Creating in Isolation - Arts Commons Ledge Gallery artist creates art under challenging circumstances
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Born and raised in the small town of Bashaw, Alberta, local non-binary artist Kyle Simmers focuses their work on creating connections between the disparate worlds of queer and rural identity. Their vibrant and visually striking murals, created in collaboration with their brother Derek Simmers, are visible in Calgary’s Inglewood, 17th Avenue, and the Beltline neighbourhoods, and their graphic novel Pass Me by: Gone Fishin' is available at most bookstores. Part of the RBC Emerging Visual Artists Program, Simmers was slated to share their exhibition in the Ledge Gallery this spring.
“I am lucky that my practice is mutable enough to accommodate the changes COVID-19 has brought into our lives. I’m unable to directly engage with the public the way I hoped to through the Ledge Gallery,” says Simmers. “However, I’m working with Arts Commons to revive the open studio aspect of my project as soon as it's safe to do so. From my home studio I’ve been able to stay in contact with my co-author Ryan Danny Owen to maintain production on Electric Vice, so I will have a lot to share once I’m back.”
In the meantime, Simmers has been working hard in their home studio to document the COVID-19 experience through their own artistic practice.
“My response to COVID has been mostly confined to my sketchbook,” says Simmers. “This is a really significant experience and I’m doing my best to record thoughts and feelings surrounding it (both my own and others). It's very rare that the whole world is enveloped in the same crisis and no one is certain about how this unfolds.”
Though some unique and beautiful art has come out of artists going into isolation around the globe, artists have also been on the receiving end of cancelled contracts, lost exhibitions, and postponed projects. It is a difficult reality that most artists are self-employed and there’s often no safety net for them in the case of such an unprecedented situation.
“It’s been a huge relief to have continued support from Arts Commons (as well as AFFTA). Graphic novels take a massive investment of labour (I logged over 1200 hours on Gone Fishin’). At the best of times it can be stressful to find ways to support myself through the process. Thanks to their support I’ve been able to continue working on my project without worrying about how I will keep a roof over my head or put food on the table.”
You can follow Kyle Simmers work by visiting their Instagram page at https://www.instagram.com/kyle_simmers/
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