Killarney Guide

‘Afterword: A Book Project’ exhibition open now at the Heritage Home for the Arts

BY KIM LANGEN

How does literature transcribe into works of art?

The radiant answer has just appeared on the walls of the Heritage Home for the Arts, where the works of seven talented women are now on display as part of the gallery’s current exhibition, Afterword: A Book Project.

They are part of the Drawn Together Collective, which includes area artists Lisa Lysack, Susana Danyliuk, Colleen Granger, Mary Lowe, Amy Buehler, Katharine Bruce (of Holmfield), and Anne Fallis.

“They each chose one book to read, written by a female writer from the Prairies,” said arts administrator Jane Ireland. “There are seven books, and seven artists. And reading this book would become their inspiration for this exhibition; maybe just a particular sentence, or a part of the book itself; whatever strikes them artistically. The connection is explained next to each artist’s works.”

This group of Manitoba artists relates the following, in order to describe the pathways that led them from the words on a printed page, and through to achieving expressions in living colour.

‘Words evoke powerful ideas, images and emotions. Afterword:  A Book Project demonstrates the uniquely personal reactions to an author’s work that enters a world beyond words where art making takes over,” they wrote.  

‘Women artists respond to women authors in a place often relegated to “the middle of nowhere” – the vastness of the prairie.  

Through words, through art making, Afterword: A Book Project reveals that this place of flat land and huge sky is replete with vibrant life.  Where people live, who they are and the experiences they have, all inform how individuals interpret the world around them or comprehend words in a book. 

The connections found between prairie authors and prairie artists in this project have resulted in a dynamic display of interdisciplinary art that deals with an array of concepts and decodes the complex reality of what it means to be a woman, perhaps especially, a prairie woman.’

Afterword: A Book Project, opens Friday, March 5 and runs till Saturday, March 27 at the Heritage Home for the Arts, at 44 Water Avenue, Killarney. The opening reception runs from 7 p.m. until 9 p.m., but you must register ahead to celebrate the event.

“It’s by appointment only,” said Ireland. “People can call me at 1-431-734-0394 to reserve a half-hour time slot, where you can meet the six artists who will be here, and enjoy the exhibition, and the gallery. We can have five people at a time in the gallery within each half-hour slot. There will be no refreshments, unfortunately, due to the pandemic restrictions. I am thrilled with the show; it’s just wonderful. And people are already booking in for the reception event.”

INSPIRED BY PRAIRIE WOMEN WRITERS – Artists were swarming the walls of the local art gallery on Tuesday, installing this month’s thrilling exhibition of Afterwork: A Book Project. Above, Amy Buehler (on the ladder) and Susana Danyliuk, members of the Drawn Together Collective, focus on hanging a series of works at the Heritage Home for the Arts. The show opens tonight, and runs until March 27.

KIM LANGEN/KILLARNEY GUIDE PHOTOS

THE DRAWN TOGETHER COLLECTIVE OF ARTISTS – The Drawn Together Collective, a group of seven female artists, are currently exhibiting their work at the Heritage Home for the Arts. From left to right are: Lisa Lysack, Susana Danyliuk, Colleen Granger, Mary Lowe and Amy Buehler. Missing from the photo are Katharine Bruce and Anne Fallis. The exhibition, Afterword: A Book Project, opens tonight, but patrons must reserve a half-hour slot in advance for the reception event.

JANE IRELAND/PHOTO