Events from June 23, 2023

• Arianna Richardson: Surface All The Way Through - Biggar Museum and Gallery

  Presented By: Biggar & District Arts Council
  
  

  

  Surface All The Way Through is an exhibition of textile and text-based signs assembled from discarded plastic using hobby-craft techniques. It is an exploration of superficiality, distraction, reflection, containment, emotional blockages, consumerism, accumulation, and waste.
  The objects in this show are fabricated entirely of plastic: a material that I am endlessly attracted to for its shape-shifting mimicry and limitless supply of exciting surface qualities. As a toxic, uncontainable, and grossly over-produced material, it is also repulsive and surrounds me with dread and despair. It is between opposites that I have created these objects: working to both deflect and deal with my own conflicting attitudes in a time of vast uncertainty, inexpressible emotions, and constant horror.
  All materials in the show were rescued from their fate as discarded objects, collected either from my own personal consumption habits (packaging waste) or from the thrift store (craft supplies, projects, decorations).
• Phyllis Poitras-Jarrett: Spirit of Nature - Looking Beyond Yourself - Shurniak Art Gallery

  Presented By: Assiniboia & District Arts Council
  
  

  

  The exhibition The Spirit of Nature - Looking Beyond Yourself features fifteen paintings of different animals and insects. Each creature’s silhouette is filled with intricate Métis floral beadwork patterning. Swirling around the forms of the fauna is a diaphanous grey fog, a representation of the spirit world. Phyllis says "Each animal painting is adorned with a unique, colourful, symmetrical Métis floral beadwork design... Each bead, flower and animal are a part of something greater. Within each painting, the grey background and white flowers represent the greater universe. Hidden in each painting is a glass spirit bead. This bead, in traditional Métis beadwork, was an off colour or misplaced bead. The spirit bead symbolizes humility and it reminds us, humans are not perfect. Therefore, we need to learn to be mindful that each day is an opportunity to make improvements in ourselves for the betterment of "All of Our Relations"."
• ᑌᐸᑯᐦᑊ/Tepakohp/7 : Audie Murray, Larissa Kitchemonia, Donna Langhorne, Stacey Fayant, Marcy Friesen, Brandy Jones, & Melanie Monique Rose - Indian Head Theatre and Community Arts Inc.

  Presented By: Indian Head Theatre and Community Arts Inc.
  
  

  

  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.
• Hanna Yokozawa Farquharson: Calling - Humboldt and District Gallery

  Presented By: Humboldt Area Arts Council
  
  

  

  The exhibition, 'Calling', features the beautifully crafted and thoughtfully meditative fibre works of Saskatchewan artist, Hanna Yokozawa Farquharson. Originating from Japan, where she worked in digital architecture and landscaping design with a focus on stonework, the artist's works draw upon the aesthetic and design principles of her cultural and professional background, while responding to the natural landscapes and experiences of her new home as a newcomer to Saskatchewan.
  This exhibition is curated and organized by the Moose Jaw Museum & Art Gallery, and toured through OSAC's Arts on the Move program.
• 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.
• 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.