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Four gallery spaces in Arts Commons have been energized with 13 individual artists spanning the practices of painting, photography, ceramics, and textiles. Take a peek behind-the-scenes to see how these artists make their work come alive at Arts Commons.
It’s your last chance to check out four exhibitions at Arts Commons featured in the visual art galleries throughout the building including the Truth and Reconciliation Exhibition in the +15 Galleries. Showcasing the work of 12 Indigenous artists, these paintings, beadwork, photography, sculpture, and leatherwork pieces serve to reflect on each individual artists’ relationship with the subject and ongoing conversation of Truth and Reconciliation.
The Ledge Gallery at Arts Commons is the current home of Nurgül Rodriguez’ exhibition In the Vessel of my Skin, which delves into the coexistence of body and soul and the conflict that can arise from both sharing space––a concept born and exemplified to her during the pandemic. Immigration, gender disparity, and the desire to belong in a new country are all touched upon in a multitude of ways, each expressed using carefully molded porcelain.
When I graduated from SAIT with a Diploma of Journalism in 2013, my parents gave me a book, Flight of the Hummingbird. It tells a story of a raging fire threatening a forest, where animals of all shapes and sizes flee the wall of flames. Every animal, from the bear to the eagle, lamented on their helplessness in the face of such a tragedy and each proclaimed why it was hopeless to try and fight the fire. Throughout this, a single hummingbird flew from the river, carrying a bead of water in its tiny beak and dropped it on the towering inferno. The bird repeated this until the other animals asked why the hummingbird was doing this, to which it replied. “I’m doing what I can”.
When Peter Moller was a little kid, he went to The Grand theatre to watch his very first movie along with his parents and his brother. The Danish family of four was sitting in the iconic Calgary landmark, built in 1912, feeling comfortable on those green leather seats housed in the same space where audiences had seen The Marx Brothers perform, Nelly McClung speak, and crowds rally for both the Liberal and Conservative parties.
In June 2020 we caught up with artistic duo NASARIMBA, the muralists who’ve been making their mark all throughout Calgary. Since then, Rachel Ziriada and Mikhail Miller have been busy developing their practice and finding new ways to create and interact with their audience, including collaborating with Edmonton-based artist Jill Stanton last summer for the Beltline Urban Murals Project (BUMP) festival and taking part in the RBC Emerging Visual Artists Program. Originally scheduled to work in the Ledge Gallery at Arts Commons, they’ve alternatively migrated their work to a home studio in order to adapt to current restrictions. Needless to say, a pandemic has not meant stagnation in their work.
When you “step” into the virtual Lightbox Studio at Arts Commons, you will notice a large shape greeting you at the door and oversized fabric limbs hanging from the walls of the studio. Soon Darryl Sinclair, multidisciplinary artist, designer, and current resident artist at the Lightbox Studio, will turn that giant shape into a stuffed monster – one that doesn’t feed on typical monster fare, but the messages of stress and anxiety from visitors like you. It’s all part of Darryl’s project Stress is a Monster that Eats me Alive.
When you hear Alberta, what picture comes to mind?
Among the reel of photos you may visualize, one that likely unites all Albertans is our imaginings of the mountains. Let me tell you about my story of the mountains.
Almost straight-out of the womb, my parents took me on a road trip to our beloved Rocky Mountains. Actually, I spent much of my youth travelling our province, and the entire West Coast, in our family minivan. Sometimes in my car seat I sat side-by-side with my great grandmother, other times my napping sister, other times a cousin and so on. At some point or other, all of my grandparents, cousins, aunts, and uncles have spent time in the van - and like most Albertans, our favourite destination has always been the mountains!
