Lethbridge, AB – The Southern Alberta Art Gallery is presenting four new exhibits starting tomorrow (Friday) which will run until April 24, and according to the gallery’s curator there is a rural Canadian focus involved.
Adam Whitford says Emily Neufeld is an Alberta-born artist with Mennonite roots and her exhibition is called ‘Prairie Invasions: A Hymn’ which is a large-scale photo installation with light boxes, plant matter, soil, and larger than life size photos. “It looks at the history of settlement and everyone’s relationship to farmers and immigrants who came here to settle the prairies as well as the people who were pushed off that land.
We have an articulation tour with Emily who will be doing a tour of the exhibition and will probably talk about her experiences on the ranches and farms she visited on some of these old, dilapidated sites.
This exhibition has not been shown yet in the prairies and in talking with Emily it was important to show the exhibition somewhere close to these sites.
There is a seven-dollar general admission fee, but Whitford is encouraging patrons to purchase memberships. “Students are just 15 dollars for an annual membership and 25 dollars for an adult and you can come as many times as you like in a year.”
Other artists being highlighted are Les Ramsay and Nicholas Wade in addition to high school photographers from Taber, Alberta. “We have I believe nine young artists showcasing their photos of what community means to them.”
There is a mask mandate in place for anyone visiting the gallery. The SAAG website has all the information on the exhibits at www.saag.ca.