With great pride, I would like to share an event that is coming up very soon. The Coalition, in partnership with the Art Gallery of Alberta in Edmonton will be show casing art by five ethno cultural artists from October 3rd to November 4th in the Community Gallery.
The journey began last summer in June, when Vasudha Tiwari, an accomplished artist in her own right connected with Irene Apon, a volunteer teacher for our seniors in the Kilkenney program, regarding an opportunity for artists to exhibit their artwork at the Art Gallery of Alberta.
The only requirement for participation was to come under the umbrella of the Coalition. Soon, I received an email from Irene with a request to participate with the support of the Coalition. We were just 3 days away from the application deadline. The Coalition and the participating artists could not afford to let go of this opportunity.
Our then Executive Director Phil O’Hara encouraged us and approved our proposal. This was the first time in the history of the Coalition that an art initiative was seeded. Without losing any more time, we applied and our application was accepted to be part of this prestigious event. Incidentally, Irene, Vasudha, Fardos and I had previously participated at the Coalition’s Summer Fest in 2017, show casing our art. Later, Vasudha volunteered to teach art at the Coalition.
We wanted to involve more artists from different ethnicities for this venture; and fortunately, we found two more very talented artists, Victoria Ilnytska and Fardos Aissa; they were students for the English learning classes for our Kilkenny program.
And lastly, as most of you know I have been working with the Coalition and I am, also an artist. We all were jubilant to get this fabulous opportunity of a lifetime. And thus, while being thankful to the Coalition for providing us with the platform, we enthusiastically started working on the project.
And then, COVID-19 struck the world; and like everyone else, our lives also changed. It was difficult to concentrate on creating art as we were worried about our loved ones back home. And the situation here at home, in Edmonton, was no less stressful.
Adapting to the new changes was not easy. We moved ahead despite the challenges posed by COVID-19. While we worked together as a team remotely, we were happy to build some capacities, like working in a Page 2 of 2 team, learning to consult, making strategies and planning how to execute them; we exchanged knowledge about each other’s art and developed some skills, like how to navigate through the computer with new software.
The Coalition and the artists truly appreciate the opportunity given by AGA to showcase the artworks at their prestigious Institution. We are thankful to Elizabeth Hill and Lisa Lunn, our liaisons from the AGA who were extremely patient with our incessant inquiries and guided us effortlessly through the process.
We also thank the AGA’s Exhibition Manager, Sara McKarney and Marketing Department who helped us put together the exhibition. MLA Aaron Paquette and MLA David Shepherd, who are both accomplished and amazing artists themselves, encouraged our efforts by donating to the cause. We also received a monetary donation and coupons for the participating artists from Kim Fjordbotten, the owner of the Paint Spot. We are very thankful for their generous donation.
The exhibition is titled “Canada: Our Home, Then and Now”. The exhibition will be on display from Oct 3rd to Nov 4th 2020 at the AGA and is being represented by Irene Apon, Vasudha Tiwari, Fardos Aissa, Maria-Victoria Ilnytska and Mitali Banerjee.
The Coalition is thankful to all the participating artists for their hard work, cooperation, enthusiasm and coordinating the project as a team.
Please visit the Community Gallery during this one-month exhibition period. This is a free event and there is no entrance fee for the exhibition.
Looking forward to an artistic rendezvous!
Mitali Banerjee
Edmonton Multicultural Coalition
Irene Apon
Irene Stuart Apon (McAvoy) was born in Glasgow Scotland; raised in Toronto, Ontario; and lives in north east Edmonton with her husband, Fred. They have five adult children and fourteen grandchildren all living in the Edmonton area.
Irene has always been interested in art, drawing and painting with acrylics. In 2002 she joined Pro’s Art Atelier School where she has been painting with oils. Her trips to study the masters in New York have really opened her eyes and mind to the looser, bolder brush strokes as seen in the works of John Singer Seargent and Sorolla.
Irene has participated in many workshops with Gene Prokop, Robert Johnson, Zhaoming Wu and Gregg Kreutz. Also she has shown her work at APEGA GALA art show, Future Masters show at Royal Glenora, Pro’s Gallery, Art Walk, With These Hands, Salisbury indoor market and Multicultural Community Art Show and in October 2020 at the Alberta Art Gallery.
Her two years in Ethiopia with Hope International Development Agency has given her a passion for raising funds through her art work and jewelry design. She also has spent time in Rwanda and South Africa. Some of her works demonstrate her love for Ethiopia, and Africa as a whole; the people, culture, animals and landscapes. Others show her love of nature, family and children. All of her works show her passion for colour and her connection with the deep spiritual side of her life.
From Earth to Soul
To see other works you can go to her website at www.aponart.com
Fardos Aissa
Fardos Aissa was born in Baghdad, Iraq. She lived in Syria and then came to Canada in 2011. She now lives in Edmonton with her husband and four children.
Fardos studied at the University of Baghdad and was one of the top 10 students at the Fine Arts College there.
While in Iraq Fardos taught Fine Art to college students from 2000 to 2008.
She has participated in many art and craft sales as well at the Heritage Festival Canada, where her art was displayed in the Iraq pavilion. Her works were also presented in the Maggie Tree Theatre play.
Fardos teaches lessons in Pottery and Stained Glass here in Edmonton.
Life for Fardos is filled with family, her art, instructing and also volunteering. For 3 years she helped many refugees with resettlement.
Fardos also has her certificate for completing the Entrepreneur Training. She is hoping to gain recognition and further her business in the arts training as well as her own production of fine art works. Instagram – Fardosaissa. https://www.instagram.com/p/B2cpVfADabB/?igshid=3lvvau3tu4od
Maria-Victoria Ilnytska
Maria-Victoria Ilnytska was born on August 14, 2001 in a small village in Western Ukraine.
Victoria’s interest in art has always been present,
but it became serious at the age of 13. At that time, Victoria was cursed with loneliness
and the role of the last, the worst kid
in her class. She was asking why she is different; why she never seemed to enjoy girly talks and dances and why
kids did never accept her. Victoria had a
tough life with depression, being bullied, and lack of communication skills came along. Gradually, after many struggles, she realized that she never even liked the
things she was trying to achieve. People
might be content with simple talks, and it’s beautiful too. But it was simply not her life. Victoria has found
herself enjoying the more rare, cutting-deep,
tender beauty of the
world and its movements. The curse of being the
outcast became her blessing. Being away
from mainstream society helped her to attain a higher level of spiritual connection with the art, world and even with
the people who rejected her. Victoria’s passion
for art came from appreciation of art.
She realized that her memories stick to pictures easily. She felt that pictures hold and guard the stories. Every story
and even every colour and shape had a unique
feeling attached to it. Soon her simple colour-pencil
portraits became a hit in the village. Victoria traded her first commissioned
art for a bag of fruit.
In July 2018,
Mariia-Victoria moved to Canada with her mother. People seemed to be very
acceptable. Local communities were helping them to heal wounds and adapt to the new life. For a long time
Victoria has been developing her skills
by making digital artworks. The newest way
of painting was frustrating at first but not
much different from traditional art.
Eventually, in summer of 2019, Victoria made a series of illustrations for a new edition of “Stations of the Cross” for the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Saskatoon, SK. In the same year
Victoria was a costume designer
and concept designer of a Fundraising Event “COME TO ME ALL” for the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Saskatoon. She could talk
for hours about every one of her sketches, about
each detail and colour, what feeling they convey and the ideas they carry within them. These experiences made
Victoria open up to the world and share the beauty with others.
Victoria’s style is dreamy and mostly conceptual, even though purely aesthetic artworks are present as well. Artist prefers beautiful imperfections, hidden meaning and the feelings of the characters being almost revealed to the viewer.
VASUDHA TIWARI
Vasudha Tiwari is an artist. Her journey as an artist began at an incredibly young age, where she created her canvases using oil paints, water- colors, acrylic and pencil shadings.
Being a science student during her college years, she could not have imagined that a whole world of art would fascinate her in the coming years. Destiny led her to acquiring an interest in painting and she began building the skills required to become an artist. After duties to her home and family, she made time for her passion, polishing her technique in drawing, sketching, portraits, and mural painting. She refined her skills in both contemporary work and Indian traditional paintings with conviction and courage. Vasudha has travelled across various countries and her experience shines through her art. The landscapes and portraits she creates are influenced by European realistic style, techniques and medium. Her use of vibrant colors makes her work stand apart. Each painting is unique, reflecting Vasudha’s original style. Vasudha has participated in various group shows across the globe and organized three solo shows in the renowned art galleries of India.
Vasudha moved to Canada a couple of years ago. Growing up, Vasudha learned artistic techniques from an eminent artist in her hometown (Ujjain, India). What she first saw as a hobby gradually turned into her passion. She pursued a formal degree in the fine arts and excelled, securing the top ranked position in the Master of Fine Arts program at Vikram University, Ujjain. Today, she prioritizes her responsibilities as a wife and mother of two boys but has balanced her mark amongst local artists in a noticeably short span of time. Vasudha is a member of various art societies and has participated in group shows and art walks. She is going to exhibit her work at the Art Gallery of Alberta in the coming months.
She has been recognized with the 2019 RISE AWARD in the Arts and Culture category by EMCN (Edmonton Mennonite Centre For Newcomers). The award recognizes an artist who demonstrates an outstanding commitment of community engagement through arts and culture. Many people around the world proudly own her artwork. She has her own art studio, Expression Art Studio, where she trains budding artists, young kids and adults alike, imparting her knowledge and skills.
To see other works, you can visit her website or Facebook pages
https://visitvasudha.wixsite.com/artstudio Facebook: Artworks by Vasudha
Mitali Banerjee
Mitali Banerjee is a Canadian artist, of Indian Heritage, specializing in mandala dot art. She is self-taught, inquisitive and creative and draws her inspiration from the serenity and vibrancy of nature.
During her last year of high school, Mitali started doing line and dot art with water colour and her early artworks were enlarged imitation of letter pad headers featuring deities of Indian mythology. Upon seeing her intricate artwork, a family friend suggested she try oil painting. Mitali, inquisitive by nature, completed her first oil painting overnight. Alas, her excitement vanished next morning to see a blank canvas staring back at her as she had used excessive medium to paint.
Mitali learnt a big lesson that day.
There was a significant gap in Mitali’s art journey. She moved to Canada 12 years ago in 2008 with her two children. A new immigrant to Canada, Mitali sought to establish herself and had to take a break from creating art. Since establishing herself and her family, Mitali was able to test her artistic adventures by participating in the Whyte Avenue Artwalk in 2018 for the first time showcasing her watercolours, oils and dot mandalas with acrylics; and since then there has been no looking back. The focus of the show in 2018 and future Artwalk events with various Edmonton based organizers has been Mandalas. Mitali enjoys creating mandalas with acrylics that are hand painted and inspired by repetitive patterns and vibrant colours of nature.
Facebook page – Mitali’s Artistry Boutique (@mitalisartistry)
