Mar. 14 to May 2, 2014
The UNB Art Centre invites you to celebrate World Water Day with a variety of special events.
World Water Day, held annually on Mar. 22, is a United Nations initiative to recognize the value of water globally and to advocate for the sustainable management of water resources.
The public is invited to the opening of two special exhibits on Mar. 14 at 5 p.m. Nova Scotia artist Wilma Needham brings her exhibit Souvenir to the UNB Art Centre from a recent showing at the Dalhousie Art Gallery in Halifax and St. Andrews artist Alanna Baird displays her solo exhibition Plenty of Fish for the first time in New Brunswick.
Alanna Baird recycles coffee cans and salvages scrap metal to produce a fantastical school of fish for the exhibit, Plenty of Fish. Cod, char, bass and barracuda are only some of the fish you’ll be able to identify in the West Gallery’s aquatic zone.
Alanna Baird studied Engineering at UNB before turning to more artistic pursuits. She studied in the Clay Studio at the New Brunswick College of Craft and Design and worked as a potter until she began crafting fish in 1991 in answer to a call for a weathervane competition at the Canadian Museum of Civilization. Since then she has received numerous commissions, awards and exhibits for her unique fish sculptures.
She was commissioned by the Royal Tyrrell Museum in Drumheller in 2008 to build a 17-foot Ichthyosaur where it is permanently displayed in the museum’s courtyard. In 2010 she held a solo exhibition at the Trinity Art Gallery at the Shenkman Arts Centre in Ottawa, exhibiting 50 fish in one space. In 2012 she was included in the Beaverbrook Art Gallery’s exhibit Whirligigs- Going with the Wind. In 2011, the Huntsman Marine Science Centre commissioned her to produce Sea Raven to commemorate the opening of the new Discovery Aquarium where it now resides outside the entrance of the building. In 2012, she was part of a trio of artists exhibiting artwork made from recycled materials in The Reclaimers at the Mary E. Black Gallery In Halifax. Most recently, she won First Place in the Kingsbrae Gardens 2013 Canadian National Sculpture Competition for Salmon Vortex.
Souvenir provides multiple perspectives on Niagara Falls through a selection of photos, mixed media and new media. With a vertical drop of over 50 meters and the highest flow rate of any falls in the world, this awe-inspiring natural wonder has given rise to a centuries-old tourist industry that has shaped the artist’s experience of the falls. Wilma Needham who was born and raised in Niagara Falls, Ontario, engages the audience in the discussion about nature and culture through an examination of environmental, political and social issues that have played out around the falls.
Wilma Needham obtained her MFA from NSCAD University where she later taught in the Intermedia department, Media Arts Division, and served as an administrator in Fine and Media Arts. Her studio work examines the ways that issues of the environment, equity, gender, and militarism shape our daily lives. With a foundation in printmaking and photography, her current studio practice spans a range of media. Her work has been exhibited across Canada and Europe.
Souvenir and Plenty of Fish will be on view from Mar. 14 until May 2 at the UNB Art Centre.
Marie Maltais, Director
(506) 453-4623
ARTCNTR@unb.ca
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