The Art of Farming
The Art of Farming: Where Agriculture Meets Imagination
Unveiled at the Edmonton Expo Centre during Farmfair International, November 5–9, 2025, The Art of Farming offers visitors a fresh perspective on agriculture.
This is an exciting new collaboration between The Works Art & Design Festival, Farmfair International, and Explore Edmonton that brings together the worlds of agriculture and visual art in a dynamic and unexpected way. Inspired by the district exhibits at the Sydney Royal Easter Show in Australia, this pilot project reimagines the bounty of Alberta’s agriculture through the lens of contemporary art, celebrating the materials, skills, and stories that sustain our food systems. It invites exploration of the diversity, detail, and design shared by both farming and art, revealing the beauty farmers experience in their everyday work.
At the heart of this inaugural installation is Edmonton-based artist Theodora Harasymiw, whose connection to rural life and mastery of mosaic art make her the ideal creative lead for the project. Using locally sourced materials, Theodora’s work honours the artistry of farming, by transforming agricultural elements into a striking visual experience. The installation is a celebration of local pride, cross-sector creativity, and the exciting possibilities that arise when communities and industries connect.
This is just the beginning. With continued community and partner support, The Art of Farming aspires to grow into an annual showcase that continues to spotlight Alberta’s agricultural excellence through an artistic lens.
About the Artist:
Theodora Harasymiw is a Canadian visual artist whose practice bridges mosaic, painting, and ceramics to create vibrant, story-rich works rooted in community and culture. She graduated from the University of Alberta in 1996 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts, majoring in Painting and minoring in Classics, a foundation that continues to inform her deep engagement with history, myth, and narrative. In 2010, Harasymiw embraced mosaic as her central focus, studying extensively in the United States and Italy. This immersion opened new ways of storytelling through colour, texture, form, and material, allowing her to connect contemporary community voices with timeless traditions. She is now expanding her practice to include ceramics, further personalizing the mosaic process and enhancing its ability to carry layered, tactile stories. Over the past two decades Harasymiw has collaborated with more than 85 schools, communities, and institutions, guiding participants in creating murals and mosaics that leave lasting public legacies. Her Ukrainian heritage and her extensive travels around the world have shaped her vivid palette and cultural sensitivity, enabling her to honour diverse traditions in her work. Rooted in the belief that art is a collective language, her practice emphasizes collaboration, storytelling, and a continual dialogue with Nature as a guiding force.
Artist Statement:
I create art that brings people together - my practice is rooted in collaboration and in the belief that art can serve as a shared language for community. Whether through paint, mosaics, and now ceramics, I believe in the power of public art to ignite curiosity and wonder, transforming everyday spaces into sites of beauty, memory, and belonging. Each medium is a way to tell stories in ways that everyone can understand and connect with. This work is rooted in collaboration. Whether designing large-scale mosaics with students, co-creating murals with newcomer communities, or weaving cultural narratives into public art, I aim to reflect the voices and histories of those involved. Each piece is a dialogue, shaped by the people and items which contribute to the story being told. Nature is a guiding force in my practice. Inspired by organic forms, patterns, and the connection to living systems, I integrate these themes into my art, often using the golden ratio as a structural foundation.
Colour also holds a central focus in my work. Years of travel have influenced my use of colour, showing me how different cultures use it to communicate emotion, story, and identity. These experiences continue to expand the ways I think about visual language. Sustainability is also key - both in found and foraged material choices and in fostering a lasting connection between people and the places they inhabit. My work asks how art can be a bridge - between cultures, between past and present, between individuals and their environments. And lastly, my Ukrainian heritage remains a constant grounding force. It has taught me the importance of culture in sustaining identity, and it has taught me to approach the stories and traditions of others with greater sensitivity and respect. Through my work, I aim to create art that not only reflects my own heritage but also uplifts the cultural voices of the communities I work with.
For More information:
https://theodoraharasymiw.tumblr.com/