Recently I took advantage of the ease of airport travel in Vancouver, and jetted off to Winnipeg to meet my online art friend Maria. She & I have been talking every couple of weeks online with two other artists, and I wanted to connect the dots, see her city, and get to know her face to face.
Well, did she ever show me around! Over two days, we hit up several small art venues, and did every floor of the Winnipeg Art Gallery.
Our first stop was the Prairie Theatre Exchange, where a production of “tiny beautiful things”, a book by Cheryl Strayed adapted for the stage by Nia Vardalos, was ongoing. Maria was invited to show her art while the play was running, and I thought it would be great fun to see the art in person, with her. The play looked good too, but we were careful not to wear each other out on this first meeting, so art discussion won the day. Maria wrote up more about her work on her site.
Another venue we visited was putting the finishing touches on an auction, full of fabulous, local art. This piece, with off-white petals coming out of the canvas surface, caught my eye despite its calm palette. It’s by Sarah Tamayo, submitted to Mentoring Artists for Womens Art (MAWA). The caliber of work was high throughout the room — I hope they raised a bunch of money.
The next day, we navigated several floors of the Winnipeg Art Gallery. There was a large room full of sculpture by Abraham Anghik Ruben, overwhelming in its scope. Where does somebody store all that work, with that weight and size?
As we wandered through the following exhibit spaces, we found an arresting display by Carrie Allison.
This beaded art, both the set of square frames with circular art, called Roses for Elsie, and the large gold beaded work in the shape of the Red River, interrupted a more traditional display of formal portraits in ornate gold frames, to make a point about colonialism and its representation in museums.
Another exhibit explored the joys of staying home: Staycation. The center of the space was dominated by these quiet, felted hanging houses, a piece called raze by Leah Decter. Even though I was on a mini vacation, the work was a reminder of all the thinking I’ve done about where I’m from, where I’ve lived, and where I’m trying to make a new home.
Delightfully, there was also an interactive table, with stools, textured linoleum, crayons, and paper, just asking us to sit down and play. And we did, not missing a beat in the conversation.
I stayed at The Forks, situated at the intersection of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, with plenty of options for food and walks along the rivers, and waited long enough — mid-April — for most of the snow to be gone. Indeed, the weather made a fine effort, and only reminded us of the lingering winter with some wind on Saturday. My explorations, of the city, art, and conversations with Maria, made for an excellent weekend getaway.
