Artist Profile: Linda Ozromano
Based currently in Edmonton, Linda Ozromano is a self-taught photographer whose artistic sensibility is shaped by a convergence of various interests and experiences that have, in turn, cultivated her interest in other cultures. This convergence can be summed up by her comment: “My passion for travel as well as community development combined with curiosity over how art influences our political, social and emotional realities had the biggest impact on my artistic practice.”
A New Space for Art Discussion
As a member of the production crew for this year’s festival I was prepared for the labour-intensive elements of the job. I knew that the long, odd, and somewhat unpredictable hours in the sun were what I had signed up for and that was what I was excited for. What I had not anticipated however were the personal and genuine interactions with each of the artists that the festival has allowed the opportunity for. I don’t think there is a single intern at the Works who hasn’t had a good individual conversation with at least one of the artists involved.
Why do we stop being creative when we grow up? (Copy)
When you are a kid you think you are the center of the universe. You believe that everybody likes what you make, and if they don’t, you are sure they are wrong. Your sense of empathy develops around the age of 7-8. Afterwards, you understand that you are not alone. It means that you are more aware of how others feel, but it also underlines that you realize how they may think of you.
(Re)Mapping Alberta Territories: (Re)Claiming Indigenous Space and Agency
In the wake of the work accomplished through the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada and subsequently through the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation in Manitoba, there has been a push at the public and governmental levels to redress the legacy of residential schools upon Canada’s indigenous communities and to advance the process of reconciliation between these communities and the provincial and federal governments.
Artist Profile: Emmanuel Osahor
Complexity and multi-faceted: these are two words that point to the motivations behind Emmanuel Osahor’s art. Having graduating from the University of Alberta’s BFA program in 2014, Emmanuel Osahor has developed an artistic practice that is informed by two distinct yet interconnected threads: (1) a desire to explore complexity and challenge people’s assumptions of the work that they are looking at, whether this is in terms of the work’s subject matter, medium, or approach to the topic; and (2) a desire to grapple with utopic ideas.
Artist Profile: Yong Fei Guan
Yong Fei Guan is an Edmonton-based artist whose work provides a welcome contribution to the diversifying of perspectives in Edmonton’s art community. Although Guan was always been interested in art as a child, she had limited opportunities to study it extensively in school. Art education was not valued in the community where she grew up as the visual arts were not seen as a pragmatic occupation. After immigrating from China to Canada over a decade ago, Guan studied art at MacEwan, followed by a degree in Fine Arts from the Emily Carr University of Art + Design.
Down to Earth
My favourite part of being on the production team (for 3 years now) will always be the random, but vital, tasks that are required for the success of the festival. This year for Emmanuel Osahor’s exhibit, In Search of Eden, we needed to collect hundreds of native plants to Edmonton to create a giant living wall. In order to do so, Emmanuel got into contact with Cherry Dodd, the president of the Edmonton Native Plant Group, to help gather so many plants. I was lucky enough to go along on the field trip to meet her and I was blown away by her knowledge of plants and her overwhelming generosity.
Works to Work Internship: A Rewarding Experience
When I was looking for a field placement for my program at MacEwan University, I came across an ad about the Works to Work Summer Internship. At that time, I had a very little knowledge about The Works, so I did my research about the internship and read some articles about the organization.
Piece by Piece: An Organic Massive Production
I overheard a coworker the other day (as one often does in such a buzzing workplace) say, “Some people learn by throwing all the balls in the air, then running around trying to catch them”. Though I don’t think this is a perfect comparison to working on the Production crew at the Works, I can laugh at the imagery. Every time our crew turns around, another technical problem is waiting to be solved. If we manage to find solutions to all these problems, if we manage to catch all the balls, the accumulation of our movements becomes the grand movement that is the festival.
Patience and trust
This summer I was recruited into the volunteer coordinating team at The Works. I remember leaving my interview being unsure if I got the position but confident that I had been incredibly honest and open about my skill set and just had to be patient while waiting to hear back. I knew that if I didn’t get the position I simply wasn’t ready and would find something I was ready for.
Personal Contact
When I came in for my first shift at The Works in May, I remember how surreal it felt. I listened to the expectations and the plans – how us interns were joining the rest of the staff to ensure an entire arts festival gets put on. Amidst the excitement and vague panic, I remember thinking that before long I was going to be on the other side of this. We were being thrown into the midst of the action, and in about three months we would be looking back on this experience and reflecting on how far we’d come.
Eden as a Verb: Utopia and Emmanuel Osahor’s In Search of Eden
In the first season of Mad Men, an episode features ad man Don Draper listening to client Rachel Menken as she rhapsodizes on the concept of utopia. “The Greeks had two meanings for it,” Rachel says; “‘eu-topos,’ meaning ‘the good place,’ and ‘u-topos,’ meaning ‘the place that cannot be.’”
More to learn
If there is one thing that I have learned during my time as an artist, it is that there are endless things to learn. You can spend your whole life learning, and still never know everything there is about the growing world of art. Take this year’s interns for example. We come from all backgrounds, all around Canada, and have all lived a different life. Some of us were home-schooled and some of us went to huge schools.