Gallery shows off talent of women artists

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 27/05/2023 (1044 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Multimedia art inspired by literature by Prairie women authors, such as Neepawa novelist Margaret Lawrence, and created by female artists across Westman is currently on display at the Art Gallery of Southwestern Manitoba.

Starting mid-April and running until June 17, the “Stimulus Response” exhibit features creations by artists in the Drawn Together collective, a group of women artists from Westman that formed in 2015.

Drawn Together was created to give Westman-based female artists a platform to share, support, inspire and connect with each other. In “Stimulus Response,” the 10 current members of the group responded to works written by women authors of the Canadian Prairies.

Artists Katharine Bruce, Amy Buehler, Anne Fallis Elliot, Jan Jenkins, Colleen Granger, Cathie Ugrin, Kathy Levandoski, Mary Lowe, Susana V. Danyliuk and Linda Tame’s art is currently on display in the main gallery of the museum connected to Brandon’s Town Centre mall.

The themes of the art, made up of paintings, drawings, assemblage, sculpture, textile, ceramic and print, touch on isolation, survival, connection and legacy united by the Prairie landscape.

Buehler, who has been with the Drawn Together collective since its founding, said the group has always been about the support given and received freely from its members.

“Working toward an exhibition is a demanding undertaking, and being part of a collective has helped each of us stay on task and keep motivated,” she said.

Buehler said that seeing how different artists responded in varied ways to the same works of literature reaffirmed to her just how nuanced and personal art, in all its forms, truly is.

“As a group, we’re as diverse as the books and writers that have stimulated our work. Even so, this project highlights that we, like all Prairie women, have had to be determined, creative and collaborative,” Buehler said.

The difference in how each artist responded to the works of literature also struck a chord with Lucie Lederhendler, the gallery’s curator, who said that despite the differences in the interpretation and creation of the art pieces, they all underscore what it means to be a woman in the Prairies.

“Some artists responded to a protagonist, some of them responded to a turn of phrase. Some of them responded to the general idea, or the impression or feeling they had while reading,” she said.

Art collectives such as Drawn Together are important platforms for women to find the support they need in their endeavours, especially in the Prairies, where many industries, such as agriculture, are still largely male-dominated, Lederhendler said.

“Finding that community, people who can just talk about these things, is really crucial in order to get out of your own head and motivate creation.”

“The Long and Short of It,” an exhibition featuring the Brandon Embroiderers, is also running at the AGSM until June 3.

»mleybourne@brandonsun.com

»Twitter: @miraleybourne