Main Gallery
Members’ Show
April 8 to May 27, 2023
The 41st Annual Members’ Show is the CRAG’s way of celebrating and acknowledging the talent of local and regional leisure, emerging, and amateur artists. We are proud to showcase the breadth of talent in our community. The exhibition is presented in partnership with the Campbell River Arts Council.
Interrelations: A third perspective
Solo exhibition by Abdi Osman, curated by Ellyn Walker
June 10 to August 19, 2023
Interrelations: A third perspective is an exhibition project led by artist Abdi Osman and curated by Ellyn Walker with contributions from local and (inter)national artists and cultural workers (Cecily Nicholson, BC; Rinaldo Walcott, ON; and others TBD). Taking place at the Campbell River Art Gallery and amongst public spaces outdoors in spring 2023, Interrelations explores questions of place and place-making through a focus on water as a migratory body and living relation. Water brings with it complex histories of global Indigeneity and diaspora, enslavement and indentureship, (im)migration and freedom-seeking. With every tide these histories come to the fore, reminding us of water’s ongoing-ness as a force that has brought and continues to bring diverse peoples to these territories. Located on the unceded traditional territory of the Ligwiłda’xw people, what is today called ‘Campbell River’ has been home to the We Wai Kai, Wei Wai Kum, and Kwiakah First Nations, amongst other groups, since time immemorial. For this project, Somali-Canadian artist Abdi Osman responds to this complex site and its many histories in a new multi-media work made in situ, as well as through a series of local community-based collaborations with artists, writers and activists. In our urgent moment of environmental crisis, water is a lifesource that unites us all. This exhibition and its related multi-sited projects contribute to an overarching dialogue around water, access, movement, displacement, and re-settlement that invites the public to consider some of the shared as well as culturally distinct histories of Campbell River, and beyond
Celestial Bodies: expanding sexuality and gender
Group exhibition by Cassils, Adrienne Crossman, Dayna Danger, Brandon Hoax, Vivek Shraya, Sin Wai Kin, and Rah Eleh
Curated by Genevieve Flavelle and Jenelle Pasiechnik
September 2 to November 11, 2023
The group exhibition celebrates works by artists that expand notions of gender. Starting from this expanded notion, the exhibition explores facets of gender, sexuality, identity, LGBTQIA+ rights and advocacy, community joy and vibrancy through the work of artists working across mediums. The artists come from diverse backgrounds, ancestries, and points of experience, bringing a prismatic view of already complex and rich topics that are highly relevant and deserving of greater visibility and understanding.
The first of its kind in Campbell River and North Vancouver Island, this exhibition aims to create safe spaces for folks who express gender fluidities to feel welcome and seen, as well as create a space where folks who have questions and are unsure can come for education and discussion. It is our hope that the exhibition and accompanying programming creates an atmosphere of high visibility, support, and advocacy.
Satellite Gallery
Mul’a || Gratitude
John Vincent Sharkey (Guy), Chuck Joules, and Shawn Decaire
Curated by: Nadine Bariteau
January 28 to April 29, 2023
Mu’la means Gratitude in Kwakwala. This state of appreciation fosters a sense of our collective responsibility and shared humanity. Each artist’s work is a manifestation of their gratitude. Chuck Jule’s gratitude goes to the people of the Hive, the space where he practices his art. Guy Sharkey’s gratitude goes toward Beau Dick, his mentor for 30 years, who taught him the traditional way of carving. Finally, Shawn wants to pay tribute to the late Georges Lewis who taught him 20 years ago to make his very first Manat’si (drum).
This exhibition is a reminder that everyday we can be thankful for someone or something that has come across our path, and this makes room for the power and possibility of change.
Material as Archive
Artist: Marika St. Rose Yeo
Curator: Alexa Heenan
May 13- August 19, 2023
The exhibition Material as Archive, with artworks created by Marika Yeo and curated by Alexa Heenan, will focus on the premise of “search” and how we navigate our histories through materiality. For Yeo, this process consists of the physical interaction with clay as she kneads, moulds, and shapes the organic material with her hands, simultaneously contemplating the intricate relationship between raw material and its role as an archive of knowledge for herself and others. Drawing inspiration from her ancestral roots in West Africa, the Caribbean, Europe and Canada, Yeo pieces together unique vessels from fragments of clay that she adorns with organic, geometric and floral designs found within each cultures’ artistic traditions. As a result, each sculptural vessel embodies Yeo’s process of gathering, layering and stitching together a material archive of knowledge, experiences, culture, and history.
