Guest curated by Caterina Pizanias

The New Alberta Contemporaries is the inaugural exhibition for the Esker Foundation. One of its primary objectives is to celebrate the creative potential of recent fine arts graduates from all the degree granting institutions across Alberta. The 47 artists were chosen for the ability with which their practice moves across disciplines in the emerging post-disciplinary and post studio age.

The New Alberta Contemporaries exhibition is a snapshot of a cultural moment in the province of Alberta. It is neither representative nor thematic, although a series of “themes” have emerged. While one will not see the grand geopolitical issues that play out on the international stage in the exhibition, one will instead see elements of the artists’ personal histories becoming staging grounds for exciting explorations in areas such as landscape/geography, gender, sexuality, the body, memories, and ecology

With the range of materials and theoretical approaches employed by the artists, the works can be seen as a series of possible conversations between artists, interweaving various common approaches found in their work. The exhibition is a travel story of sorts—across Alberta’s institutions and faculties of art, artists’ studios, and galleries alike—providing a window into the future of contemporary art in the province. Variety and commonalities have been found in the “temperaments” of the various institutions and the balance they have attained between studio practice, theory, and scientific research.

For the next ten weeks, the Esker Foundation will become a platform for this burgeoning class of art graduates, assisting them in developing their practice and allowing them to professionally exhibit their work at a time when both the market and government funding are shrinking.

Participating Artists

Jennifer Akkermans | Carolyn Bailey | Carissa Baktay | Nika Blasser | John Brosz | Stacey Brown | Matthew Brunning | Sheelagh Carpendale | Julie Cosgrove | Jane Durham | Raina Enss | Anna Gaby-Trotz | Yan Geng | Sara Girletz | Jamie Gray | Jill Ho-You | Whitney Horne | Leslie Hunter | Andrea Kastner | Annie King | Daniel J. Kirk | Lindsay Knox | Eveline Kolijn | Edith Krause | Galia Kwetny | Craig Le Blanc | Tyler Los-Jones | Colin Lyons | Maria Madacky | Emma McLay | Lindsay McDonald | Martina MacDonald-Blériot | Stephanie Murray | Miguel Nacenta | Leah Nowak-Petrucci | Shanell Papp | Mark Porcina | Patrick J. Reed | Landon Scott | Danielle Smerek | Kristin Smith | Richard Smolinski | Dana Tosic | Hope Wells | Ben Williamson | Ryan Wolters | Michelle Yong