#edmonton art

[rootedromantic]

I’m playing around with a new bonsai style: with distinctly shaped leaves! This is a ginkgo.

What do you think?

[yegarts]

Edmonton Arts Council celebrates the achievements of 20 local professional artists

The Edmonton Arts Council, City of Edmonton, and Edmonton Community Foundation are pleased to announce the 2022 recipients of the Edmonton Artists’ Trust Fund awards.

Twenty (20) artists have been awarded a 2022 Edmonton Artists’ Trust Fund award. Each award is $15,000, for a total of $300,000. 

"We are so pleased to support and celebrate these 20 inspiring artists,” said Sanjay Shahani, Executive Director of the Edmonton Arts Council. “Our diverse arts community is one of the forces that brings our city together and makes the Edmonton region a vibrant and exciting place to live. The 2022 recipients demonstrate commitment and excellence in their respective disciplines, helping to foster an exciting ecology of creation and expression in Edmonton." 

“Congratulations to this year’s recipients of the EATF,” said Tina Thomas, CEO of Edmonton Community Foundation. “We are thankful for the creative contributions this cohort of recipients have made to our city, and we look forward to the new works that they will produce with support from this important initiative."

The Edmonton Artists' Trust Fund (EATF) recognizes an artist’s work and contribution to the community. The $15,000 awards provide financial stability for artists to renew, develop, create or experiment. These awards are supported by the proceeds from the Edmonton Artists’ Trust Fund, held by the Edmonton Community Foundation.

Recipients of the 2022 Edmonton Artists’ Trust Fund:

Clockwise from top left: AJA Louden, photo by Leah Louden; Ann Vriend, photo by Johwanna Alleyne; Connor Yuzwenko-Martin, photo by Alexa Hickox; Dylan Toymaker, photo supplied by the artist.

Adrian (AJA) Louden (he/him) is a Jamaican-Canadian artist committed to challenging the negative perceptions of street-based art and making art accessible and relatable. His Aerosol Academy series uses the lens of graffiti and street art to get youth excited about art making and art history, and he is an active mentor working to remove barriers and support emerging artists.     

Ann Vriend (she/her) is a two-time Maple Blues Award songwriting recipient, a Maple Blues Keyboardist of the Year nominee, an Edmonton Music Award and Alberta Centennial Award recipient, and has sold nearly 30,000 albums off-the-stage in her under-the-radar yet critically acclaimed international career. She is a passionate advocate for empowerment and respect for the members of her inner-city neighborhood of McCauley, Edmonton.     

Connor Yuzwenko-Martin (he/him) is a Deaf creator, public relations specialist, actor, producer, and playwright. He is currently writing and producing his first original script, After Faust, in partnership with RISER Edmonton. He is also launching The Invisible Practice, a hybrid Deaf arts collective and public relations agency.  

Dylan Toymaker (he/him) is a light design and installation artist. His focus is on creative placemaking through the sculpture of light and shadow. As a designer, creator and curator, his practice involves environmental and architectural public art events. Dylan has created and curated art for the Flying Canoe Volant festival and many other Alberta festivals.

Clockwise from top left: Gail Sidonie Šobat, photo by Geoff McMaster; Katrina Beatty, photo by Ian Jackson; Kevin Cardinal, photo provided by the artist; Lianna Makuch, photo by LV Imagery.

Gail Sidonie Šobat (she/her) is an author, creator-director of YouthWrite®, SpokenWord Youth/Adult Choirs, and is an instructor in MacEwan’s Communications program. Her work has won a number of awards, is published in academic and literary journals, anthologies, broadcast on radio, and performed on stage.     

Katrina Beatty (she/her) is a filmmaker whose work includes short and feature films, web series, music videos and multi-media projections. She was awarded “Outstanding Music Video” at FAVA Fest in 2018 for her concept and direction of Juno Award winning band Whitehorse’s video “Pink Kimono”. More recently, Katrina produced the Telefilm funded feature film Before I Change My Mind, which premiered at the Locarno Film Festival in August 2022.   

Kevin Cardinal (he/him) is a Cree acrylic painter/muralist who uses art to represent teachings, principles, knowledge, and understandings gained from attending ceremonies throughout the years. Kevin’s work reflects his search for inner peace, healing, and balance. His painting style is inspired by the bold black lines, and vibrant colors of the woodland style of art. 

Lianna Makuch (she/her) is a Ukrainian Canadian playwright, performer, director, and co-Artistic Producer of Pyretic Productions. Her work has garnered awards and recognition nationally and in Ukraine, including the Shevchenko Foundation’s 2020 REACH Award. By exploring themes connected to her Ukrainian identity, she endeavours to create empathetic performance experiences with universal impact.   

Clockwise from top left: Lindsey Walker, photo by Briane Jang; Louise Casemore, photo by Jody Christopherson; Madeline LeBlanc, photo provided by the artist; Mat Cardinal, photo provided by the artist.

Lindsey Walker (she/her) is an award-winning singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, composer, and theatre performer. Lindsey wrote the score and lyrics for ren & the wake, an original semi-immersive musical created with Catch the Keys Productions. She also composed the score for the podcast “Natural Life” and composed the sound design for the theatre productions Re:Construct (Donkey Dog Theatre) and Shock Me Electra (Theatre Network Young Company).    

Louise Casemore (she/her) is an advocate, performer, and two-time Sterling Award winning playwright. Original works include OCD, GEMINI, and Undressed, which recently premiered with Alberta Theatre Projects. She remains active in the national community by way of dramaturgy, research, and as an Artist Consultant focused on HR mechanisms for arts organizations.   

Madeline LeBlanc (she/her) is a visual artist who strives to create inclusive spaces for audience participation, highlighting issues of accessibility in the industry. Her artwork may appear lighthearted and fun, but beneath the surface lies important commentary on the dynamics of classism in the art world and the pressure put on artists and markets by art collectors.   

Mat Cardinal (he/him) is from Wabasca, Alberta and a proud member of the Bigstone Cree Nation. Mat is the lead singer of The Prairie States, a nine-time Country Music Alberta Award recipient and nominee for Songwriters of the Year 2022 at the Canadian Country Music Awards. Mat takes his role as a mentor for Indigenous youth seriously as his hard work/passion for performing/songwriting make waves in the music industry.  

Clockwise from top left: Michelle Campos Castillo, photo by Fern Facette; Mouraine, photo provided by the artist; Nauzanin Knight, photo by Motif Photography; Reckie Lloyd, photo provided by the artist.

Michelle Campos Castillo (she/her) is a graphic designer and artist born in El Salvador. She has received several public art commissions from the City of Edmonton, including Platanos at the Belvedere Transit Centre, and is finalizing artwork for the Valley Line West LRT. She is currently working on a graphic memoir titled Colonia, based on her life in El Salvador during the country’s civil war.   

Mouraine (he/him), who immigrated from Sudan at an early age, makes soulful hip-hop with a reverence for place and community, and a strong political sensibility. His debut EP Bigger Dreams was released in 2021. 

Nauzanin Knight (she/her) is the CEO/Director of 1844 Studios. She got her start as a published writer, going on to write, direct and produce numerous films. Nauzanin is an alumnus of Women in the Director’s Chair, Sundance Collab (2020), BANFF Spark (2020) and ReelWorld (2021). An ardent contributor to her community, Nauzanin has led projects including, “Building Inclusive Networks in the Film & Television Industry” (Telefilm, CMF, 2021).   

Reckie Lloyd (he/him) is a visual artist and the founder of Sangea Academy, a West African drumming and dance entity that shares the power of percussion with Canadians. During the Covid 19 Pandemic, Reckie found himself rediscovering his love for fine arts, refining his painting techniques and creating from a mature perspective.

Clockwise from top left: Robbie Townsend, photo provided by the artist; Tai Amy Grauman, photo by Emilie Igiotti; Vikki Wiercinski, photo by Cooper O'Hara; Tia Ashley Kushniruk, photo by Kendra Epik.

Robbie Townsend (AKA Father Bobby) (he/him) is a Juno nominated music producer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He has built a reputation as an artist-focused producer, placing value on the song above all else, with the goal to create a specific colour palette for each project he takes on, helping artists discover, shape and redefine their sounds.  

Tai Amy Grauman (she/her) is an actor, playwright, director and producer of Métis, Cree and Haudenosaunee heritage. She is currently defending her thesis for her MFA in theatre practice at the U of A with a focus on her artistic research of 'Metis women's love stories' and is adapting 'Romeo and Juliet: A Metis love story' as well as adapting her play 'You used to call me Marie...' into a limited film series.   

Tia Ashley Kushniruk (亚 女弟) (she/her), a queer woman of Chinese-Ukrainian settler heritage, has been affiliated with the Cirque Du Soleil since 2013 and is a frequent collaborator of Jake W. Hastey (Toy Guns Dance Theatre). Tia is the inaugural recipient of the CONFLUENCE Fellowship from Catalyst Theatre and is a current company member of Shay Kuebler/RSA. In addition to theatre and dance, Tia is also an illustrator and animator.  

Vikki Wiercinski (she/her) is an artist, ceramicist and designer focused on weaving together ceramic sculpture and drawing. She also works as the lead organizer of the Royal Bison Art and Craft Fair and creates textile and surface designs for her Mezzaluna Studio project.

[artbyfeliciafurlong13]

Batwoman 🖤❤️🦇

By Felicia Furlong

[mercurysworlds-blog]

Had an art show for the summer sculpture class I took in July

[acetechne]

im angry and upset with everything so have this depressing scribbly highlevel bridge sunset picture i guess

[blackgoldtattoo]

Elephant Mandala Tattoo by Sasha Roussel at Black Gold Tattoo Co.

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

https://www.instagram.com/sash_tattoo/

https://www.instagram.com/blackgoldtattooco/

[yegarts]

Artist-in-Residence Update: Candace Makowichuk

Four seasons in the cemeteries

Image: February 2018 snow storm, bromoil with liquid light on Somerset paper, photo by Candace Makowichuk

A year has passed since Candace Makowichuk became the first artist-in-residence for City of Edmonton Cemeteries. In that time, she’s watched the seasons change and explored Edmonton’s history – and how it is preserved. “I’ve learned a lot about maintenance,” laughs Makowichuk, noting that she will miss talking with the caretakers and visiting with the administrative staff at each cemetery. “But I’m going to miss the rigor most of all.” As with many of our City of Edmonton artists in residence, Makowichuk found that the full-time position gave her the opportunity to dedicate her time and energy solely to a single project. The results of that project, a series of photographs, will be exhibited at City Hall on May 8th.

Image: examples from Candace Makowichuk’s residency (top) hand coloured digital print of memorial wreath; (bottom right) double exposed digital print from Diana camera; (bottom left) dried pansies and maple seeds; photos by Candace Makowichuk.

The variety of mediums presented demonstrate Makowichuk’s careful consideration the best methods to convey the details of the objects she encountered. Through digital photos, nineteenth century photographic processes, 1970’s Diana film camera, rubbings of headstones, and even collection of flora, Makowichuk endeavoured to document the stories found in our city’s cemeteries. For the headstones whose imagery and epitaphs have worn down over time, she found that regular photography couldn’t convey the weathered carvings, so she took rubbings and used the cyanotype process to print them. These symbols and messages, drawn out through charcoal, could be logged and interpreted; such as the over 33 different military crests documented from the Northern Lights Cemetery. Landscape images and other objects of fascination lent themselves to historical bromoils or straight digital prints.

Image: examples of Candace Makowichuk’s cyanotype prints (left) digital negative of a rubbing from headstone with resulting cyanotype; (top right) examples of military crests printed in cyanotype; (bottom right) cyanotype photogram of collected flowers inspired by English botanist Anna Atkins; photos by Annette Aslund.

It’s clear that Makowichuk genuinely enjoys advancing her knowledge of photo processing. During the year, she was able to take the time to test different photo processing techniques including Liquid Light, a silver-gelatin liquid emulsion that can be applied to almost any surface for photo prints, removing the limitations of available manufactured photo paper. She experimented with her prints on various papers, glass and even wood, making notes on her successes and learnings, and taking pleasure in the indications of her handiwork – such as brush strokes on the prints, or corrections she’s made where the gelatin has lifted.

Image: example of Candace Makowichuk’s printing experiments silver gelatin print on left and bromoil print on right, photo by Annette Aslund.

Although her practice is built on historical photo techniques, Makowichuk admits that she never thought she would be exploring cemeteries to this degree. Following completion of her residency, she already has a couple of projects in mind, including a “baby blanket” and military memorial that she will be completing for future exhibitions. The residency also afforded her time to research the history and global traditions of memento mori. Inspired by the idea of “what we leave behind,” Makowichuk is excited to develop a new photo series examining this theme. 

Image: Candace Makowichuk’s “baby blanket” (left) sewn patchwork of cyanotype prints on cotton, (right) symbols and epitaphs collected from headstones of babies in Edmonton’s cemeteries, photos by Annette Aslund

Makowichuk commends the City of Edmonton and Edmonton Arts Council for their support in hosting the first artist-in-residence for City of Edmonton Cemeteries. Not only was she able to develop her practice, but the unique area of focus has led to additional opportunities. She was recently invited to exhibit and talk about her work as well as host a lantern workshop at the Union Cemetery in Calgary as an early event in preparation for the Equinox Vigil. Her work has also inspired the City Edmonton Cemeteries to develop an artist-driven public memorial event in August 2018.

Image: wax and paper lanterns by Candace Makowichuk featuring symbols collected from the City of Edmonton Cemeteries, photo by Annette Aslund.

On May 8th, from noon to 2:00 pm, Makowichuk invites the public to the opening an exhibit of her work as artist-in-residence. The work will be on display at City Hall until May 21, 2018.

>> Click here for the Facebook event...

[yegarts]

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