Canmore is a mountain town, but the Three Sisters Gallery shows there is more to Canmore than just mountains.
On the second floor of Elevation Place, Canmores recreation facility, the Three Sisters Gallery’s art is used as a storytelling tool.
Twenty-two art pieces are on display as part of the gallery’s “Circles and Spheres” exhibit, which started on September 4 and ends on November 4.
The “Circles and Spheres” exhibit is meant to share diversity, equity, and inclusion perspectives in the Bow Valley.
Some of the exhibit’s art pieces clearly depict these themes, while others are more abstract and leave it up to the viewer’s imagination.
For example, a painting by Saloni Sharma shows three birds sitting on a branch. Two of the birds are facing each other with a pale white moon behind them.
The third bird is perched higher on the branch, facing away from the pair. How would you interpret this painting? Is the art piece meant to highlight the feeling of isolation?
Or maybe the bird perched higher is a protector watching over their flock or family? That’s the beauty of art – it can mean anything. What better way to represent the Bow Valley’s diversity than art?
“The community is made up of so many different facets and people, experiences, backgrounds. I almost think of it like a collage of artistry and art and story and connection that people are pulling together in this show,” Sue Hayduk, Canmore’s arts and culture coordinator, told the Rocky Mountain Outlook.
Viewing art has many benefits, including health and well-being. A University of Pennsylvania study found that visiting an art museum reduces stress, creates positive emotional experiences, and reduces feelings of loneliness.
Like exercise helps reduce chemicals that make you feel stressed and anxious, art stimulates your brain’s neurons and activates the pleasure response.
Looking at a visually pleasing or beautiful piece of art also increases blood flow to the brain by as much as ten percent, which is the equivalent of looking at someone you love.
Talent On Full Display
Tara Vahab, a skilled artist and founder of the LOUD Art Society in Calgary, understands the health benefits of art well.
LOUD aims to improve mental health through art-related programs, events, and projects. The organization’s latest program was a bookbinding workshop.
To date, the largest piece of art on the Three Sisters Gallery’s wall is one of Vahab’s. It measures six by three feet and is made of woven newspaper, a medium she experiments with often in her work.
A pair of ceramic hands “emerge” from the newspaper holding tiny scrolls with positive messages written on them.
On Wednesday last week, Vahab hosted a collaborative art experience for the exhibition’s opening reception. During the event, she explained how she uses art to build community.
“(Vahab) tries to build community through art, and I think maybe that’s the whole purpose of this show, is trying to build community through art and showcase those different ways of being,” said Hayduk.
Last winter, Vahab was a featured artist for “Art Walk in the Woods,” a temporary outdoor art exhibit that featured seven displays. Vahab’s piece was unique because it invited the public to take a tile from her art and leave their mark on the empty space.
“I want to welcome the audience to come and take a piece of it and add something to it. Most of my art really involves inviting people to create something and making creativity more accessible,” said Vahab.
Vahab is one of 14 artists whose work will be displayed at the Three Sisters Gallery’s “Circles and Spheres” exhibit.
The artists are from all over Alberta, including places like Calgary, Cochrane, Red Deer, Claresholm, and Canmore.
Attendees can expect to see acrylic, oil pastels, fabric, silver leaf, and multimedia, meaning there is something for everyone to enjoy at the exhibit.
“You hear the circle of life, you hear the tree of life, you hear community connections, that’s going to be a lot of the language that you’re going to sort of see in the show,” said Hayduk.
Depending on your perspective, an art exhibit can be as meaningful and impactful as you want.
So why not visit the “Circles and Spheres” exhibit and explore the beautiful stories of the Bow Valley told through art?
