‘My Brandon’ exhibit wraps up with social event

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This article was published 29/05/2024 (837 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

In mid-April, Art Gallery of Southwestern Manitoba curator Lucie Lederhendler put out an open call to community members to submit their art with one question in mind.

Lederhendler said she wanted people to create art while asking, “What does your Brandon have to look forward to?”

“Our prompt was very much about optimism while considering, ‘What do you wish, what do you hope for, and what are you looking forward to?’” she said.

The result, Lederhendler added, was 16 pieces that became the gallery’s “My Brandon” exhibition, which opened April 25. And while the final day is Saturday, the public is invited for a social gathering this Thursday afternoon and to vote for viewer’s choice.

“I know that when I asked Brandonites to give me art, they were going to give me good stuff,” said Lederhendler. “And I wouldn’t say (I was) surprised. I’ve been here long enough that I would never underestimate the talent in this city.”

The exhibition was hosted in collaboration with the City of Brandon to celebrate its 30-year vision as outlined in the city plan that staff are currently working on.

A healthy Brandon concerns the city’s social, economic and environmental health, according to the city plan.

A draft plan was presented to Brandonites in March at an open house that was held at the Keystone Centre. It was part of the last phase of feedback before it goes to Brandon City Council for final approval later this year.

This current exhibition follows the success of a previous exhibition the gallery presented in 2021 called, “i {heart} Brandon,” which featured submissions based on what Brandonites loved.

The 2021 exhibition was done in collaboration with Tourism Brandon, which is also supporting this year’s “My Brandon” exhibition.

Lederhendler said she has had past success with combining “city planning and an art exhibition” while working in Montreal. And after consulting with Sonikile Tembo, the City of Brandons’s principal planner, she decided to go ahead.

“We wanted a chance to collaborate,” Lederhendler said. “I think that the marriage of art exhibition and urban planning is so necessary, because you can go out and collect data from the community and try to make it visually interesting, but it can’t tell a story the same way that art can.

“Using art, you express things without words, without Post-it Notes, without infographics — it’s the feeling. So, thinking about the actual hope, the optimism, the dreaming for the city, I think that comes out really, really well in the art,” she said.

The artists were instructed to include in their submission one of the three pillars set out by the city: growing, moving and healthy.

Growing involved how the city can accommodate housing in the future. Moving encompasses how citizens get around, and healthy is all about greenery and the environment.

“It’s not all sprinkles and confetti,” Lederhendler said. “But we had a very funny piece by Curt Shoultz where we pray to ‘Our Lady Road Repair.’

“And then there’s a lovely piece by TJ Southam, called “Home.” It’s about people deserving a place where they belong. So, there are some really poignant concerns that are coming out,” she said.

The “My Brandon” exhibit is on display in the Kayes Community Gallery until Saturday, but on Thursday, the public is invited to the closing reception from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. and to cast their vote for viewer’s choice.

Two other awards will also be given — in the youth and adult categories.

The evening’s reception will be streamed live on the Art Gallery of Southwestern Manitoba’s social media Instagram account. For more information call the gallery at 204-727-1036.

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