2023
nothing we do is worth getting hurt for
Eleanor King’s solo exhibition nothing we do is worth getting hurt for at the Campbell River Art Gallery examines the history of heavy industry and its relationship with the lands and waters of Ligwiłda’xw and Huu-ay-aht territories. The artist brings together multiple media such as: video, Google Earth mapping, sound, composite photography, screen printing, and sculpture in a site-specific installation to hold a conversation about our treatment of the environment, the sustainability of that treatment, and the future.
2022
Distant Relatives
Honouring our Gəngənanəm was a workshop, facilitated by Avis O’Brien, offered Liǧwiłdax̌w youth in Cape Mudge an opportunity to explore utilising their breath, bodies, and weaving as forms of healing during this time of grief and loss. The accompanying documentary shares the experience participants went through. The film may be triggering and emotional for some viewers.
Ask the Mountains
Ask The Mountains artists sit down to answer questions from the public at the opening of the exhibitions and talk about the show.
Ask The Mountains is a multi-sensory, immersive installation featuring drawings, paintings, and soundscape compositions referencing the atmosphere and landscape of North Vancouver Island and Malcolm Island; places dear to the artists and many who call the Island their home. During Ask the Mountains, the artists return to Malcolm Island psychologically and emotionally, but not necessarily physically due to the way the pandemic has changed travel. And yet, the artists continue to carry the gifts of Malcolm Island within their separate lives as a way to help move through and seek shelter during difficult times.
2021
Humour as Medicine
Join us for a tour of Humour As Medicine, the current exhibition on at the Campbell River Art Gallery.
Humour as Medicine presents the work of contemporary Indigenous artists Sonny Assu (Ligwiłda’xw), Lori Blondeau (Cree/Salteaux/Metis), and Hjalmer Wenstob (Nuu-chah-nulth) in an exhibition that exemplifies how humour can be a powerful coping mechanism for trauma and emotional distress. Underpinning the show is the goal to explore humour as a tool for healing, activism, and open communication.
The ability to laugh at the pain and devastation inflicted by colonial and racist attitudes has been a necessary coping mechanism in Indigenous communities the world over. The powerful impact of humour can be a cathartic release and a finely honed tool used to dispense truth. Within the exhibition, the artworks chosen are infused with humour in a range of tones and shades. By employing contemporary materials in traditional form, inverting standards of whiteness, and appropriating Indigenous stereotypes to demonstrate their absurdity and one-dimensionality, Sonny Assu, Lori Blondeau, and Hjalmer Wenstob demonstrate a breadth of approaches across their artistic output and prove the effectiveness of humour in opening difficult subjects, creating space for dialogue, and restoring power to the storyteller.
These three artists approach traumatic histories and the perseverance of status quo policies and perspectives voicing important truths about the false friend colonial authority. The work of these artists is inextricably linked to Indigenous politics, and speaks frankly and unabashedly about personal and collective experiences with colonialism.
Exploring Care: Holding Space
Join Holding Space artist Whess Harman on Wednesday evening for a zine-making workshop/craft night! Zines are a great way to disseminate thoughts without being formal about them as well as an opportunity to unleash your creativity to its messiest state. Space is limited to 15 people, and the workshop is intended for youth (ages 15-30).
Wednesday, July 28, 2021
6:30 PM PDT | Online – Zoom | Free
Zine Prompt: Tenderness
“The world, as you may have noticed, has been…tumultuous. In the times of doom scroll and the endless urgency of alarms, notifications and being pulled in every direction, remembering to be gentle with one another can be a difficult habit to keep. For this zine workshop, we’ll be focusing on the theme of tenderness. Bring an idea about someone you adore or admire, a place that is special to you whether it be literal or metaphorical, a community you hold dear; anything that keeps you warm.” – Whess | @ndn_bebop
Listen to the collaborative Spotify playlist we worked to throughout the night:
Autumn Tigers
Karen Tam and Tommy Joseph, Autumn Tigers artists, will be in conversation with Helen Wang, Curator of East Asian Coins at the British Museum. The conversation will be moderated by curator Jenelle Pasiechnik.
Thursday, July 15, 2021
10 AM PDT | Online – YouTube | Free
Finding Sybil: Contemporary Responses to Sybil Andrews
Curator Jenelle M. Pasiechnik discussing the exhibition Finding Sybil: Contemporary Responses to Sybil Andrews. Artists: Nicole Crouch, Karver Everson, Jake James, Kari Kristensen, and Marni McMahan The exhibition features five BC based artists are producing new work in response to Sybil Andrew’s biographical history, aesthetic style, and artistic practice.
Saturday, March 13, 2021
2 PM PDT | Online – Zoom | Free
Finding Sybil in Contemporary Art: Ken Blackburn
Local Sybil Andrews expert Ken Blackburn, Executive Director of the Campbell River Arts Council and he is responsible for Public Programs at the Museum at Campbell River, discusses a piece by Jake James in our current exhibition, Finding Sybil: Contemporary Responses to Sybil Andrews, with Curator Jenelle M. Pasiechnik. The CR Arts Council acts as caretaker for the Sybil Andrews property, and the museum owns a number of Sybil Andrews historical items.
Finding Sybil in Contemporary Art: Linda Bevington
A former student of Sybil Andrews, Linda Bevington, discusses a piece by Marni McMahan in our current exhibition, Finding Sybil: Contemporary Responses to Sybil Andrews, with Curator Jenelle M. Pasiechnik.
Finding Sybil in Contemporary Art: Marcy Prior
Former Student of Sybil Andrews, Marcy Prior, discusses a piece by Nicole Crouch and Karver Everson in our current exhibition, Finding Sybil: Contemporary Responses to Sybil Andrews, with Curator Jenelle M. Pasiechnik.
Exploring Care: The Aesthetic of Silence
Lam Wong – Guided Meditation Audio
Lam Wong – Guided Meditation Video
Shelley Vanderbyl – Guided Meditation Audio
Shelley Vanderbyl – Guided Meditation Video
2020
Sugarbush Shrapnel
Estuary Restoration Project Video Series with Cory Cliffe
Take a virtual stroll through the Campbell River Estuary in these immersive guided tours led by Cory Cliffe, a consummate storyteller. A member of the Wei Wai Kum First Nation and a Coastal Guardian Watchman, Cliffe shares his expertise and traditional knowledge of plants, animals, archaeological sites, as well as insight into the connections between West Coast First Nations spiritual culture and environmental stewardship.
Ongoing throughout November 2020
Online – YouTube | Free
Part I
Part II
Part III
Campbell River Estuary Scavenger Hunt
Explore the estuary with your family using CRAG’s free Scavenger Hunt. Follow along on either the Myrt Thompson Trail or the Baikie Island Trail and don’t forget to tag photos of your adventure with #CRAGScavengerHunt to be entered in a draw for prizes! You could win a beaded necklace crafted by Corey Cliffe himself.
Ongoing throughout November 2020
Online – PDF | Free
In Conversation with Author Robin Wall Kimmerer & Artist Olivia Whetung
Join Robin Wall Kimmerer and Olivia Whetung in a lively discussion of the award-winning book Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants and Whetung’s beautiful body of work Sugarbush Shrapnel. This event was hosted by the Campbell River Art Gallery, in collaboration with the Museum at Campbell River and Greenways Land Trust.
Tuesday, November 10, 2020
5:00 PST | Online – Zoom | $7 plus GST
Introduction to Common Themes
Audio Recording of the Discussion
How We Lead: Questions Worth Asking
Youth Workshop with Justin Langlois
For this free workshop with artist, Justin Langlois, youth ages 15-25 will be invited to answer the question: “How would you build the future?” through conversation and creativity. Join the CRAG from the comfort of your own space for a two-hour session where you’ll learn more about the artist’s interventionist and activist-based projects, brainstorm ideas for how art can inform creative change-making, and spend time creating together across collage, drawing, or writing.
The questions become the object and the focus of our creativity, providing youth the ability to ask questions about where we live and how we live. To support this, we will provide a space of understanding that we don’t need to have all the answers for all the questions we have in this current, ever changing environment. We will explore how we can live in the question through creative activities and open dialogue.
During the workshop, participants will have the opportunity to work with the artist to explore text as an artistic form, to investigate issues impacting the broader community, and develop a set of questions that will have a continued impact beyond the activities. These questions will focus on the ideas, issues, and hopes participants have in shaping the future.
Wednesday, November 25, 2020
4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. | Online – Zoom | Free
How We Lead: All the impactful gestures we attempt
Meet the Artist: Lucie Chan