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Southern Alberta Art Gallery celebrates summer ahead of 50th year
Starting this weekend, the Southern Alberta Art Gallery (SAAG) is launching its summer exhibitions.
Two artists will control the show floors, with Leila Sujir displaying her Forest Documents, while Namaakii Bear Hat presents Something Given.
'These exhibitions have some similarities, especially in their approach to nature and our reciprocity to nature and how materials are extracted and how we learn and pass knowledge to each other,' said Adam Whitford, curator of SAAG.
Forest Documents is a two-video display with several written works about deforestation on tables nearby. The two video screens run the same content, but one is 2D, while the other is 3D.
'We're providing these documents and various books in the reading room for people to browse, to open at random and see where that takes them,' said Sujir.
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Jorge Zavagno is the technical director of Forest Documents and he says he hopes people will learn something while enjoying the art.
'People can come in and they can both be amazed by the images, the 3D, the beautiful old growth, but also learn a bit about what's happening.'
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As for Bear Hat's Something Given, she hopes people will learn to simple share and enjoy the moment.
'I want people to feel like they can also share with me their experiences,' she said.
She says her work was made in, and by, southern Alberta.
'I made (the sculptures) from the clay from the Old Man River and the plinths were also from around here, from southern Alberta. They're cottonwood.'
After the summer exhibit, SAAG is turning its attention to its 50-year anniversary in 2026. The gallery is pairing new and veteran artists to produce four separate exhibits over the year.
'These artist pairings are working together in a mentorship model to produce a new exhibition,' said Whitford.
One of the up-and-coming artists is Jaeden Blewett, a university student currently based in Vancouver.
'It's always wonderful already having something lined up right after I graduate. I'll graduate in the spring of 2026, then have this exhibition in the fall,' said Blewett.
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She says SAAG has a tremendous reputation and she believes this will be a big first step in her career, especially considering she gets to work with a veteran artist.
'I think it's a great stepping stone for the next thing to come. It's always hard to find exhibitions that really align with what I'm interested in, so it's always exciting to have something on the calendar.'
Blewett describes her work as focuses on textile and site-specific art installations to give onlookers a very real understanding.
'My work investigates the hidden labours of women, often using industrial materials and weaving to challenge representational failures and disrupt embedded hierarchies.'
Whitford says he's very excited to see what Blewett brings to his gallery next year.
'I think her weaving and textiles are really exciting. Seeing them brought into an installation, especially working with Germaine Koh, they're both currently based in Vancouver, so it's a really good chance for them to work together. Germaine also brings a history of practice with textiles, so I think they're going to work really well together,' said Whitford.
Blewett says she hopes to be an exhibiting artist and become a professor someday.
'I really have a lot of admiration for universities and how they can help inform and shape people. I'm really excited to hopefully pursue that as well.'
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The SAAG summer exhibition begins Aug. 9, while the 50-year anniversary launches in 2026.
