Current and Upcoming Shows
January 7-25, 2025
Reception:
Saturday, Jan. 18 | 12-3 p.m. | FAB Gallery
(view the PDF e-vite)
Curated by:
MJ Belcourt
Featuring works by:
Elaine Alexie, Erik Lee, Carmen Miller
About the show:
The travelling exhibit entitled “ᐊᐧᐃᐧᓯᐦᒋᑲᐣ wawisihcikan - adornment” takes a look at adornment through an Indigenous perspective.
The meaning of adornment according to the dictionary states the use of item(s) that decorate, embellish, enhance, beautify, or enrich. It could be said adornment is the finishing touch that distinguishes the wearer.
Adornment from an Indigenous perspective goes beyond the items’ beauty. It is an artistic expression that conveys many levels of communication. It makes connection to a spiritual foundation, the importance to land and place, and defines inherent culture.
Early adornment provides a sense of knowledge about our ancestors that reflect the natural world in which they lived. The seasonal round of birth and rebirth shape our worldview in a circulatory way as everything is interdependent.
Spirituality has been the foundation for Indigenous peoples’ lives and an ‘intrinsic quality of creative activity.’ These artistic expressions were woven into the fabric of daily life. ‘Artifacts were generally created as items to be used, not as ‘art’. Bags, pouches, along with awl and knife sheaths were functional yet beautifully decorated’.
Through European contact and trade metal goods, cloth and glass beads were incorporated into the repertoire of the maker. Even as the use of trade materials increased, traditional styles of embellishment remained with the use of these traditional materials still being utilized to this present day, maintaining connection to ancestors and cultural traditions. ‘Contemporary artists/artisans are keenly aware of their responsibility as guardians of traditions from which their imagery and inspiration derive.’
‘More than beautiful ornamentation, adornment is a visual language expressing the joy of creativity, pride in attention to craftsmanship, and the desire to share with others. Above all, it honors oneself as well as one’s people by doing a thing well.’ (Sherr Dubin, Lois. North American Indian Jewelry and Adornment: From Prehistory to the Present)
This exhibition was curated by MJ Belcourt and organized by the Art Gallery of Alberta for the Alberta Foundation for the Arts Travelling Exhibition Program. The AFA TREX program is financially supported by the Alberta Foundation for the Arts.
First Gallery @ FAB
itself, the netting, holding | Moriah Crocker
January 7-25, 2025
Reception:
Saturday, Jan. 18 | 12-3 p.m. | FAB Gallery
(view the PDF e-vite)
About the show:
Moriah Crocker’s research explores Indigenous beadwork and beadwork processes, labour, and negotiating alternative economic relationships embedded in Indigenous (Métis/nehiyaw) relationality. Her work is grounded in her personal beadworking practice, and in documenting the labour involved in beading through photography.
Through durational beadwork performances, she invites people to engage with the work of beading. Considering the historical importance of trade in creating miyo-wîcihitowin, she posits the labour of the artist and the time of the visitor as a trading, reciprocal relationship.
Moriah will be beading in the gallery on Saturdays from 12-3 p.m. (January 11, 18 & 25).
Visitors can also request an appointment on Wednesdays or Thursdays to participate in the performance and leave with a beaded item to remember the experience. Please fill out the Google form HERE to participate.
About the artist:
Moriah Crocker (she/her/wiya) is a Métis beadworker and researcher. She began beading in 2020 for family and friends. Currently pursuing a Masters of Art in History of Art, Design, and Visual Culture, her research-creation thesis is focused on the labour of Indigenous beadwork. Born and raised in amiskwacîwâskihikan, she is of settler and Mêtis descent and a member of the Métis Nation of Alberta.
(Photo credit: Adam Waldron-Blain and Latitude 53)
Second Floor
2024 Alcuin Society Awards for Excellence in Book Design in Canada
January 7-February 8, 2025
Reception:
Saturday, Jan. 18 | 12-3 p.m. | FAB Gallery
(view the PDF e-vite)
About the show:
Since 1981 the Alcuin Society has sponsored the only national competition that recognizes and celebrates fine book design in Canada. Each year, publishers submit books to a panel of expert judges, who give the Alcuin Society Awards for Excellence in Book Design in Canada. 2024 marked the 42nd anniversary of the Alcuin Society’s Awards for Excellence in Book Design in Canada. 78 Canadian publishers submitted books published during 2024, with each title representing the work of Canadian book designers. 206 books from across Canada were entered in 9 categories, 36 were selected for awards.
Categories include:
- prose fiction
- prose non-fiction
- prose illustrated
- poetry
- pictorial
- children’s
- reference
- limited editions
- comics
Winter 2025 Exhibitions Listings
January 7-25, 2025
- Main Floor:
ᐊᐧᐃᐧᓯᐦᒋᑲᐣ
wawisihcikan - adornment
Featuring works by: Elaine Alexie, Erik Lee, Carmen Miller; curated by MJ Belcourt and organized by the Art Gallery of Alberta for the Alberta Foundation for the Arts Travelling Exhibition Program. - First Gallery:
Moriah Crocker, MA HADVC Thesis Research
January 7-February 8, 2025
- Second Floor:
Alcuin Society Book Design Awards
February 4-8 2025 (International Week Event)
- First Gallery:
Narges Noori
Feb 25-March 15, 2025
- Main Floor:
Tamara Deedman, MFA Thesis Printmaking
March 25 - April 5, 2025
- BDes Grad Show
April 15 - 26 2025
- BFA Grad Show
Visiting FAB Gallery
FAB Gallery Hours effective September 3, 2024:
- Tuesday-Friday | 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
- Saturday | 12-3 p.m.
- Closed on Sundays & Mondays
FAB Gallery Location:
1-1 Fine Arts Building
University of Alberta
112 Street and 89 Avenue