Events from May 01, 2023

• Family Ties - Weyburn Art Gallery

  Presented By: Weyburn Arts Council
  
  

  

  Belinda Harrow, Jennifer McRorie, Elizabeth Munro, Wendy Winter
  Toured through OSAC’s Arts on the Move program, curated by Zoë Schneider.
  Family Ties explores familial bonds through the medium of embroidery. Halifax based artist Elizabeth Munro creates embroidered and surface manipulated non-objective ‘portraits’ of her parents that include audio elements to convey impressions of her parents from childhood; providing a nuanced concept of a portrait filtered through the subjective experience of one person’s memory. Regina based artist Belinda Harrow reproduces photographs of her maternal grandmother at different ages into embroideries. Floating within the outlines of the human figure are colourful depictions of animals. The outlines of the humans are black thread on a cream felt background while the animals are vibrantly hued. Moose Jaw based artist Jennifer McRorie reimagines her daughters’ drawings in ‘whitework’; a type of embroidery where the colour of embroidery threads are the same colour as the fabric on which they are embroidered. McRorie states that "I was compelled to make this series of work as I wanted to honour my daughter, who was born with a genetic disorder, to recognize her voice, abilities and creativity. I love her drawings, her wonderful expression of line and so by embroidering her drawings, I’m acknowledging that even though she is marked by her genetics or biology, she will make her own mark, hence the title of the series." Wendy Winter is a Regina based artist that uses embroidery on vintage and upcycled fabrics to interpret her daily life and personal philosophy. The artists in this exhibition use embroidery in different ways to consider the complexities of the bonds with our families.
• Madeleine Greenway: Propagation - Sherven-Smith Art Gallery

  Presented By: Melfort Arts Council
  
  

  

  Propagation explores the connections between plants, food, land, and people. Madeleine Greenway deftly combines drawing and printmaking to create lush portraits and still lives; each work treated with the same attention to detail manifesting as a character study for plants, family, and food. Madeleine states: "This series expresses gratitude to the matriarchal knowledge that has enabled me to provide for my family, as well as connect to plants, food, land, and people. While my inner dialogue is full of anxiety and sadness, the garden, the kitchen, and the studio give me reprieve from these thoughts. Most of the women in my family experience chronic mental or physical illness. But they were not joyless, or weak. Images of them in the garden show strong, happy, and proud women. This is the part of my family history I want to celebrate... The aim is this: to generate longing for a more intimate relationship with food, to invite the audience to the garden as a source of joy and respite, and to share a simple message of gratitude and the difference that care can make."
• Madhu Kumar: The Stories of Immigrant Women - Grand Coteau Heritage and Cultural Centre

  Presented By: Grand Coteau Heritage and Cultural Centre
  
  

  

  When anyone moves to a new country there are challenges. This is especially true for women. My life is not the same in Canada as it was back home in India. I had to overcome many challenges, such as living in a very different environment and culture, being away from family and friends, and so on. In 2001, soon after I arrived in Toronto, I met another new Canadian who was struggling to raise her nine-year old daughter by herself. I empathized with her because I knew how difficult it was to raise children even when you have the support of a partner. I offered to take care of her daughter after school until she returned at night after working long hours at her job. I felt her pain as a single mother being far from her family and friends. I wanted to do what I could to help.
  This relationship inspired me. I wanted to capture the experiences of newcomer women on canvas. I started by contacting women through the Immigrant Women Centre in Regina. I went to their homes and with my camera, recorded their joys and problems. Most of the feelings I heard were of loneliness, emptiness, and sadness.
  The women I have painted are bright, and hardworking. They were going through rough times as they tried to settle into their new lives. Through my paintings, I want to show what it feels like to be alone, frustrated, sad, empty, confused, lost amidst strangers and new friends. The paintings help promote dialogue about being new to Canada. I want to offer a glimpse into the life of an immigrant woman during this challenging time. Some show despair; others are more hopeful; while some are more settled.
  Storytelling is not only the core of my work, but is also universally important. Human beings need to be seen and heard. Art is a vehicle through which I am empowering these women.
  - From the Artist Statement of Madhu Kumar
• Micro and Macro of the Boreal Forest: Greg Allen and Jeff Meldrum - Humboldt and District Gallery

  Presented By: Humboldt Area Arts Council
  
  

  

  Micro and Macro of the Boreal Forest serves to juxtapose two very different yet integrally connected elements of the forest ecosystem, the microbiome found along the boulders inhabiting Canadian shield lakes and the bears and ungulates which that microbiome ultimately nourishes and sustains.
  Greg Allen paints the intricacies of the algae, lichen and moss which over time slowly come to cover the rocks and boulders found along the shoreline of boreal forest lakes while Jeff Meldrum sets up camera traps to capture bears, elk and deer interacting with his artistic interventions in the landscape.
  By showcasing the two works together, the artists hope to prompt viewers to consider the complexity of the ecology, systems both big and small, while fostering an appreciation for the aesthetics bound within the boreal forest.
• Muveddet Al-Katib: East and West: The Bridging of Cultures and Art - Station Arts Centre Cooperative

  Presented By: Station Arts Centre Cooperative
  
  

  

  Borders can be physical, emotional, perceived and real. Borders define but a bridge provides a means to move from one place to another - whether physical or emotional - connecting to where you are.
  As an emerging newcomer artist to Canada experiencing the impact of borders of all types - connected to my past with a desire to reach out to my new surroundings – I sought to share a path forward for others experiencing this for the first time. Each has a story to tell, starting when we embark in life and shaped by everything we see and everyone we meet. We live in a changing world, exposed to new cultures and people - emotional bridging between continents and lands with many different cultures within them. With a cultures’ overlapping and building upon one another, mixing traditions and symbols, the goal of art has been to bring cultures together into one; one people, living and learning together, in one place, sharing stories and understanding each other along the way.
  'Creating Bridges: East and West' emerged as a series of paintings in 2014 through 2018 and features ten to fifteen pieces that reflect the bridging of cultures, done in mixed media on canvas with coins, metallic leaf and rich textural additions. The theme of the show was a way of sharing the story of diversity of peoples and cultures in our community as a result of immigration - crossing borders to a new place, a new community and new way of life.
• The Flower People: Melanie Monique Rose - Gallery Works and The Third Dimension

  Presented By: Melville Arts Council
  
  

  

  The Flower People is a story about me, my family, my people and our connection and relationship to the land, ourselves, and each other. It is derived from the name ‘The Flower Beadwork People’ a name given to the Métis who are well known for their floral beadwork.
  Felted pieces, combined with the use of collected blankets create a canvas for my personal exploration of identity as a contemporary Indigenous Artist, alongside my Ukrainian heritage. My floral imagery invokes stories of people, place, and the land. Personal, cultural, and universal symbolism are woven into the fabric of my work with an emphasis on movement, colour, and narrative.
  The slow, process-orientated execution of felting becomes meditative and at times acts as healing and a prayer to my family and community. My most recent works are personal acts of Indigenous survivance & solidarity.
• ᑌᐸᑯᐦᑊ/Tepakohp/7 : Audie Murray, Larissa Kitchemonia, Donna Langhorne, Stacey Fayant, Marcy Friesen, Brandy Jones, & Melanie Monique Rose - Watrous Art & Cultural Centre

  Presented By: Watrous Area Arts Council
  
  

  

  ᑌᐸᑯᐦᑊ/Tepakohp/7 is a multi-artist exhibition which celebrates the stories and experiences of the many Nations of Indigenous Women living on this land we call Saskatchewan. We share our stories through our art to amplify, inspire and educate about the diverse relationships and transactions we have to this land and each other.
• All Conditioned Things: Jared Boechler and Nic Wilson - Estevan Art Gallery & Museum

  Presented By: Estevan Art Gallery & Museum
  
  

  

  The exhibition All Conditioned Things presents the work of Saskatchewan artists, Jared Boechler and Nic Wilson, whose subject matter is embedded with symbolism or signifiers to explore concepts of mortality and impermanence. Both artists present mundane objects within their compositions, objects of domesticity, consumption and memorialization, many that are linked historically to traditional vanitas or memento mori paintings - including candles, ceramic vessels and flowers - that represent the passage of time, aging, decay, the transience of life, the futility of pleasure, and the certainty of death. Their compositions explore the values and narratives that these objects come to symbolize.
  This exhibition is curated by the Moose Jaw Museum & Art Gallery and toured through OSAC's Arts on the Move program.