play with and manipulate the sculptures inspired the tiles; they are all able to interconnect with each other on all four sides. An important aspect of them was the ability to create different paths between the specimens by physically moving the tiles, or as a viewer, by following the shapes as they weave through the installation. I often alternate between two and three dimensions as I work. They are surprisingly autobiographical. I have always had a fascination with botany and nature, and a love of the unique shapes found in the natural and microscopic world. This, combined with my love of colour, has resulted in this series of playful sculptures and drawings that explore the ideas of interconnection, growth, spontaneity, and evolution."

Omentum is a series of 10 paintings that touch on several of the major experiences faced by Indigenous people in this country within recent memory. These paintings, influenced by the works of both Norval Morrisseau and also Pablo Picasso, speak to some of the major struggles and triumphs that are part of our everyday life as Indigenous people, such as the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Cultural Appropriation, the legacy of Residential Schools, the Rise and Honour of the Two-Spirited in the LGBTQ, the Return of Traditional Indigenous Tattooing, the Rise in Systemic Racism Online, and, of course, the Murder of Colten Boushie. John Brady McDonald is a Nehiyawak-Métis writer, artist, historian, musician, playwright, actor and activist born and raised in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. He is from the Muskeg Lake Cree Nation and the Mistawasis Nehiyawak. The great-great-great grandson of Chief Mistawasis of the Plains Cree, as well as the grandson of famed Métis leader Jim Brady, John’s writings and artwork have been displayed in various publications, private and permanent collections and galleries around the world, including the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa.Omentum is a series of 10 paintings that touch on several of the major experiences faced by Indigenous people in this country within recent memory. These paintings, influenced by the works of both Norval Morrisseau and also Pablo Picasso, speak to some of the major struggles and triumphs that are part of our everyday life as Indigenous people, such as the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Cultural Appropriation, the legacy of Residential Schools, the Rise and Honour of the Two-Spirited in the LGBTQ, the Return of Traditional Indigenous Tattooing, the Rise in Systemic Racism Online, and, of course, the Murder of Colten Boushie. John Brady McDonald is a Nehiyawak-Métis writer, artist, historian, musician, playwright, actor and activist born and raised in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. He is from the Muskeg Lake Cree Nation and the Mistawasis Nehiyawak. The great-great-great grandson of Chief Mistawasis of the Plains Cree, as well as the grandson of famed Métis leader Jim Brady, John’s writings and artwork have been displayed in various publications, private and permanent collections and galleries around the world, including the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa.

Curated by Melanie Monique Rose Nisto is the Cree word for "three", which holds abundant cultural, religious, and spiritual significance throughout Treaty Territories 4 and 6, Abya Yala 1, and across the world. The braid, made of three strands, carries teachings of the unity of mind, body, and spirit, and connects us to our ancestors and heritage. Artists Cristian Barreno (Maya K’iche’), Maria Rose Sikyea (Yellowknives Dene), and Emma Noyes (Sinixt) are three Indigenous artists rooted both in their homelands and in diaspora, with deep connections to water, sky, and land. Their families lived here long before the names "Canada", the medicine line, borders, or walls existed. Indigenous peoples had lifeways, paths, and relationships sustained through trade, celebration, and war. For example, before Canada declared the Sinixt 2 "extinct" in 1956 and before the creation of the Canada - US border, they freely harvested and hunted on their ancestral homelands. In 2021, their territorial rights were restored, yet they still face obstacles crossing the border to return to their homelands. Despite the enduring challenges of colonialism, these three artists affirm their presence and relationality through their work. They honor, celebrate, and assert that they are here, always have been, and always will be. 1Abya Yala: the entire land mass currently known as North & South America 2Sinixt: descendants of the Arrow Lakes people, West Kootenays