September 28–December 20, 2019
Atlantic Avenue Art Block, Calgary
4th floor, 1011 9th Avenue, SE
Calgary Alberta T2G 0H7
Canada
Hours: Wednesday–Saturday 11am–5:30pm
T +1 403 930 2490
info@eskerfoundation.com
Esker Foundation is proud to present our fall exhibitions which bring together the work of Hudson-based artist Jeffrey Gibson and Toronto-based artist Nep Sidhu, along with Mohkinstsis/Calgary-based artists Kablusiak and Marjie Crop Eared Wolf in the Project Space.
Time Carriers conjures a vision of many hands providing a framework of support, a fluid utopia where trust and movement go hand in hand. It evokes a time frame that both unites and collapses present, past, and future into an undulating and responsive single unit, something that could best be described as community or family. This idea is especially appropriate when considering Jeffrey Gibson’s work, as he has always pushed to create kinship among unlikely partners. Collaboration is at the heart of his practice; working and learning with artists and craftspeople as a way to resist acculturation, support a strong legacy of making, and to build and honour community.
Jeffrey Gibson
To Name An Other
Saturday, October 19, 3-4pm
In a special performance as part of Jeffrey Gibson’s exhibition Time Carriers at Esker Foundation, 50 performers will be brought together for a drumming event to give names to our current political climate.
The performance is produced in partnership with Springboard Performance, as part of the 2019 Fluid Festival, and Esker Foundation.
Nep Sidhu
Divine of Form, Formed in the Divine (Medicine for a Nightmare)
Curated by cheyanne turions
Divine of Form, Formed in the Divine (Medicine for a Nightmare) examines how memories persist in the present, especially when related to personal and collective practices of resistance, resilience, and ritual. This mid-career survey is anchored by recent works that reflect upon Sikh histories amongst other collectively formed and formative histories considered through collaborations with Maikoiyo Alley-Barnes and Nicholas Galanin. Across different bodies of work produced over the last decade, Nep Sidhu explores how memorialization practices can transfigure grief and loss, and how they can speak to the power and harmony of the divine.
Nep Sidhu, Divine of Form, Formed in the Divine (Medicine for a Nightmare) is produced in part with Mercer Union, Toronto. Support in part for the project is through the Ontario Arts Council.
In the Project Space:
Kablusiak
Qiniqtuaq
Until October 20
Qiniqtuaq (searching/looking) by Inuvialuk artist Kablusiak summons viewers to peer through a wall of white curtain that has been punctured by dozens of ghostly eye holes. Inside, one catches fragments of a liminal, dream-like space and a mise-en-scène that evokes an uneasy sense of nostalgia and displacement. As we press our faces against the glass, we witness pieces of a looping video collage of 90s-era television programs: The Simpsons, Emeril Live, Seinfeld, community shows from Inuit Takunagaksalirijiit Kanatami (Inuit Broadcasting Corporation), American Gladiators—shows watched and enjoyed in childhood. By peering through the eyeholes—some of which are cut high, too high for human eyes—we are implicated, and forced to acknowledge an Inuit presence behind the curtain.
Read more
Marjie Crop Eared Wolf
Iitsi’poyi
October 28-January 26
Iitsi’poyi documents Marjie Crop Eared Wolf’s ongoing endeavours to learn Blackfoot. The installation combines densely composed large-scale drawings comprised of thousands of Blackfoot words transcribed from the Blackfoot Dictionary with a sound and video work featuring Crop Eared Wolf reciting Blackfoot words and phrases from an audio tape made by her mother. Iitsi’poyi layers references to oral and textual ways of learning and knowing, the intergenerational transmission and revitalization of language, and the mobilization of technologies such as apps for language preservation. As we approach the close of 2019, the United Nations’ International Year of Indigenous Languages, Iitsi’poyi reflects on the significance of language to cultural memory and resurgence.
About Esker Foundation
Esker Foundation is a privately funded contemporary art gallery located in Calgary, Canada. The gallery connects the public to contemporary art through relevant, accessible, and educational exhibitions, programs, and publications. Esker reflects on current developments in local, regional, and international culture; creates opportunities for public dialogue; and supports the production of ground-breaking new work, ideas, and research. Founded in 2012 by Jim and Susan Hill, Esker Foundation is a new model for institutional relevance, curatorial focus, and audience engagement. Admission is free.
For a digital companion to all the exhibitions, the Esker Foundation App can be downloaded for free at either App Store or Google Play.
Further information: www.eskerfoundation.art
View and download the 2019 fall brochure
Press contact: Jill Henderson, Communications and Marketing
Esker Foundation, T 1 403 930 2499 / jhenderson [at] eskerfoundation.com
