Above: Musée Morinville Museum Attendant Donna Garrett looks at one of the pieces in When We Were Young, a new travelling exhibit at the museum. Below: Some of the other pieces from the travelling art show. – Stephen Dafoe Photos
by Stephen Dafoe
When We Were Young is a new travelling exhibit on loan to the Musée Morinville Museum and on display until Dec. 6.
“It’s five different Alberta artists interpreting youth,” said Musée Morinville Museum Attendant Donna Garrett, noting when she began unpacking the exhibit, she realized it was unique. “It’s very different. I was impressed, and I had to read about the artists to understand what their interpretation is because just looking at it may not tell us. We have the information on hand so people can read the artists’ statements and find out how they came to create [the pieces].”
When We Were Young is both the theme presented to five Medicine Hat artists and the title of the exhibit that resulted from their art using personal memories as inspiration for their respective work. Artists Safira Lachapelle, Susan Knight, Jessica Plattner, Wendy Struck, and Kat Valenzuela created unique pieces in different mediums to explore the theme of youth.
Xanthe Isbister curated and developed the collection for the Alberta Foundation for the Arts Travelling Exhibition Program (TREX). It has toured throughout Alberta since May 2016 and will continue to tour until February 2019 in non-traditional exhibition spaces, including public libraries, schools and visitor information centres.
Garret and the museum are hoping people will drop in Wednesday to Saturday from noon until 5 p.m. to see the collection of 17 works of art.
“It is something unusual we’ve brought to Morinville that maybe not everyone has a chance to go to the Alberta Art Gallery,” Garrett said, noting the Alberta Foundation for the Arts has a travelling art program. “We apply for it, and if we’re fortunate enough to get it – we get it.”
The museum’s next travelling exhibit is titled Mountain Men and will be on display at the Musée Morinville Museum Feb. 28 to Apr. 4.
