This audio is from our virtual studio visit with artist Veronika Marks in conversation with Brandi Strauss, and was originally recorded on February 27, 2023 over Zoom. About Veronika Veronika Marks is a multidisciplinary artist from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada with a Bachelors in Fine Art. Her work explores the outer fringes of human consciousness through an intersection of mysticism, sensuality, and emotional well-being. She uses a combination of performance, digital manipulation, sculpture and painting. Each medium informs one another as she moves intuitively through them. Through meditation and trance induction, Veronika uses her body with others as a conduit in film to physically manifest visions. The imagery captured on video is then used as research and inspiration for her paintings and sculptures. Currently, she is working with volunteers who have agreed to embody a stream of consciousness, while revisiting lived experiences with psychosis. About Brandi Brandi Strauss is a multidisciplinary self-taught artist and musician currently residing in amiskwaciy Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Using the moniker Static Control she explores varying forms of self expression using an amalgamation of techniques. She examines the ominous elements of humanity, and how we maintain to co-exist with the natural world - despite its chaos. By meticulously dismantling found images piece by piece, a new world and perspective is revealed. A world made of controlled yet surreal chaos, throughout vivid displays of recollection, science and the unknown.

This audio is from our virtual studio visit with artist Brittany Cherweniuk in conversation with Mary Pinkoski, and was  originally recorded on January 18, 2023 over Zoom. About Brittany Brittany Cherweniuk is a Métis fine craft artist and instructor, working in textile and fiber arts, endeavoring to create cultural connections and to tell multigenerational stories. She has built her career as an Arts Administrator working in museums, galleries, and non-profit organizations - focusing on curation, program development, youth leadership, traditional Indigenous arts, and sharing Indigenous authentic histories. She currently resides in amiskwaciy-wâskahikan (Beaver Hills House), commonly known as Edmonton, in Treaty No. 6 Territory. About Mary Mary Pinkoski, 5th Poet Laureate of the City of Edmonton (2013-2015), is an internationally-recognized poet, arts and museum educator, and doctoral student at the University of Alberta. In 2019, she was Edmonton Public Library Regional Writer in Residence. Mary's poetry has appeared in multiple anthologies. She was the 2011 Canadian National Spoken Word Champion and the national winner of the 2008 CBC National Poetry Face-off. In 2015, Mary was recognized as an Edmonton Top 40 Under 40 and was awarded a University of Alberta Alumni Horizon Award for her poetry work in the Edmonton community.

This audio is from our virtual studio visit with artist Elsa Robinson in conversation with Dawn Carter, and was  originally recorded on November 29, 2022 over Zoom. About Elsa Elsa Robinson is a Jamaican-Canadian multi-media artist and art educator. Elsa’s artistic expression uses painting, collage, textile art, installation art, poetry, dance, and acting to ‘speak’ to audiences from her cultural inheritance. Her decades-long devotion to artistic practice has imbued her work with vibrancy, versatility and an intuitive spiritual poignancy through which she transmits her deep love and care for humanity. At the start of her art career, Elsa worked as a self-taught artist. Recognizing the value of extending her art making skills, her understanding of he own art and her place in art history, Elsa invested in her art education and now holds the degree of Bachelor of Arts in Art and Design from the University of Alberta and the degree of Master of Fine Arts from the Vermont College of Fine Arts. Elsa is a passionate arts educator who facilitates workshops for artists of all ages and experience levels. About Dawn Dawn Carter is a writer, educator, performance poet, public speaker, entrepreneur, and community advocate of Barbadian British Canadian heritage. She is also the first Black woman to run a major 2SLGBTQ+ organization in Western Canada. She emigrated with her family from England, where anti-Black racism was on the rise. Dawn and her family lived in rural Alberta before settling in Edmonton. After a few years in Toronto, she returned to Dirt City, where she considers herself a Northsider for life. Through Dawn’s life experiences she has been able to create art that not only tells amazing stories but creates awareness and constantly contributes to the community around her.

This audio is from our virtual studio visit with artist Kiona Callihoo Ligtvoet in conversation with Michelle Campos Castillo, and was originally recorded  on October 25, 2022 over Zoom. Reading List Kiona and Michelle shared some of their favourite graphic novels during this episode. Below is a list of the books we discussed. Purchase from your fave indie bookstore or directly from the publisher if you can! We Were Younger Once by Kiona Callihoo Ligtvoet Skim by Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki Big Kids by Michael DeForge Shadow Life by Hiromi Goto and Ann Xu This is How I Disappear by Mirion Malle Coyote Doggirl by Lisa Hanawalt Condolady by Elisabeth Beliveau Here by Richard McGuire About Kiona Kiona Callihoo Ligtvoet (she/her) is a multidisciplinary artist practicing in amiskwaciwâskahikan on Treaty 6 Territory. She grew up West of the city near the hamlet of Calahoo where she lived with her relatives on scrip land. Her family lines are Cree and Métis descending from Michel First Nation, as well as Dutch and mixed European. Kiona works in painting, printmaking, and drawing, recollecting personal stories of grief and tenderness. Her practice uses a non-linear telling of her memories through narrative work as a form of diaristic archiving. It draws from feelings of loss and enfranchisement, but also from deep belly laughter, and a gentle fondness for where the histories between herself and her family overlap and disperse. She’s recently exhibited work at Ociciwan Contemporary Art Centre (2021), Latitude 53 (2021, 2022), Khyber Centre for the Arts (2021), Harcourt House (2022), and Neutral Ground (2022). She co-curated the soil between plants with Making Space (2022), and What’s Held through TREX NW and the Art Gallery of Grande Prairie (2022). Additionally, Kiona was a recipient of the Lieutenant Governor Emerging Artist Award (2022), and just finished her debut graphic novel with Conundrum Press, titled We Were Younger Once (2022). Working alongside other artists in initiatives of community care, Kiona co-organizes Making Space in partnership with Sanaa Humayun. She likes visiting her moshom on the farm, and gossiping with her mom, relatives, and friends on the prairies. About Michelle Michelle Campos Castillo is a Salvadoran visual artist living in  Edmonton. She has been the recipient of several public art commissions  from the City of Edmonton, including Platanos, a set of three sculptures  on permanent display at Belvedere Transit Centre, and is finalizing  artwork for the LRT Valley Line in the west end of the city. Her most  recent exhibits are a solo show, Terremoto, presented in the summer of  2022 at grunt gallery in Vancouver, BC and as part of Imborrable at the  National Gallery in San Salvador, El Salvador. She is currently working  on a graphic memoir titled Colonia, based on her life in El Salvador  during the country’s civil war.

This audio is from our virtual studio visit with artist Shawnee Danielle in conversation with Kyra Heneghan-Smith, and was originally recorded on September 10, 2022 over Zoom. About Shawnee Shawnee Danielle is an Indigenous Cree artist who was  raised on the Maskwacis Reserve and is currently based in  Amiskwaciwâskahikan or so-called Edmonton. In 2018, she graduated from  MacEwan University with a Diploma in Fine Arts and moved forward in her  academic studies to complete her Bachelor’s in Fine Arts in Art and  Design at the University of Alberta in 2020. In 2019, she received the  Indigenous Careers Award and was awarded numerously by Nipisihkopahk  Iyinisiwin Trust Fund for the completion of her education throughout her  academic career. She considers her practice to be a continuous  exploration of her own Cree identity, both learning and exercising  traditional practices, as she navigates her relationship with cultural  identity through themes related around femininity, indigeneity, trauma,  and body. While she works primarily as a painter, she also works with  various mediums such as installation, video, digital media and  photography. About Kyra Kyra Heneghan-Smith is a multidisciplinary artist living in  Amiskwaciwâskahikan (Edmonton, Alberta) whose primary mediums include  soft sculpture, photography, illustration, and painting. Drawing  inspiration from nature and ecology, Kyra explores themes of gender,  intimacy, and environmental decline. She is interested in poetics and  pattern, and much of her work employs tools like metaphor and  repetition. Kyra Graduated from MacEwan University in 2018 with a  diploma in fine arts, and she received her BFA from the University of  Alberta in 2021. Since graduating, Kyra has developed a commercial  design practice, and spends much of her time learning and exploring new  ways of making. Outside of work or the studio, Kyra can be found tending  to her vegetable garden - an extension of her creative practice.

This audio is from our virtual studio visit with artist Ryland Fortie in conversation with Max Keene, and was originally recorded on July 28, 2022 over Zoom. About Ryland Ryland Fortie received his BFA in 2016 from Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, BC, and has been based in Edmonton for the past several years. He has exhibited in group shows nationally with Prometheus Projects in Montreal, at The Plumb in Toronto, and with Lowlands Projects here in Edmonton. Fortie has been accepted as an upcoming MFA candidate at the University of Victoria. About Max Max Keene is a Canadian artist and current MFA candidate at the University of Victoria. He uses an amalgamation of techniques simultaneously in his work ranging from airbrush painting, analog and digital photographic processes, 3D rendering, and drawing. He has exhibited in a group and solo capacity across Canada, most recently in collaboration with artist Trevor Bourke at 8146 Drolet, Montreal and Afternoon Projects in Vancouver. He enjoys walking around and eating sunflower seeds.

This audio is from our virtual studio visit with artist Kerri-Lynn Reeves in conversation with Jenny Western, and was originally recorded on June 23, 2022 over Zoom. About Kerri-Lynn Kerri-Lynn Reeves (she/her) is an interdisciplinary artist, educator,  and mother originally from rural Manitoba, where she grew up as a  European-Canadian settler on Treaty 2 land. At the heart of it, her work  explores the relationship of the social and the material through the  use of spatial, relational, and craft practices. With a commitment to  blurring the lines between life and art, Reeves earned her Master of Fine Arts - Studio Arts in Fibres and Material Practices from Concordia  University in 2016 with her first child strapped to her chest. Reeves, now a mother / step-mother of four, continues to explore the confluences  of her art making, teaching, and parenting practices. Reeves is a  tenure-track Assistant Professor in Studio Arts at MacEwan University in  Edmonton, AB, ᐊᒥᐢᑿᒌᐚᐢᑲᐦᐃᑲᐣ (Amiskwacîwâskahikan), Treaty 6 Territory. About Jenny Jenny Western is an artist, writer, and curator based in Winnipeg,  Manitoba. She holds an undergraduate degree in History from the University of Winnipeg and a Masters in Art History and Curatorial  Practice from York University in Toronto. While completing her graduate studies, she accepted a position at the Art Gallery of Southwestern Manitoba in Brandon where she held the position of Curator and later  became the AGSM’s Adjunct Curator. Western has curated exhibitions and  programs across Canada and she makes up one-third of the Sobey Award  nominated art collective The Ephemerals. Western is of European, Oneida, and Stockbridge-Musee descent and a member of the Brothertown Indian Nation of Wisconsin.

This audio is from our virtual studio visit with artists and collaborators Fatme Elkadry and Fern Facette, and was originally recorded on May 4, 2022 over  Zoom. About Fatme Fatme Elkadry (she/her) is a first-generation settler  on Amiskwaciwâskahikan from Safad, Palestine. She is a  multi-disciplinary artist and has studied visual art, fine craft,  graphic design, prose, and performance art through a variety of experiential opportunities, including formal education and personal  mentorship. Fatme utilizes her art practice to explore and express her identities. She passionately advocates for barrier-free and equitable  involvement of all folks in the arts. Fatme’s favourite things in life  are her mom, magpies, and purple figs. About Fern Jessica Fern Facette (Fern, she/her) is an Edmonton  based fibre artist who has been weaving for nearly two decades. She is a passionately engaged artist who shares knowledge and encourages others to discover textiles. She founded Fern’s School of Textile Craft in 2017, a place where fibre artists from across Canada meet to carry on  the long tradition of sharing skills and knowledge. Fern is a stalwart  advocate for the accessibility of textile arts and has created many opportunities for folks to explore textiles through years of  volunteering, mentoring and most recently an in-studio textile residency. Fern’s own weaving is an exploration of colour, pattern and texture.

This audio is from our virtual studio visit with artists Taryn Walker and Nicholas Hertz, and was originally recorded on March 29, 2022 over Zoom. About Taryn Taryn Walker is a queer, interdisciplinary Indigenous artist of Nlka'pamux, Syilx, and mixed European ancestry whose work explores concepts of identity, tenderness, healing, cycles of life and death, and the supernatural through drawing, printmaking, installation, and video. In 2018 Walker graduated from the University of Victoria’s BFA program. Taryn is currently an Emerging Artist in Residence at SNAP in Edmonton, AB, and will be exhibiting work at the SNAP Gallery in May 2022. Walker was awarded the Diane Mary Hallam Achievement Award by UVic for academic excellence and commitment to the arts in 2018 and in 2017 they were also longlisted for the Philip B. Lind Emerging Artist Prize, presented by the Presentation House Gallery for demonstrating excellence as an emerging video artist and photographer. Taryn’s artistic practice and research has been presented and supported by spaces, events, and granting streams across Western Canada and beyond. About Nicholas Nicholas Hertz (he/they) is a queer white-settler artist based Amiskwacîwâskahikan (Edmonton). Their work and research takes an interdisciplinary approach to exploring the liminal space between shame and desire, where he connects to the objectification of the queer body and the anthropomorphizing of environments. In 2019, they received their Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Alberta, where they were awarded the Livia Stoyke Foundation BFA Best of Show Award. Since then, their work has been featured in many exhibitions both locally and internationally. Currently they are an Emerging Artist in Residence at SNAP, with a solo exhibition slated for May 2022. They are also a participant in the Love Lab residency at the Art Gallery of Mississauga, sponsored by Panasonic. They have previously served on the Board of Directors at SNAP, invigilated with the Art Gallery of Alberta, and taught programs with the Art Gallery of St. Albert.

About AFH This audio is from our virtual studio visit with artist Allison Tunis in conversation with Zoë Schneider, and was originally recorded on December 14, 2021 over Zoom. About the artist Allison Tunis (she/they) is a visual artist living and working as a  settler on Treaty 6 territory, in Amiswaciwâskahikan (Edmonton). She  holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Alberta  (2008) and a graduate diploma in Art Therapy from the Vancouver Art  Therapy Institute (2013). Through their work, Allison seeks to explore  themes of personal and community healing through the art process and  look to challenge norms and expectations around marginalized bodies – with a specific focus on queer, fat, neurodiverse, and disabled  experiences. As well, they aim to reimagine art materials, techniques  and collaborative processes in ways that reduce barriers and harm, while  contributing to critical conversations within and beyond traditional  art spaces about accessibility, intersectionality, social justice, and  strengths-based theory. Allison is a recipient of the Edmonton Artist  Trust Fund award (2018) and Alberta Craft Council Early Achievement  award (2018), and was the artist-in-residence for Harcourt House Artist-Run Centre in 2019. About the work This project seeks to develop a more equitable and anti-oppressive approach to portraiture and art-making, specifically focusing on breaking down hierarchies often present in art practices – by listening  to and centering lived experience, recognizing and addressing the power  differentials between “artist” and “model, and reflecting on questions about elitism and exclusion within art communities, the value of creation vs. concept, insider vs. outsider art, craft vs. fine art, and art ownership and consent practices. The overall project aims to benefit  individuals living with chronic illness(es) by building community,  providing meaningful compensation for sharing their experiences,  challenging and breaking down artistic hierarchies and barriers, and widening the scope of the conversation about the identities and  experiences of those who live with chronic illness – led by those with lived experience. About the co-host Zoë Schneider (she/her) is based in Regina, Treaty 4 Territory,  Saskatchewan, Canada. Schneider works in sculpture, video, and installation to critically examine the complexity of fat identity.  Schneider holds an MFA from the University of Saskatchewan (2018), and a BFA from the Alberta University of the Arts (2009). In Canada Schneider has exhibited in Regina, Saskatoon, Estevan, Guelph, Mississauga, Lethbridge, and internationally in Denmark, Germany, and the United States.