Travelling Exhibitions hit the road!
We sent FIVE new exhibitions out into our Northwestern Region last week! September marks the start of the TREX (Travelling Exhibition) touring year with the first venues receiving their exhibitions on September 5th.
The Travelling Exhibitions (TREX) program brings engaging art exhibitions directly into communities across Alberta by partnering with local venues to host month-long exhibitions in their spaces, helping to share art experiences with communities of all sizes. We welcome Northwest Alberta venues of all kinds, including schools, libraries, theatres, archives, museums, galleries, community centres, health centres, visitor centres, and tourism centres to book month-long exhibitions.
Read all about the program by clicking here.
Here are the exhibitions which started their two year journey;
Folk Memoirs
Folk Memoirs is a collection of visual narratives experienced while growing up on the Alberta prairies. Sourcing these rare historical moments from the Alberta Foundation for the Arts permanent collection, you will see paintings by Hazel Litzgus, Irene McCaugherty, William Panko and Doris Zaharichuk. The works are described as folk art, which is a unique style of art that reflects the cultural life of a community. Inspired by scenes from everyday life including: helping with housework, farm labor, playing outside, going to rodeos and more.
Mysterious Forest Life
Centred in the forest life of the Peace Country in Northwestern Alberta, the 24 photographs in Mysterious Forest Life embody three types of life forms: fungi, lichen and moss. As each striking image presents us with a new species, the viewer is taken on an exploratory tour of the forest. You will find seven different types of fungi displayed in this exhibition, but there are actually over 1.5 million species of fungi (6 times more than plants) and about 20,000 of them produce mushrooms. In the Mother Earth Boreal Beauty of the Peace Country book, included in this exhibition, you will learn that lichen is not actually a plant, it’s not a moss, it’s a relationship. Also presenting a close up, sensory view of moss in spruce bogs and fens, you will see sphagnum moss photosynthesizing under water, creating bubbles of oxygen.
Self Reflection
The four artists in Self Reflection employ unique ways of expressing their identities in the works on display while allowing the viewer to reflect and even relate them to their own identity. Kelsey Holzli’s artistic identity is composed of personal and collective experiences, using a vibrant colour pallet and small details to draw the viewer in. As Kelsey writes, ‘My artistic identity is composed of personal and collective experiences in relation to trauma, healing, gender expression, and nature.’
Rooted Connections
The exhibition, Rooted Connections tells a story. Storytelling is a way in Indigenous communities to pass down, teachings, traditions and language from generation to generation. The importance of learning how to hunt and tan hide, how to sew different patterns with beads, or how to play drums and rattles are shown here in this display. You will journey through the various cultures and teachings these artisans wanted to represent in their Indigenous heritage.
Touching the Sky
How can an artwork capture the dynamic experience of space? What does the smell of rain look like in a painting? Or our dream experiences in relationship to our waking experiences? Even in a moment when the landscape appears still, there is tons of activity happening that cannot be captured in a single frame—from the intricate and complex patterns of weather and climate to the buzzing of cellular exchanges on a micro level. The landscape is alive, and fluctuating—and so is our own journey through it.
