Please join us for an all-Westman double bill of the AGSM’s Spring 2021 programming: Nothing Smells in Absolute Zero by Brandon-based artist Chris Reid, and i {heart} Brandon by nearly 100 of our Westman community members.

~In the Main Gallery~

Chris Reid, Nothing Smells in Absolute Zero

April 8 – May 29, 2021

In homelessness studies, “absolute zero” means that no person is without a secure and stable place to spend the night. Its pragmatic sibling, “functional zero” aspires that for every person who is sleeping precariously, there is a place standing empty where they could be secure. With the paintings, drawings, sculptures, and installations exhibited in Nothing Smells in Absolute Zero, Chris Reid invites you to wonder with her as you wander through a dreamscape built from the very real places that serve as homes for the unhoused population of Brandon, Manitoba.

Wielding her unique brand of pop-surrealism, Reid implies the significance of these citizens by rendering fragile structures substantial. Shadows and hybrid figures stand watch as sentries or as ghosts. Devoid of human presence, representations of places are understood to be portraits in negative, if one believes that a person’s substance can be gleaned by what they carry with them when there is no safe place to leave anything behind.

~In the Community Gallery~

i {heart} Brandon

March 29 – April 30, 2021

Meanwhile, the community gallery is a celebration of life in Brandon. Nearly 100 works of art by Westman creatives are on display in many different media, all telling the story of their own beloved Brandon. This show was assembled with an open call for submissions, and a jury comprised of four community members will select three works to win a cash prize. A fourth “Audience Choice” award will be up to you! Vote in person by picking up a ballot from the front desk.

RECORDING OF VIRTUAL OPENING RECEPTION