Wednesday, April 27, 2016

More To See in Western Canada This Spring!

In addition to "Whisperings", "Road Trip", "A Moment in Time" and "Mended" (to name but a few), two more exhibits are opening soon for Western Canada audiences:


Hanging by a Thread is a collaborative exhibit from Alberta artists Barbara J. West and Ilse Anysas Salkauskas.  It was shown in the Feature Gallery of the Alberta Craft Council in Edmonton in 2013, and is now opening at the CASA Gallery (East Side), South Lethbridge, Alberta.  The Opening Reception is Saturday evening, 7:00 - 9:00 p.m., and the exhibit runs to June 17 (per the CASA website).  If you are unable to get to Lethbridge until close to the end of the exhibit's run, please check the dates with the Gallery.

Here's a bit of background to the exhibit, provided by the artists:
The genesis for Hanging by a Thread arose when Ilse Anysas Salkauskas and Barbara J. West were studying the Marie Erickson Rug Collection (Middle Eastern) at the Nickle Arts Museum. There they discovered that during the wars in Afghanistan, Afghani women had been unable to acquire the wool to make rugs and carpets in traditional patterns. Women had been passing patterns orally from generation to generation, but without the material to make them, the oral tradition began to disappear along with women's cultural value. This inspired the pair to look at our culture and consider the transmission of information and learning among current generations of Canadian women.

 Along with Ilse's fibre art and Barbara's mixed-media installations, their children and a grandchild were invited to participate in this exhibition and present their own perspectives. Ilse's daughter-in-law Monika creates sculptural cakes and Ilse's granddaughter, Emily Ella Rigaux, an award winning singer, writes poetry. Robin West presents her poetry and sculpture. Pat Strakowski and her daughter Lynda were invited to demonstrate their transfer of skill from mother to daughter through the creation of altered books.
Having seen this exhibit in Edmonton, I can tell you that it is both moving and powerful.  I highly recommend it if you are the Lethbridge area while it is showing!




And...if you are venturing to or live near the Sunshine Coast this spring and early summer...on the heels of Catherine Nicholls and Anni Hunt's collaborative exhibit "Whisperings" -- closing May 15 at the FibreWorks Studio and Gallery -- you'll be able to take in Jill Sullivan's newest works at her solo show, "No Words Necessary", opening there May 21 through July 3.  The Opening Reception is Saturday afternoon, May 21 from 2:00 - 4 p.m.

Would that this writer could be in several places at once!


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