In honour of the Province’s Centennial, The Works International Visual Arts Society produced five exhibits, available for tour, that highlighted Alberta’s diverse cultural heritage. All five exhibits, curated by Gordon Snyder, featured the documentary photographs of Orest Semchishen.
Semchishen’s photographs, taken over a period of 30 years, commemorates the history and culture of all Albertans: our First Nations and Métis people, our early settlers, our isolated communities, our youth, and other culturalcommunities. Accordingly, the five exhibits are entitled: Through Aboriginal Eyes, Through Alberta Eyes, Isolated Communities, Alberta Youth, and Cultural Communities.
The Works published a book, text by Gordon Snyder, to accompany the exhibits as they toured the country. The book contains the 100 photographs that comprise the five exhibits. The Works donated a copy of that book to every school and public library in Alberta to ensure that all Albertans have access to Semchishen’s historic photographs as a legacy for years to come.
To obtain copies of the legacy publication, please call (780) 426-2122 ext. 226 or email theworks@telusplanet.net
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About the Artist
Orest Semchishen was born in Mundare, Alberta, in 1932, the grandson of Ukrainian immigrants who settled in the vicinity of Mundare, 80 kilometres east of Edmonton, in the late 1890s. A radiologist by profession, he travelled the backroads of Alberta extensively for three decades recording our history.
Art critic and former Director of the Edmonton Art Gallery Terry Fenton ranks Semchishen among the best documentary photographers in the world, saying “to my eyes, the most productive tradition in photography is the documentary tradition. My main influences come from there: Eugene Atget, Walker Evans, and Orest Semchishen. The first two are famous, the last—a Canadian from Edmonton—should be.”
