Visual arts & new media

Indigenous relation to the land in amiskwaciwâskahikan (Edmonton) is the subject of a new artwork, Sipikiskisiw (Remembers Far Back) by Michelle Sound, which was coordinated by the Edmonton Arts Council and is currently being installed this week at the Edmonton Transit Service (ETS) shelter located at 10020-100 Street NW.

The transit shelter was recently renewed as the City of Edmonton works toward creating more safe, inclusive, and attractive public spaces for transit riders and the public.

Commissioned in 2022 under the City of Edmonton’s new Public Art Policy, the Edmonton Arts Council worked with three local Indigenous artists/curators to select an artist for this project. Edmonton Arts Council's Public Art Director David Turnbull said, “the new policy allows us to be flexible, responsive, and use curatorially-driven approaches to intentionally grow and develop a public art collection that is high quality, accessible, relevant, and representative of Edmonton’s diverse communities.” 

“We are pleased to partner with Edmonton Arts Council and artist Michelle Sound to display this Indigenous art – which tells a meaningful story of those who were here before Edmonton was a city – in our transit space,” said Carrie Hotton-MacDonald, Branch Manager of Edmonton Transit Service. “Supporting talented artists and displaying their beautiful works of art helps to create more vibrant transit spaces for everyone to enjoy, and this work adds to the inventory of public art and murals in transit spaces.”

Like Sound’s artwork often does, Sipikiskisiw (Remembers Far Back) explores her Cree and Métis identity from a personal experience rooted in family, place and history.

Her artwork for the ETS shelter uses torn copies of archival images of an Indian Affairs Papaschase reserve survey map from 1899 and a photograph taken prior to 1907 of Indigenous men and tipis on the grounds of Fort Edmonton. The artist then mended the torn imagery using embroidery thread, caribou tufting, porcupine quills and beadwork.

The rips in the images are meant to “show the colonial violence that Indigenous people have experienced, including residential schools, intergenerational trauma, loss of language, and displacement from our territories,” explains the artist.

The mending of the images doesn’t fully obscure the rips, shares Sound, just as “the loss, grief, longing, and memory cannot be fully mended and the resiliency required to survive colonialism is also messy and fragile. These losses can never be fully healed but we can process our histories and realities through art, culture and stories.”

In an article about the artwork, Emily Riddle – one of the curators of the project – writes that the land on which the ETS shelter now sits was an important outlook for Indigenous Peoples prior to the construction of downtown Edmonton. Said Riddle, “When the jury met, Michelle Sound was at the top of each of our lists of artists whose work we wanted to see in Edmonton...in stitching together these two archival records with threads, beads, rick rack and tufts, Michelle Sound asks us to imagine a restitched present while we are in transit. On the hill above the site of both these photos, we are very much embedded in this history and in the forever now of a Nehiyaw present.”
 

Title image credit: Photography by Heather Saitz.

Vivek Shraya’s How to Fail as a Popstar heads to CBC 

The theatrical one-person show, created by Albertan artist Vivek Shraya, will feature as an original series on CBC’s free streaming service, Gem. How to Fail as a Popstar is a comedic coming-of-age tale based on the artist’s life.

Shraya will write and star in the show, which will be filmed in Toronto and set for release later this year.

From stage to paperback to screen

The play was originally commissioned and produced by Canadian Stage in Toronto. Shraya’s play debuted in 2020 with a print edition of the script released in 2021. The show has appeared on several Canadian stages with upcoming tour dates in Quebec in February 2023 and played internationally in Ireland and Germany.

Multi-disciplinary artist

Shraya’s many talents are showcased in literature, music, film, visual art, theatre and fashion. The Edmonton-born artist has music featured in the HBO Max show Sort Of and her book, I’m Afraid of Men, was profiled in Vanity Fair.

Representation in the AFA Art Collection 

The AFA acquired Shraya’s work Trauma Clown in 2020, adding to our ever-growing and increasingly diverse collection.

Vivek Shraya  
Trauma Clown, 2019 
Photograph on paper 
Collection of the Alberta Foundation for the Arts

On September 29, 2022, we marked the 50th Anniversary of the AFA Art Collection. As part of the celebrations, we are sharing snippets from the history of the collection. 
Learn more about the celebrations! 

By Gail Lint, Arts Collections Consultant

In 2008 and 2009, the AFA supported a special curatorial initiative focused on building the holdings of the AFA Art Collection with contemporary Indigenous art. The initiative addressed the work of senior artists not properly represented in the collection, as well as a new generation of artists who are now making an impact.

For this initiative, artworks were acquired through a variety of sources. Curatorial assessment and recommendations by Indigenous artist Dr. Joane Cardinal-Schubert were an invaluable part of the process. Through Joane’s insight, wisdom and guidance, the artworks acquired have significantly enhanced the AFA's holdings.

Creating new relationships with Indigenous artists

Joane provided an avenue to acquire artworks by Indigenous artists unknown to the AFA Art Collection prior to 2008.

2008.085.001 Aaron Paquette, Aniti Anemos 2007, acrylic & gold leaf on canvas, AFA Art Collection

Through her mentoring and respected reputation in the art community she approached both established and emerging artists, conducting interviews and studio visits. She presented recommendations for curatorial acquisition into the AFA Art Collection.

Through the efforts of Joane, balanced by additional curatorial recommendations from the Collection’s Acquisition Working Group, the Indigenous curatorial initiative increased the AFA holdings by an incredible 73 artworks over a two-year period. 

2009.021.002 David Garneau, At the Fiddle Camp 2009, acrylic on canvas, AFA Art Collection

Narrative Quest exhibition

In celebration of Alberta Culture Days in September 2009, the AFA created an exhibtion of artworks by Indigenous artists entitled Narrative Quest. It was displayed in the gallery at the Capital Arts Building in Edmonton.

Curated by AFA Art Collections Consultant Gail Lint, Narrative Quest featured a selection of 60 artworks by 22 Indigenous artists from the AFA Art Collection, and included several of the artworks acquired through the Indigenous curatorial initiative.

2008.086.004 George Littlechild, Cross Cultural Examination #2 2007, ink jet print on paper,  AFA Art Collection

The exhibition combined a variety of traditional and contemporary styles in diverse media. The prevalent themes in these artworks are often based on storytelling.

These are stories that have been shared by the elders, stories of a search for understanding and meaning, stories of identity and belonging, and stories retold to preserve a threatened culture. They are stories immersed in the past, reflective of the present and hopeful for the future

The passing of Dr. Joane Cardinal-Schubert

On September 16, 2009 while installing the Narrative Quest exhibition in the Arts Branch gallery for the Alberta Culture Days celebration, word reached the staff that Joane Cardinal-Schubert had passed away.

2008.106.004 Joane Cardinal-Schubert, Flutterby (Birchbark Letter) 1998, mixed media on canvas, AFA Art Collection

Until that day, there had been no indication from Joane that she was ailing. She was determined to complete her curatorial contract and source artworks for the AFA Art Collection and, through her valiant commitment, she introduced new artists and assisted in building the representation of senior Indigenous artists.

The next day, during the official opening of the Narrative Quest exhibition, which was accompanied by a traditional smudge led by an Indigenous elder, there was a large raven sitting on top of the Capital Arts building above the location of the gallery. It was believed that Joane attended the ceremony in spirit.

The Narrative Quest exhibition was dedicated to the memory of Joane Cardinal-Schubert (1942 – 2009).

 “Let the next 
Generation 
be born 
with the knowledge 
of what has passed.”

(excerpt from the poem Keeper by Joane Cardinal-Schubert)

Narrative Quest on tour

Narrative Quest Exhibition (installation view) Capital Arts Gallery, Edmonton (Sept. 2009)

After the Culture Days exhibition at Capital Arts Building in 2009, Narrative Quest toured to:

• the Royal Alberta Museum in Edmonton
• the Red Deer Museum and Art Gallery (edited selection)
• the Museum of Contemporary Art in Calgary (edited selection)
• the Art Gallery of Grande Prairie

An edited selection of 32 artworks from the Narrative Quest exhibition then travelled to the Embassy of Canada, Prince Takamado Gallery in Tokyo, Japan (November 25, 2014 to February 27, 2015). It was met with critical acclaim.

Joane's ongoing legacy

In 2016, the National Gallery of Canada hosted a major retrospective exhibition featuring Alberta’s celebrated Indigenous artist from Cold Lake: Alex Janvier: Modern Indigenous Master (November 25, 2016 to April 17, 2017). 

Nine AFA artworks by Alex Janvier were included in the exhibition. Almost half of these artworks were acquired through recommendations by Dr. Joane Cardinal-Schubert.

2009.001.004 Alex Janvier, Untitled 2009, acrylic on canvas, AFA Art Collection

In 2017 the Nickle Galleries at the University of Calgary hosted a major retrospective of Dr. Joane Cardinal-Schubert: The Writing on the Wall. It was the first retrospective since her passing in 2009.

19 artworks from the AFA's holdings and an additional two artworks from the Government House collection were loaned for inclusion in the exhibition. An edited selection of these artworks toured to four other galleries across Canada until 2020.

1989.025.001 Joane Cardinal-Schubert, Moonlight Sonota: In the Beginning 1989, oil on canvas, AFA Art Collection

In part two of our look back at the tremendous impact Joane has had on the AFA Art Collection, we will take a look at the AFA's Fellowship for Indigenous Curators and the next generation of acquisitions by Indigenous artists. 

^{Image credit: Dr. Joane Cardinal-Schubert. Photo by JustinJHCSchubert (own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (Open license)], via Wikimedia Commons.
Image cropped and combined with photo of Becca Taylor for this web page, and the AFA's 50th Anniversary branding has been added.
Photo of Becca Taylor is by Katy Whitt Photography}

On September 29, 2022, we marked the 50th Anniversary of the AFA Art Collection. As part of the celebrations, we are sharing snippets from the history of the collection.

Learn more about the celebrations!

In part two of our look back at the impact Dr. Joane Cardinal-Schubert has had on the AFA Art Collection, we look at the Fellowship for Indigenous Curators and the next generation of acquisitions by Indigenous artists. Read part one. 

AFA creates the Dr. Joane Cardinal-Schubert Fellowship for Indigenous Curators

In 2018, the AFA announced a one-time fellowship designed to support the growth and development of curatorial talent and enhance representation of Indigenous artists in the AFA Art Collection. 

The project’s intention was to bring a new perspective to art acquisition at the AFA and build on previous work undertaken by the late Dr. Joane Cardinal-Schubert, who provided curatorial consultation to the AFA in 2008 and 2009. The fellowship was named in her honour. 

After a competitive application process, the AFA was pleased to announce that Becca Taylor was awarded Dr. Joane Cardinal-Schubert Fellowship for Indigenous Curators.

About Becca

Becca Taylor is a curator and multi-disciplinary artist with Cree, Scottish and Irish descent. According to her application, her curatorial practice involves investigations of Indigenous community building, Indigenous feminisms, methodologies of gathering and ephemera of living actions.

She was awarded the Aboriginal curator-in-residence, from the Canada Council in 2015, a 12-month residency at Urban Shaman gallery in Winnipeg where she curated Traces (2016.) In 2016-17 she was the Indigenous Curatorial Research Practicum at the Banff Centre, curating A light left on (2016.)

Notably, Becca co-curated the 4th iteration of La Biennale d’art contemporain autochtone (BACA) with Niki Little, entitled níchiwamiskwém | nimidet | my sister | ma sœur (2018), co-led land-based residency, Common Opulence (2018), in Northern Alberta and curated Mothering Spaces (2019) at the Mitchell Art Gallery.

Becca is the Executive Director of Ociciwan Contemporary Art Collective in Edmonton.

The project

Becca’s final report, Kahkekwask / From Here to There was completed in June 2019. It provided the AFA with a variety of recommendations to broaden the AFA Art Collection to represent more Indigenous artists and artworks through all acquisition programs, as well as to offer greater support for Indigenous artists, including through building relationships and trust with Indigenous communities. 

Since the report was completed, the AFA has acquired nearly fifty artworks by Indigenous artists through curatorial purchase, donation, and the Art Acquisition by Application program. Some highlighted artists and artworks include...

MJ Belcourt

2022.032.001 MJ Belcourt, First Fruits, n.d., smoked moose hide, glass seed beads, thread, fabric

MJ Belcourt is a certified Native Art Instructor, curator, and Indigenous artist residing in Treaty 6 territory. Her mixed Métis ancestry is Mohawk, Cree, and French with family ties to the Michel Band and the community of Lac St. Anne. Through a desire to build a closer connection and understanding of her Métis bloodline, Belcourt has remained naturally drawn to the traditional Indigenous arts of her ancestors.

She works in a variety of Indigenous art forms including beadwork, porcupine quill, fish scale, moose and caribou hair, and the art of creating natural dyes.

2022.032.002 MJ Belcourt, Pass System, n.d., smoked moose hide, glass seed beads, tin cones, thread

In 2022-23, the AFA acquired two artworks from MJ Belcourt: First Fruits and Pass System. Both are native tanned smoked moose hide pouches embellished with beading and other traditional decorative elements.

Lauren Crazybull

2019.035.002 Lauren Crazybull, Self Portrait, 2018, acrylic on board

Lauren Crazybull is a Niitsítapi (Member of Kainai First Nation), Dené artist. Lauren won the 2020 Eldon & Anne Foote prize, 2020 Lieutenant Governors Emerging Artist Award and was shortlisted for the Kingston Portrait Prize in 2019. In 2019, they were selected as the first Alberta Artist in Residence/Arts Ambassador. Lauren currently resides in Vancouver, having recently completed her MFA at Emily Carr University of Art + Design. 

In her work, Lauren considers Indigenous presence and multiplicity through paintings, creating worlds where honest portrayals trespass onto romantic representations of Indigeneity. Working primarily in portraiture, a long-standing genre that is often embedded with an imbalance of power between the artist/viewer and sitter, Lauren seeks to examine the relationship between herself as an artist and the individuals she paints. 

The AFA has acquired two artworks by Lauren Crazybull as of 2023.

Kablusiak

2021.017.001 Kablusiak, Piliutiyara (Saltwater Taffy), 2020, photograph with backlit film in lightbox

Kablusiak is a multidisciplinary Inuvialuk artist and curator who uses Inuk ingenuity to create work in a variety of mediums including, but not limited to, lingerie, white flour, soapstone, permanent marker, bed sheets, felt, acrylic paint, and words. Kablusiak holds a BFA in Drawing from the Alberta University of the Arts in Mohkinstsis, where they are currently based.

Their work explores the dis/connections between existence in the Inuitdiaspora while maintaining family and community ties, the impacts of colonization on Inuit gender and sexuality expressions, as well as on health and wellbeing, and the everyday.

2021.017.001 Kablusiak, Piliutiyara (Saltwater Taffy), 2020, photograph with backlit film in lightbox (alternate view)

In 2021, Kablusiak was part of a team of four Inuit curators who curated the inaugural exhibition for Qaumajuq, entitled INUA. In all of their creative work Kablusiak seeks to demystify Inuit art and create the space for Inuit-led representation of the diverse aspects of Inuit cultures.  

The AFA Art Collection holds 26 artworks by Kablusiak in 2023.

Dwayne Martineau

2021.013.001 Dwayne Martineau, Strange Jury #2, 2021, photograph on backlit film

Dwayne Martineau is an Edmonton based visual artist and musician. He is a treaty member of Frog Lake First Nation, descended from Plains Cree, Métis, and early French and Scottish settlers.

He enjoys seeing the world like a child full of discovery. Also, he approaches the world with a critical mind, seeking both truth and wonder. His visual arts practice began with experimental landscape photography, and has evolved to include videography and immersive large-scale art installations.

The AFA acquired Strange Jury #2 as part of the 2021 cycle of the Art Acquisition by Application program. This artwork is one of five artworks included in the Strange Jury Series. When installed in a gallery, five giant prints are hung in a circle off the ground to depict five characters of the forest with animistic faces.

Jessie Ray Short

2019.039.001 Jessie Ray Short, WAKE UP!, 2019, experimental film, 5:57 mins

Jessie Ray Short is an artist, filmmaker and independent curator of Métis, Ukranian and German descent whose cross-disciplinary practice involves memory, visual culture and Métis history.

She has shown her work nationally and internationally, including at the Banff Centre for the Arts, Agnes Etherington Art Centre in Kingston, at La Chambre Blanche in Québec City, Art Mûr Berlin (a satellite exhibition of the Contemporary Native Art Biennial/BACA) in Germany, and at the Wairoa Maori Film Festival in New Zealand.

As a curator, she has had the opportunity to work on various projects most notably Jade Carpenter: Mourn at City of Calgary Open Spaces Gallery and Mixed Berries: Amanda Strong and Bracken Hanuse Corlett at Gallery 2, Grand Forks, BC. She has worked for the Ociciwan Contemporary Art Collective, based in Edmonton, and for TRUCK Contemporary Art in Calgary.

WAKE UP! is an example of media artwork included in the AFA Art Collection. In the film, a Métis woman explores identity by transforming herself into one of the only widely known Métis icons, a man named Louis Riel, who lived over 100 years ago.

Read Becca Taylor's 2018 curatorial statement for the fellowship:

Alberta has an expansive and diverse Indigenous community living in and outside of it.  The changing landscapes within Alberta have different pieces of knowledge and teachings reflecting across the terrains; with different Indigenous groups living either in rural or urban settings, or both, whose lived experiences are reflected within their work. Some artists have formal institutional education, some with education from the land and our ancestors; but we all have an inherent perspective and embodied knowledge of what it means to be an Indigenous person living in Alberta.

For the next 6-months, my curatorial research will be based on my teachings of the medicine wheel. Looking at artists from the different quadrants of Alberta, as well as, a range of professional experience within each quadrant, from emerging to established artists; learning from and listening to the different perspectives and insights from different regions, nations, ages and experiences.

I view this research project to be as informed and diverse as possible to reflect the extraordinary past, present and future of Indigenous contemporary art in Alberta. Through conversation and travel, I anticipate meeting many more artists whom I do not know at this moment. Using my resources and community in Alberta to expand my knowledge of artists working here and those who have lived here and made an impact while doing so.

Continuing legacy

Through the foundational work provided by Dr. Joane Cardinal-Schubert, built upon by Becca Taylor, and through continuing engagement with Indigenous artists, Elders and communities of practice, the AFA is pleased to continue to increase representation of Indigenous art in the AFA Art Collection.

See our current holdings of Indigenous artworks through the AFA Virtual Museum. 

On September 29, 2022, we marked the 50th Anniversary of the AFA Art Collection. As part of the celebrations, we are sharing snippets from the history of the collection. Learn more about the celebrations! 

By Gail Lint and Kristin Stoesz, Art Collections Consultants

From High Level in the North, to the Milk River in the South, and virtually everywhere in between, the AFA's Travelling Exhibition Program (TREX) works to bring Albertan art to all corners of the province, one crate at a time.

False start?

In the early days of the program (1972), the Department of Youth, Culture, and Recreation offered travelling exhibitions to Albertan communities with the intent of developing the visual arts in Alberta. The program ended around the same time the Edmonton Art Gallery (now the Art Gallery of Alberta) began offering regional exhibitions.

The gallery initially circulated exhibitions to northern Alberta but later they expanded the program through the Southern Alberta Art Gallery (SAAG) to other parts of the province.  Facing budget cuts in the mid 1980s, the Edmonton Art Gallery terminated the travelling exhibition program in favour of its in-house programs.

Opportunity knocks

Image from 1985-1986 Alberta Art Foundation (AAF) Annual Report

Seeing an opportunity to resurrect the travelling exhibition program in 1980, the Alberta Art Foundation (AAF) developed a “Caravan Exhibition Program” to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the province.

• the AAF was one of three government foundations that were amalgamated to form the AFA in 1991

There were four exhibitions developed, one featuring works from the AAF's collection and three using works from other public and private collections. Exhibitions were showcased in refurbished truck trailer “galleries” and were circulated by the Glenbow Museum in Calgary. 

When the year of celebration finished, the AAF opted to continue circulating the exhibitions while developing new exhibitions using its art collection. 

Image from 1979-1980 AAF Annual Report

Rocky road

In 1987, due to budget and staff reductions, the AAF decided to contract the program out to galleries, allowing an expansion of the types of exhibitions offered to communities. 

The TREX Program format as it operates today started with the Edmonton Art Gallery creating exhibitions and coordinating the program, and the Prairie Art Gallery, the Muttart Gallery (later to become the Art Gallery of Calgary), and the Southern Alberta Art Gallery contracted to create exhibitions.

Unfortunately, the first attempts to coordinate were rocky. Extended periods between staff appointments, delays in exhibition development, and problems with the regional exchange of exhibitions left the program in limbo.

Image from 1987-1988 AAF Annual Report

Renewal

With the TREX contract up for renewal in 1995, the newly formed Alberta Foundation for the Arts revamped the program and took on the role of provincial coordinator.

In 1997 a call for tenders was sent to all public and institutional galleries as well as all provincial visual arts organizations. The proposals were reviewed by the AFA’s Art Collections Committee with the assistance of an independent consultant. 

The Board approved four, three-year contracts to the Prairie Art Gallery in Zone 1, Harcourt House Art Centre in Zone 2, The Art Gallery of Calgary in Zone 3 and the Medicine Hat Museum and Art Gallery in Zone 4. 

Beginning in 1998, Metro Media (Metro Cinema) was contracted to offer a provincial touring program of Alberta media arts. This later developed into the Prairie Tales film series until the media arts program was transferred out of TREX in 2014.

Image from 1979-1980 AAF Annual Report

Modern TREX

In 2000, a call for tenders was again released to the public and the contract for TREX  Zone 1 was awarded to the Prairie Art Gallery (now the Art Gallery of Grande Prairie), Zone 2 was awarded to the Edmonton Art Gallery (now the Art Gallery of Alberta), Zone 3 to the Art Gallery of Calgary (now Contemporary Calgary), and Zone 4 to the Medicine Hat Museum and Art Gallery (now the Esplanade Arts and Heritage Centre). 

In January of 2002, the Art Gallery of Calgary requested that they be released from the balance of their contract, as its board felt that the program no longer fit into their gallery’s mandate. Based on the jury recommendations from the last call for tenders, the AFA offered the Alberta Society of Artists the opportunity to take over the balance of the contract for Zone 3.

These four regional organizations continue to coordinate the program to this day:

• The Art Gallery of Grande Prairie - Northwest Alberta
• Art Gallery of Alberta - Northeast and North Central Alberta
• Alberta Society of Artists - Southwest Alberta
• Esplanade Arts & Heritage Centre - Southeast Alberta

2016 TREX Art Exhibit Opening: Dreaming With My 'Great Mother'... from Region 2, Art Gallery of Alberta

50th Anniversary exhibitions

The AFA is pleased to have worked with its Travelling Exhibitions (TREX) partners to support the curation of special 50th Anniversary themed exhibitions, which will tour across Alberta until 2025.

• TREX Southwest (Alberta Society of Artists) – “Montageries”
• TREX Southeast (Esplanade Arts & Heritage Centre) – “Party On!”

Find out whether an AFA Travelling Exhibition is in your community by connecting with our regional TREX providers. 

Looking forward

Having toured the province for decades in its many incarnations, TREX has become an integral part of the culture of the province. The AFA  continues to facilitate growth and change in TREX to respond to the needs of our communities.

We have art and will travel, who knows where we will go next!

See how the AFA cares for an exquisite new acquisition by Métis Cree visual artist, Sharon Rose Kootenay, and the different steps we take to document, catalogue and preserve her work for the benefit of all Albertans.

The artworks in the AFA Art Collection mean so much to the artists, to the staff that work with them, and to the many, many Albertans who have an opportunity to view them through exhibitions, art placement programs, or even online in our Virtual Museum.

Watch:

50th Anniversary of the AFA Art Collection

Established in 1972, the AFA Art Collection is a unique representation of the history, development and achievements of Alberta's visual arts community. Today, the AFA is proud to manage one of the strongest, most active provincial art collections in Canada.

On September 29, 2022, the AFA began celebration for the 50th Anniversary of the establishment of the AFA Art Collection. Learn more about how we are celebrating throughout 2022 and 2023.

We are proud to diligently care and work with each of our more than 9,000 artworks in Alberta's public art collection. This is the second episode of a five-part series about the AFA Art Collection.

• Watch episode 1 of the series, Building a Collection, on YouTube

Videos produced by Hidden Story Productions.

To celebrate 25 years of the AFA, we’re taking a look back at how we came to be, favourite milestones, and some of the amazing artists we’ve encountered along the way. 

By Erin McDonald, Manager, Art Collections

National Gallery of Canada via Wikimedia Commons

For many Canadian visual artists, having works exhibited in public galleries is a significant achievement – an affirmation of their artistic vision, public recognition, and a door to more opportunity. Thus, a solo retrospective exhibition at the National Gallery of Canada (NGC) may well represent the peak of a period of an artist’s career. For two Albertan artists, this is certainly true.

Calgary-based Chris Cran and Cold Lake’s Alex Janvier each have noteworthy, full-career retrospective shows coming up at the NGC, Canada’s premiere public collection of historic and contemporary visual art.

More important than the simple fact that two Alberta artists are being recognized is the fact that they are the first Alberta contemporary artist and the first Alberta aboriginal artist to receive solo retrospective exhibitions in the Gallery’s nearly 140 year history. Artworks from the AFA’s Art Collection are some of the featured treasures within both shows.

In the national collection that houses significant and notable works by legends including Dali, Rembrandt, Rodin and Canada’s own Thomson and Colville, Cran and Janvier take centre stage and shine brightly as two of Alberta’s most talented artists.

Sincerely Yours

The exhibition title is as tongue-in-cheek as most of Cran’s original artwork; his playful, humorous and inventive takes on still life, portraiture, landscape and abstraction. His work is known for “challenging perception and understanding of major movements such as Pop Art, Op Art, Modernist Abstraction and Photorealism. Cran playfully combines art history with imagery borrowed from popular culture.” (via the National Gallery)

Curated collaboratively between the Art Gallery of Alberta and the NGC, the exhibition wowed audiences in Edmonton in the fall of 2015, and then travelled to Ottawa for a May 2016 opening. The retrospective, on display until Labour Day 2016, is the most comprehensive exhibition on Cran ever produced. It spans 40 years and 100 artworks: 4 belonging to the AFA art collection, including the quirky portrait Family from The Self Portrait Series.

1988.052.001 Chris Cran Family, 1987, oil on canvas, AFA Collection

Cran has continued to explore the very nature of painting itself, through his varied series’ of work, incorporating digital technology, abstraction and many layers of meaning. In The Metaphysics of Admiration, Cran incorporates homage to the pixelated pop art of Lichtenstein, the frame from his own Framing Device Paintings, and a perhaps as nod to both his early self-portrait series and his own self-awareness: his own image is reflected in the mirror.

2003.036.001 Chris Cran, The Metaphysics of Admiration, 2002, oil, acrylic on canvas, AFA collection

Alex Janvier

A founding member of the original “Indian Group of Seven”, Alex Janvier is known as one of Alberta’s most significant artists. As both a visual artist and advocate, Janvier introduced contemporary aboriginal art to the Canadian art world in the 1970s.

A survivor of the Blue Quill Residential Indian School, Janvier is both prolific and poignant. Janvier created for himself a unique style, featuring clear influences of modernist abstraction merged with the rich cultural and spiritual traditions from his indigenous heritage. Janvier’s work is easily identified.

1975.014.001 Alex Janvier The Sky Begins, 1974 acrylic on canvas, AFA Collection

As an artist, Janvier has had a long and very successful career, including his role as an in-demand artist for high-profile public art commissions. From his very first public art commission at the Muttart Conservatory in Edmonton, to his 450m² masterpiece entitled Morning Star in the dome of the Grand Hall of the Canadian Museum of History, Janvier is treasured for his distinctive curved lines and use of bright, and often symbolic, colour. To his name, Janvier has seven public murals across the country, including Iron Foot Place, a nearly 14m diameter circular mosaic to be set in the floor of the Winter Garden for the new Rogers Place (Edmonton).

Admitted to the Royal Canadian Academy of the Arts in 1992, Janvier is a true pioneer for aboriginal artists in Canada. He paved the way for generations of indigenous artists by breaking down barriers and eschewing stereotypes of what it means to be aboriginal and an abstract painter. Throughout his career, he has made significant contributions to Indigenous visual culture: as an art instructor, a cultural adviser, and as a member of the Indian Group of Seven.

Following three major retrospectives of indigenous Canadian artists, Norval Morrisseau (2006), Daphne Odjig (2009), and Carl Beam (2010), Alex Janvier’s work will take centre stage in the National Gallery of Canada in late 2016. The exhibition brings together more than 75 of Janvier’s most impressive works from early in his career in the 1960s to present. Celebrating Janvier’s unique approach, works on paper, canvas, and linen will show off his range of elegant abstractions.

 A total of nine artworks from the AFA collection holdings are being prepared for transport to Ottawa for the show. These include some of Janvier’s most well-executed abstract works, along with one of his most representational works, Apple Factory (1989). Apple Factory is a stark and poignant statement on the effect of residential schools on generations of indigenous children in Canada.

1989.123.001 Alex Janvier Apple Factory, 1989 acrylic on canvas, AFA Collection

The AFA is proud to support many Alberta visual artists by lending our holdings to other institutions; in 2016 we are committed to at least fourteen exhibitions with our partners, including the National Gallery. 

To celebrate 25 years of the AFA, we’re taking a look back at how we came to be, favourite milestones, and some of the amazing artists we’ve encountered along the way. 

By Gail Lint, Art Collections Consultant

October 1^st, 2016 will celebrate the second year of the AFA Public Art Commission Program. The program is designed to assist not-for-profit organizations to administer and commission site specific public art projects. The final artwork becomes part of the AFA collection and is installed on long-term loan with the organization. The artwork is readily accessible and enhances public space often evolving into a community landmark.

Although the program has only been in existence for the past 2 years art commissions are not a new form of acquisition for the AFA collection. The new Public Art Commission Program evolved from past partnerships with other art organizations in the province.

It really began in 2007 in the beautiful Rocky Mountains with the Banff Centre in partnership with the AFA to commemorate the 75^th anniversary of the creation of the Banff Centre. Both institutions provided funding to commission an artwork for the AFA collection which remains on public display on the grounds of the Centre. The commission process involved an invitational competition of 6 Alberta artists reviewed through a peer jury process.

Mark Clintberg was awarded the commission for the outdoor installation Meet Me in the Woods, 2010.  Read a descriptor of the artwork:

Mark Clintberg, Meet Me in the Woods, 2010, polyurethane paint, reflective vinyl on aluminium

Mark Clintberg, Meet Me in the Woods, 2010, polyurethane paint, reflective vinyl on aluminium

Mark Clintberg, Meet Me in the Woods, 2010, (reverse of the signage for Meet Me in the Woods)

The next art commission partnership takes us to the southeast corner of the province to the “Hat”. The commission partnership with the Esplanade Arts and Heritage Centre in Medicine Hat began in 2009 with an invitational competition sent to 5 Alberta artists seeking an installation to grace the grounds of the front entrance of the newly constructed Esplanade.

The commission was awarded to Calgary based artist Blake Senini for his sculpture Turn, Turn, Turn (A Resting Place) which was unveiled to the public October 1^st, 2011 coinciding with the 4^th Alberta Arts Days celebrations (now Alberta Culture Days).

From the artist’s statement on the artwork:

“Turn Turn Turn

To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

A time to be born, and a time to die, a time to plant and time to pluck up that which is planted….

Pete Seeger’s 1959 song sums up this sculpture’s underlying themes: a series of contrasts that provoke different, even opposing interpretations. The wing forms are derived from the wings of an arctic tern enlarged to human scale. Their arrangement spirals upward yet remains grounded to the earth and resembles other structures familiar to southeastern Alberta such as haystacks, wood fires, teepees and mountains.

Turn Turn Turn is a place to relax and contemplate the thoughts that it may evoke in the visitor; a place to sit and watch events, both natural and of the human kind, a resting place.”

Blake Senini

Blake Senini, Turn Turn Turn (A Resting Place), 2011, aluminium and concrete

During the same time frame as the development of the Esplanade commission project there were two other AFA commissions in the making. We now find ourselves in the Southern (Calgary) and Northern (Edmonton) Jubilee Auditoria built in 1955 to commemorate the Golden Jubilee of the province. Through a partnership with Alberta Jubilee Auditoria Society (AJAS) and the AFA two new artworks were commissioned for the AFA collection. The commission was an invitational call to 20 artists for an artwork for each of the buildings to be installed on the grand staircase leading from the main floor to the 1^st balcony. Commissions were awarded to Canmore artist and sculptor Tony Bloom for the Northern Jubilee (NAJA) and Edmonton based artist and printmaker Liz Ingram for the Southern Jubilee (SAJA) – that’s right the south journeyed north and the north travelled south!!

Tony Bloom’s wall mounted sculpture Fanfare “echoes the fan shape of Greek amphitheaters with a structural surface that represents the language used in theatre: music scores, lyrics, dance notation, lighting, “plots”, scripts, stage directions etc.”

Tony Bloom, Fanfare, 2011, copper, bronze, silver, stainless steel

Liz Ingram’s Confluence Through the Looking Glass is an ambitious printed installation and monumental wall piece that incorporates the human figure in motion and the elements of water and sky at different times of day. The artist states: “The beauty of the human body in motion and the portrayal of dancers in action relate directly to activities that often occur on the stages of the Jubliee. The background images of the atmosphere, clouds, sky and water relate to our environment and are developed from the space we inhabit in Alberta.”

Liz Ingram, Confluence Through the Looking Glass, 2011, dye sublimation digital prints, polyester, tempered glass, techno graphic interlayer polyester, aluminium, steel 

Both of these artworks are on public display in the Jubilee Auditoria and if you have not had an opportunity to experience them either attend an event or visit the buildings during the daytime, introduce yourself to the security guard and enrich your day with some amazing Alberta public art.

Other commissioned AFA artworks that have been produced in partnership with public art facilities include Hunting Blind 2011, a collaborative installation by Robin Arsenault and Paul Jackson installed on the outdoor terrace of the Art Gallery of Alberta in Edmonton;

Robin Arsenault and Paul Jackson, Hunting Blind, 2011, mixed media

Acclaimed and internationally celebrated artist David Hoffos’ new media installation installed for external viewing at the new CASA community art facility in Lethbridge;

David Hoffos, The People in the Window, 2014, 3 channel video & mixed media installation

The Art Gallery of Grande Prairie in celebration of their new world class facility has recently installed an outdoor night viewing projection, also by artist David Hoffos entitled Night School, 2011-2015 commissioned through a partnership with the AFA.

The new downtown Centre for Arts and Communication located at MacEwan University (which replaced the west end campus) unveiled a major commission by Edmonton-based artist and MacEwan alumni, Brenda Draney in 2017.

So keep your eyes open for public art next time you are out and about in Alberta…it has been created for your enjoyment!

Before any AFA artwork is sent out for an exhibition or loan, it is thoroughly assessed to make sure it is in good condition—and that includes ensuring the artwork is clean.

So what does it take to get an artwork in show-worthy shape? A little elbow grease, distilled water and a vacuum!

Art Collections Manager Erin McDonald shows us how to go about cleaning an artwork—in this case, it’s Arlene Stamp’s Nova, which is going to the Glenbow for an upcoming exhibition. Nova is comprised of vinyl tile (the kind you’d find on kitchen floors), and the medium determines what cleaning technique will be best.

First, Erin removes any surface dust using a hand-held, manual air blower to lift the dust from the surface, followed by a light vacuuming.

The next step is to apply a cleaning agent. The least invasive cleaning agent is always the first choice; in this case, it's starting with distilled water. Very carefully, Erin applies the cleaner to the surface of the artwork and wipes it using a fine, microfiber cloth.   

Erin will not use a spray bottle to apply the water, as she doesn’t want to oversaturate the artwork and have water seep into the wood support of the artwork.

Erin will repeat this process, square by square, until finished—which will take approximately eight hours.

See more of Arlene Stamp’s artwork in the AFA collection.

The Alberta Foundation for the Arts is pleased to be a funding partner in this collaboration with Stone-Olafson and other community leaders to develop a long-term research investigation and evaluate how current conditions will reshape Albertans’ attitudes and behaviours towards social and group activities, across a variety of sectors. The purpose of this work is to give leaders of community sports, recreation, arts and culture, professional sports, active living, heritage, tourism or hospitality sectors relevant facts about local audiences that they will need to bring life back to our communities.

The initiative is being funded by: 

• ActiveCITY Collective
• Alberta Foundation for the Arts 
• Angus Reid
• ATB
• Calgary Arts Development 
• Calgary Foundation
• Edmonton Arts Council
• Edmonton Community Foundation
• Rozsa Foundation
• Stone-Olafson
• Travel Alberta

​This research is being conducted in six waves over the course of the next year. This is a community resource that is FREE to access and results from the second wave of research are now available. The second wave of research builds on the baseline established in May and June by delving into attitudes on comfort, spending, the impact of media, and audience expectations.

Findings and implications for Alberta organizations through Wave 2 results include:

• Support for the pace of re-opening grows but there are still lingering pockets of disagreement.
• Comfort levels are creating a new baseline of engagement.
• Increasing gaps are appearing between audience segments on the pandemic.
• As restrictions lift, Albertans are pulled by their social motivations and perceptions of safety outdoors.
• Engagement is (potentially) perishable.
• Staying connected will mean the development of innovative and hybrid experiences.
• In a crowded media space, audiences are still listening.
• Spending is obviously being impacted

The report makes the following recommendations for organizations:

• Comfort levels are not rebounding just because restrictions are lifting. Organizations need to temper expectations about reconnecting with audiences. You will not be reengaging them in the same you used to. It will take time and it will look different. Plan on it and prepare.
• Getting audiences comfortable enough to attend is vital. Some of this will rebound over time, and some will be addressed by government, but there are opportunities to build confidence in what you are doing to safeguard their health. Show the steps you are taking and the tools being employed to protect audiences. Building confidence with what you are doing will help increase comfort and, in turn, consideration.
• Audiences and markets are changing. There are new barriers to address and consider. Organizations will need to understand shifting mindsets of different target audiences in order to engage effectively. This could be a deep opportunity to engage for many organizations who can capitalize on their motivations and expectations.
• Find your voice. Audiences are listening closely for news around the pandemic and are eager for updates, information or promotions. They want to know when experiences will be available again and are receptive to traditional marketing messages again. In fact, they expect it.
• Adapting means developing new product and experiences to consume. Staying put or offering what you used to won’t necessarily work. Organizations that can move into hybrid offers (not simply digital alone or in-person alone) that still leverage intrinsic motivations will be well positioned to protect their revenue from competition.

Download the reports:

• Alberta Report
• Calgary Report
• Edmonton Report

You can subscribe to receive notifications when the new reports are available by visiting stone-olafson.com.