The annual Art Studio Open House is a culmination and celebration of the research and creative exploration done by University of Lethbridge Art students throughout the year.
The day-long public event invites friends, faculty and the broader community to explore the studio spaces of undergraduate and graduate students. Studios are filled with a curated selection of works produced throughout the academic year, including painting, drawing, printmaking, installation, digital media, ceramics, sculpture, textiles and photography.
The annual Art Studio Open House took place on April 6, 2023.
Part of the celebration is the distribution of the Annual Art Awards, which recognize the outstanding achievements of students for their excellence in creative work, scholarship and community engagement.
In addition to funding support from the Department of Art and Faculty of Fine Arts, numerous awards, residencies, and internships are supported by generous donors and community organizations, including the Southern Alberta Art Gallery (Lethbridge), Casa (Lethbridge), the Whyte Museum (Banff), and the Buchanan Collection (City of Lethbridge). Endowments for the Arts have been provided by Diana and Ike Lanier, Mary Annis, and the Roloff Beny Foundation.
Congratulations to the 2023 award recipients!
Myla Demers and Jason Ranaghan, Excellence in Art History/Museum Studies Award
Kenya Bean, Excellence in Art History/Museum Studies/Art Gallery Award
Cachius Hungry Wolf, Excellence in Indigenous Art Award
Leah Evans and Maria Riviere, Excellence in Art Studio Award
Jessica Colley and David Knight, Art Student Purchase Award
Saturna Bueckert and Jessi Crawford, Excellence in Painting Award
Cassandra Williamson, Excellence in Printmaking Award
Sabrina Fox, RHE Sculpture Award
Kort Woycheshin, David Lanier Memorial Award
Maria Riviere, Art Society Award
Christian Manahan and Kiyomi Scoville, Southern Alberta Art Gallery Award
Crysta Rukin and Sidney Frenette-Ling, Students' Union Award
Leah Evans and Kort Woycheshin, Roloff Beny Foundation Photographic Award in Fine Arts
Mahshad Hosseini, Roloff Beny Graduate Award in Fine Arts
Leah Evans and Natalia Smith, Gushul Studio Residency Award
Featured Award Recipients
Saturna Bueckert
Recipient of the Excellence in Printmaking Award
My name is Saturna Bueckert and I am an art major from Cranbrook, British Columbia. I create works of abstraction that experiment with movement, emotion and colour. My artwork, primarily in acrylic or oil paint, is inspired by the interplay between the external human form and internal consciousness.
By combining elements of surrealism and abstraction, I strive to express and explore the complexities of the human experience in a minimalist way. The use of vivid colour and expressive brush strokes plays an important role in my work to allow expression of emotions, nostalgia, and memory. The recalling of childhood memories and formulation of self-identity were the catalyst behind my feminist still-life painting Flower Power.
Through my art, I aim to create art that invites contemplation and celebration of the human experience.
Top right: Flow. Oil on canvas, 24x30", March 2023. Bottom left: Flower Power. Oil on canvas, 24x24", March 2023. Bottom right: Drag. Acrylic on canvas, May 2022.
Christian Manahan
Recipient of the Southern Alberta Art Gallery Award
Christian Manahan is a Filipino artist with a practice focusing on storytelling through different mediums and materials. Since moving to Canada at the age of nine, Manahan has become more familiar with and interested in the arts and building his skills over the years.
Upon graduating high school in 2019, he began attending ULethbridge, pursuing a BFA in Art Studio. He enjoys creating realistic drawings and paintings that evoke emotions, a story, or anything he deems beautiful. He also explores other mediums such as photography, and recently collage. The soon-to-be graduate hopes to continue his artistic practice and take on more bigger projects, not only in terms of scale but also in concept that involves working with others.
Top right: From Deep Within. Graphite and tulle on paper, 22x30", 2022. Bottom left: Hard Work. Oil paint on canvas, 16x20", 2022. Bottom right: Anonymously Honest. Collage on canvas, 30x40", 2023.
Leah Evans
Recipient of the Excellence in Art Studio Award, Roloff Beny Foundation Photographic Award and the Gushul Studio Residency Award
Leah Evans is an emerging artist based in Lethbridge, Alberta. She grew up in a number of small towns across Alberta, with the aesthetics and social forms of these environments playing a role in her art practice, that being painting and photography.
Recently in her work she has been exploring topics of femininity branching off from the personal reality of young womanhood while also referencing a broader scope of experience. In her upcoming residency, Evans plans to examine body and isolation, interchangeably and in relation to one another through painting and drawing.
In her photographic practice, she is primarily interested in moments of human interaction and street photography. Pictorial representation also plays a role in her painting practice as she will often use photographs - either pulled from old family albums or taken herself - as reference for these artworks.
Top right: Photo 11. Darkroom enlargement of 35mm film, 8x9.5", 2023. Bottom left: Blossoms in the Suburbs. Acrylic paint on canvas, 30x40", 2023. Bottom right: Shower. Acrylic paint on canvas, 30x40", 2023.
Sabrina Fox
Recipient of the RHE Sculpture Award
My name is Sabrina Fox and I am a recent graduate with a BFA–Art (Art Studio). In my final semester, I focused on sculpture and painting and my work mainly involved examining relationships and the many forms that they can take. In doing so, I explored the complexities of interpersonal relationships, growth, and self-reflection. My intention was to tell stories through my art that are based on personal experiences but can be related to on a wider scale.
Top right: (Dis)Comfort Object. Stuffed bear with metal tacks, 28x20x24 cm, 2022. Bottom left: Becoming. Yarn, cotton fabric, 30x27x20 cm, 2022. Bottom right: The Orange (Ordinary Things). Acrylic on masonite, 25x25 cm, 2022.
Maria Riviere
Recipient of the Excellence in Art Studio Award and the Art Society Award
Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, as an adult I moved to Canada where I pursued a career in computer programming. After retiring, I reconnected in an experimental form to my interest in visual art, leading me to pursue a BFA in Art Studio at ULethbridge, graduating in Spring 2023.
My art is a reflection about life, it encompasses concepts and processes providing a connection between the visible and invisible. I try to integrate a visual narrative, political and social issues, women’s vulnerability, confusion, contradictions and a personal experience of nomadic life that can resonate with millions of people. I work with fluidity letting my mind work with passion together with my whole-body exploring materials, and processes incorporating life experience and acquired knowledge. While experimenting, I feel free to connect the spiritual and physical, to past and present, fears and love allowing the mystery of life to reveal itself.
Top right: Ambiguous Display. Baltic Birch plywood, 1.25x152x152 cm, 2022. Bottom left: Blue Studio. Textiile, wood, metal and ceramics, 240x200x200 cm, 2023. Bottom right: History Shadows/New Visions. Fabric, thread, broken ceramics, 2022.
Jessi Crawford
Recipient of the Excellence in Painting Award
My art is inspired by my appreciation of nature and its grounding effect on my soul. When connected to the natural elements around me, I find balance within myself, easing any stress, anxiety or depression. Aspects of nature have a vibrance that is easy to overlook, but through close analysis, we can appreciate the artistic creation of even the smallest organism.
I aim to recreate colour palettes, shapes and symbiotic relationships found within the natural world. Upon viewing my work, I hope people find a similar balance within themselves and appreciate the importance of breathing, pausing and seeing the beauty around them. I want to provide a visual experience that connects with sensory memories; the feeling of water on their skin, the smell of sweetgrass, the heat of the winter's sun and the physiological response to watching the northern lights dance across the sky.
Top right: Synergy. Acrylic, oil on canvas, 22x34", March 2023. Bottom left: Winter's Fire. Oil on canvas, 17.5x23.5", January 2023. Bottom right: Marvel. Acrylic, oil on canvas, 42x48", March 2023.