current exhibits


Interrupting the Bubble


Jill Allan

The Westin Edmonton – 10135 100 St NW

Collected Translations


Erika Germain

Don Wheaton Family YMCA – 10211 102 Ave NW

The Break
David Clark and Devin Chambers

Interactive App on Churchill Square, only available on the Apple Store

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Lance Cardinal, ᓇᐢᐸᓯᓇᐦᐃᑫᐃᐧᐣ Naspasinahikewin, 2021. Photographed by Manpreet Singh

Lance Cardinal | ᓇᐢᐸᓯᓇᐦᐃᑫᐃᐧᐣ Naspasinahikewin

South-facing, 95 Street and 106 Ave, Edmonton

mural with silhouettes of people

Mural by The Works Interns

Churchill Square, Downtown Edmonton

Roger Garcia, Pachin, 2021. Photographed by Manpreet Singh

Roger Garcia | Pachin

Churchill Square, Downtown Edmonton

With assistance from Marina Garcia, Lindsey Bond, Theo BP, James Grasdal, Garry Bond,Gayle Bond, and Zonia Montez

Michelle Campos Castillo, Hasta La Raiz, 2021. Photographed by Manpreet Singh

Michelle Campos Castillo | Hasta La Raiz

Churchill Square, Downtown Edmonton

With assistance from Paxsi

 
 
 

 Art Online

 
Brittany_Cherweniuk_2021_Manpreet_Singh.jpg

Brittany Cherweniuk

KWÉCTE-KUCW TE SḰWIYŪSEMS

TAKE OUR GRIEF

Photographed by Manpreet Singh

 

ongoing projects

 

The Works Community Canvas YMCA Initiative

The Works Community Canvas YMCA Initiative is a partnership between Don Wheaton Family YMCA and The Works International Visual Arts Society. Launched in the fall of 2007, this program sees an Edmonton artist exhibit in Don Wheaton Family YMCA curated by a youth curator. At The Works, we believe that placing art in public places allows for people of all ages and backgrounds to experience, learn about, and appreciate visual art.

For more information about the artist or sales contact the curatorial team at The Works:
Phone: 780-426-2122  ext 228
curatorial@theworks.ab.ca                

Location: The Works Community Canvas YMCA initiative is located at Don Wheaton YMCA 10211 102 Avenue - Main floor

Erika Germain, Collected Translations

Don Wheaton Family YMCA – 10211 102 Ave NW

Erika Germain, Ever-Patterned Collapsing Grid, Oil on Canvas, 6’ x 18’, 2021. Panorama photo by Au7umn.

Erika Germain (She/Her) is an emerging artist currently based in amiskwaciywâskahikan on Treaty 6 Territory (otherwise known as Edmonton, Alberta). She received her BFA from Emily Carr University of Art and Design in 2018, and her MFA from Cornell University in 2022. Her practice has been situated within the contexts of Vancouver BC, central New York, New York City and most recently has expanded across Canada.

These paintings are made up of the translations of textual sources into painted space. This is done by creating systems where each letter in the alphabet is assigned a colour. Each letter A becomes cadmium red, each letter B ultramarine, and so on, until the text exists only in the languages of colour, gesture and form. Using textual sources such as literature, poetry, personal writings, and writings collected from viewers, the paintings bridge the space that exists between spoken and written meaning, and a visual and physical experience of meaning.

Find the complete Artist Statement and Biography at the Don Wheaton YMCA.

 

Previous Exhibits: 

Misty Ring (2023), Megan Klak (2022-2023), Madeline LeBlanc (2022), Emmanuel Osahor (2019-2022), Adam Slusar (2019), Borys Tarasenko (2019), Agata Garbowska (2017-2019), Alexandra Gusse (2017), Lindsay Kirker (2016-2017), Megan Warkentin (2015-2016), Lucille Frost (2014), Scott Cumberland (2014), Jenny Keith (2013), Glenn Guillet (2011), Justin Shaw (2010), Josée Aubin Ouellette (2009), Michal Wawrykowicz (2008), Tim Rechner (2007), Nicole Galellis (2006).


 

Past projects


THE WORKS GALLERY AT JACKSON POWER

The Works Gallery at Jackson Power is a unique venue made possible through a partnership between The Works International Visual Arts Society and Jackson Power Electric. Through this program, the space is used as a gallery twice a year to exhibit contemporary artworks and to promote critical dialogue through writing about visual art. The first exhibit in the program was "Manus," curated by Sean Borchert in the Spring of 2013, followed by "Text Crutch," curated by Robert Harpin in the Fall of 2013. In the spring of 2014, Olivia Chow curated "Gastrosophy," and the following fall Stacey Cann curated "Installation View" and in 2015 Tim Rechner curated "Telepathic Eye and the Aesthetic Voice". Exhibits were organized by the Society as part of year-round programming.


THE WORKS PUBLIC ART GALLERY AT SHAW CONFERENCE CENTRE

The Works Public Art Gallery, in partnership with Shaw Conference Centre, showcased the talent and creative energy of the arts community in Edmonton and its surrounding regions. The first exhibit featured the artwork of Glenn Guillet.


SIXTY YEARS: EDMONTON & THE DIAMOND JUBILEE

The exhibit and website explore Edmonton's history in the context of Queen Elizabeth II’s three visits to Edmonton since her Coronation in 1953. The exhibit features images, collectables, and memories of the 1959, 1978, and 2005 royal visits from public archives and contributions by Edmontonians.

The reception launched a website with commentary by Edmonton’s Historian Laureate, Shirley Lowe, and offers visitors the opportunity to contribute to the community archive around these visits, and these times in Edmonton’s development.

Sixty Years is the final component of an ongoing project to work with Edmontonians to activate community memory around the growth of Edmonton and to engage youth in Edmonton’s history during Elizabeth II’s reign as queen. Other aspects of the project have included collection events and an in-school art program.

View exhibit poster
Visit http://diamondjubileeproject.wordpress.com

 

Past Exhibits

 
  • The Works Community Canvas YMCA Initiative

    The Works Community Canvas YMCA Initiative At Don Wheaton YMCA: 10211 - 102 Ave, Main floor

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  • January 28th 2023 - April 2023

    The Westin Hotel Edmonton - 10135 100 St NW, Edmonton, AB T5J 0N7

    A series of ghostly handmade felt sculptures made in the likeness of highly-sought after collectible plants, variegata explores notions of colonial extraction, the construction of whiteness, and ecological exchange.

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  • November 20 - January 20, 2022

    The Works Art & Design Festival presented a Giant Gateway featuring artwork by Métis artist Rebecca Pickard as part of Holiday Light Up in Downtown Edmonton. The Gateway was on display November 20 through to January 20, 2022, in Churchill Square.

    POWER, PEACE AND PRESENCE + KISKISIWIN ᑭᐢᑭᓯᐃᐧᐣ: REMEMBERING rebecca pickard

    Power, Peace and Presence and kiskisiwin ᑭᐢᑭᓯᐃᐧᐣ: Remembering, comprise two sides of the Gateway. Informed by a deep sense of belonging to the land, Rebecca Pickard’s murals reflect an understanding that everything in nature is connected through cycles, patterns, and, most importantly, relationships. Through the imagery of the bison, Pickard conveys a metaphor for change and wisdom. Learn More

  • June 17, 2022

    Goddess is a sisterhood of singers, dancers, and healers harmonized by the calling of our hearts – to assist in the rising of the Divine Feminine and the unification of humanity. Their motto is, "Together We Rise!" Their unique performance spans genres and media, including instrumentation, singing several, types of dance, choreography, spoken word & rap - they do it all. Their intention is to elevate, inspire, and empower the audience- and boy, do they do it well.

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  • NOVEMBER 4 - 6, 2021

    The Works Art & Design Festival presents large and colourful installations by Brittany Cherweniuk and Sharon Rose Kootenay. As the sun sets, both installations will set Giovanni Caboto Park a-glow with vibrant LED lights.

    BRITTANY CHERWENIUK

    KWÉCTE-KUCW TE SK̓WIYŪSEMS, TAKE OUR GRIEF

    Cherweniuk’s 215 hand-made, infant-sized moccasins are an offering to the children who suffered and died through Canada’s Indian Residential School System. Sewn onto a 25-foot span of canvas and rising 15 feet above the ground, the installation imparts hope while calling all who now call Canada home to help carry the burden of grief that Indigenous people have carried for centuries. Learn More

    SHARON ROSE KOOTENAY & JASON SYMINGTON

    TRANSFORMATION: PROMISE & WISDOM

    The two sides of “Transformation” represent the promise of what is yet to come, and the wisdom of the ancestors who have passed before us. As certain as the turning seasons, this process is eternal, and as old as time. “Promise” guides us to a bright and beautiful future while “Wisdom” reminds us of the wonders and mysteries of our human experience. The Works Giant Gateway is made possible in part through support from the Heart + Soul Fund by EPCOR. Learn More

  • October 1 to November 20, 2020

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