News

The Owens Art Gallery and the Indigenous Affairs Coordinator of Mount Allison University are thrilled to unveil Prayers for Our Lost Children (2021), a moving new work by prominent Mi’kmaq artist Loretta Gould. This work was commissioned in 2021 as the shameful story of Canada’s Residential School System continued to unfold. The painting serves as a poignant reminder of what Canada has stolen from Indigenous peoples and the ways in which this harm endures. At the same time, it underlines the vital continuity of Mi’kmaq art, culture, and spiritual practices, and the important role that women and children have played in maintaining this permanence. The painting, which is currently installed outside the office of the Indigenous Affairs Coordinator, is part of a series of public artworks commissioned by the Indigenous Affairs Coordinator and the Owens Art Gallery since 2019, including two works by Mi’kmaq artist, Pauline Young: She Lights the Way (2019), a stained-glass memorial to Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, and Wabanaki/People of the Dawn (2020), a flag design representing the Mi’kmaq territory of Mi’kma’ki as a living relationship between land and sea.
 
Loretta Gould is a Mi’kmaq quilter and painter who loves bright, beautiful colours. A self-taught artist, she grew up in Waycobah First Nation where she later raised five children with her husband Elliot Gould. She began making a living through her art quilts but, when her sewing machine broke in 2013, she decided to try her hand at painting. She’s been painting ever since. Loretta’s dream is to share her art with the world. For her, art is a way to get her spiritual feelings on canvas. Please visit the artist’s website: www.mikmaq-artist.com/collections

Activities for Families Sponsored by the Rotary Club of Sackville

Make Something Sunday To Go returns with a new kit for September. Make Something Sunday To Go kits include everything you need for art activities inspired by works in our permanent collection. Each activity is accompanied by a short video that gives you an up-close look at an artwork and ideas for something to make in response to it.

26 September
Gordon Smith and Colour Combinations

In his print, Special Green, 1967, Gordon Smith explores line and colour. If you look closely, you will see places where colours overlap and new colours are created. Using washi tape, play with the movement of lines and discover new colours as lines cross and layer. Design a set of postcards to send to family and friends.

Kit pick-ups from 20-26 September

Dive into your kit as soon as you get home, wait for Sunday, or save it for a rainy day—it’s up to you! When you have something to share, tag us at #OwensArtGallery and #MakeSomethingSunday and show us what you’ve made. Search these tags to see what others have made and watch our Instagram stories for highlights.

Make Something Sunday To Go introduces new materials and ways of working through informal, hands-on activities for kids 12 and under and their adults. Our kits are offered free of charge. Sponsored by the Rotary Club of Sackville.

Make Something Sunday To Go kits will be available for pick-up from the Owens front desk on a first-come-first-served basis during regular open hours. Community masks are required to enter the gallery.

On display at Gallery 78 until Saturday, October 2, is the Annual Society of Canadian Artist’s Elected Members’ Exhibition. Member artists from across the country have competed and been juried to participate in this national exhibition. Experience the art of thirty-six artists from across Canada, five of whom won awards totaling $7,000, including the prestigious Mary Pratt Crystal Award.

About the Society of Canadian Artists – The SCA is a national, non-profit artists’ organization dedicated to expanding the visibility and stature of the visual arts. SCA has representation in all the visual arts media.

Gallery 78, 796 Queen St. (corner of Church and Queen), Fredericton, NB

Open: Tues to Fri 10am-4pm, Sat 10am-3pm, or visit virtually at: www.gallery78.com

Saturday, September 18, 2021, is I’m Buying an NB Book! day. Bookstores, publishers, and literary organizations across New Brunswick have teamed up to launch this initiative which aims to highlight New Brunswick authors and increase sales of their books in local bookstores.

With literature as with food, buying local has a positive impact on the vitality and growth of our community. We invite readers and the literary sector to participate in I’m Buying an NB Book! day in their own way.

All initiatives put forward by individuals or by organizations to promote or to participate in this day are welcomed.

Here are a few ways to participate:

 Customize the I’m Buying an NB Book! poster (can be printed here: https://bit.ly/3BHjccj) by adding the address or website of a local bookstore or publisher and place the poster in a public setting (bookstore, library, market, theatre, cultural centre, restaurant, café, community centre, university, college, etc.).

 Use the digital poster, tagline, and hashtags (#September18 #myNBbooks #IReadLocal) to promote I’m buying an NB book! day on social media (downloadable digital posters here: https://bit.ly/3BHjccj).

 Share your New Brunswick book suggestions on social media.

 Encourage your friends to participate in I’m Buying an NB Book! day.

 Share a picture or a list of your new books on social media to show how you participated in I’m Buying an NB Book! day.
To stay up to date, join our Facebook event!