ESTEVAN - The Estevan Art Gallery and Museum offers many ways for patrons to enjoy the world of art.
With two new exhibits on display, the EAGM is welcoming the community to join them.
Unsettled by Belinda Harrow and The Flower People by Melanie Monique Rose will be at the Galleries I and II, respectively, until March 25.
According to Harrow's artist statement, over the last 10 years, animals have had a strong presence in her practice. She is particularly interested in the precarious area where human and animal habitats overlap. Applying her settler point of view, she explores indigenous and invasive flora and fauna through drawing, painting and sculpture. She is influenced by her colonial family history and from her own immigrant experiences in the northern hemisphere (Turtle Island in Ontario) and southern hemisphere (Aotearoa in New Zealand).
"Driven from the prairie as land has been converted from grassland to farmland, much fauna including rabbits, gophers, beavers and coyotes now live on the periphery of our cities, sharing our urban space within our architectural gaps. We navigate our lives within urban spaces, moving about to self-imposed codes of conduct within socially defined parameters while animals conform and adjust around us, maintaining an uneasy harmony.
“These animals provide us with an opportunity to remember this space before colonial contact and examine our current post-colonial urban space that we share and consider what the future might bring for us all," Harrow said in the statement.
Harrow was born in Christchurch, New Zealand, then immigrated to Saskatchewan at the age of three. She works in painting, sculpture, printmaking and drawing. Harrow has completed artist residencies in Scotland as well as in Canada, including the Yukon and Inuvik. Her work has been exhibited in group and solo exhibitions in Canada, New Zealand, England, China and Thailand. She lives and works in Regina.
Rose's exhibition is organized and circulated by the Organization of Saskatchewan Arts Councils.
"The Flower People is a story about me, my family, my people and our connection and relationship to the land, ourselves and each other. It is derived from the name 'The Flower Beadwork People,' a name given to the Métis who are well known for their floral beadwork," said Rose in her artist statement.
"Felted pieces, combined with the use of collected blankets create a canvas for my personal exploration of identity as a contemporary Indigenous artist, alongside my Ukrainian heritage. My floral imagery invokes stories of people, place and the land. Personal, cultural and universal symbolism are woven into the fabric of my work with an emphasis on movement, colour and narrative.
"The slow, process-orientated execution of felting becomes meditative and at times acts as healing and a prayer to my family and community. My most recent works are personal acts of Indigenous survivance and solidarity," Rose said in her statement.
Rose is a visual artist from Regina and a long-time contributing member of Sâkêwêwak Artists' Collective Inc. Rose has exhibited her artwork in both group and solo exhibitions nationally. In addition to showing her work, Rose has worked in the province as a gallery facilitator, story-keeper and art instructor for the Mackenzie Art Gallery and teaches workshops at both public and private institutions.
In 2018 her daughter Meadow Rose was born and Rose is currently a full-time mom, caregiver and artist. Becoming a mother has increased Rose's desire to share the stories of her culture and family and has challenged the way she creates independently and as a shared experience with her daughter.
While the EAGM offers various exhibits throughout the year, they also keep the community engaged with programming and workshops. The regular family art groups that take place every Thursday and Friday from 10-10:30 a.m. is for parents and toddlers ages 18 months and up to create fun art and craft projects.
As part of Kids' Arts Club, on St. Patrick's Day from 2-4 p.m., children ages four and five are invited for a workshop. Participants will make fun St. Patrick's Day-themed art and crafts. And on March 21 from 4-5:15 p.m. young patrons ages seven to 12 are welcome to come celebrate the first day of spring and make some beautiful, mixed media spring art.
There will also be free virtual ceramic studio tours on March 16 in the morning and afternoon where teachers and students can tour EAGM artist in residence Ruth Langweiser's ceramic studio.
Virtual exhibition tours are offered March 1-25 and will allow teachers and students to see what's currently on display at the galleries.
On April 9 from 2-4 p.m., the EAGM is inviting the public to join them for a free Parent and Teen Raku Class, where parents and teens will work together to hand-build a unique ceramic piece. A glazing class will be held on May 14 or 28, along with an outdoor raku firing.
