Sasha Amaya, Katharine Bruce, Amy Buehler, Becky Chinn, Susana V. Danyliuk, Anne Fallis Elliott, Cheryl Orr-Hood, Shawn Jordan, Alexis Kinloch, Chris Larsen, Mary Lowe, Lisa Lysack, Carolyn Mount, Gerry Oliver, Rosemarie Peloquin, Chris Reid, Wendy Seversen, Janet Shaw-Russell, Marg Stewart

In celebration of the 30th anniversary of Mentoring Women for Women’s Art (MAWA), this exhibition brings together recent artwork and works-in-process from two groups of female artists in Manitoba, including thirteen members of Drawn Together – A Women’s Art Collective and six participants from the Mentoring Artists for Women’s Art (MAWA) Mini-Mentorship: Approaches to Sculpture and Installation Practices with Chris Cooper.

Drawn Together – A Women’s Art Collective is a self-directed group which recently formed in southwestern Manitoba. Led by Janet Shaw-Russell and Gerry Oliver, the collective developed out of the need for women artists living in Brandon and the surrounding rural area to support one another and benefit from the camaraderie of regular studio visits, discussions, and group events. Several of the members have been involved with various MAWA mentorship programs over the past ten years.

The six artists who mentored with Cooper through MAWA this spring were seeking the opportunity to discuss their work and receive feedback, research and explore new ideas and techniques, connect with other artists and learn from one another. The artists were at a point where they wanted to take their work in a new direction or push themselves further and were looking for the support and encouragement that can be found with a group of peers. The women are experimenting with new ideas and evolutions and Cooper felt that it would be interesting to share this with an audience. The public doesn’t often get to glimpse into an artist’s creative process.

Cooper invited artists from both groups to share their recent works as well as their experiences joining a group, hoping that the public could learn more about the benefits and significance of art groups, how they function, and how they have impacted our arts community in southwestern Manitoba.