The UNB Art Centre presents the work of emerging and established Canadian artists.
An exhibition of artworks and photographs by Biff Mitchell, featuring a memorial portrait by Deanna Musgrave.
Organized in conjunction with the Biff Mitchell Memorial Collective, this exhibition and celebration of life pays tribute to artist, writer, and friend of the New Brunswick Arts Community – Biff Mitchell.
Biff was well known as a writer, photographer, and collector of moments, but was also a prolific creator of ink drawings. Silence Says it All seeks to shine a light on Biff’s never-ending desire and ability to create, and show gratitude for the legacy Biff left behind.
This exhibition will feature a projection of Biff’s Fredericton arts community photographs, an oversized contact sheet filled with portraits of Biff (taken by friends), a selection of Biff’s ink drawings, and a memorial portrait, “Biffy” (2025), painted by beloved friend, Deanna Musgrave.
Deanna shares that “the process of the painting involved collecting objects from his close inner circle to create a "Watermark" imprint on the painting. This process allowed for community contribution and acknowledgement of individual grief. It is a traditional portrait of Biff; however, the marks and process carry with it an energy that speaks to how he was beloved by his community.”
To preserve Biff’s creative legacy, The Biff Mitchell Memorial Collective is establishing a collection of Biff’s papers, books, and digital ephemera to be housed at UNB Libraries Archives & Special Collections in Fredericton. This archive will be dedicated to preserving the life’s work of this remarkable author for future generations.
They are looking for help to create this collection and are seeking donations of Biff’s books. By donating a book, you will ensure that Biff’s writing will continue to shape conversations, spark ideas in readers and researchers, and inspire aspiring writers who will benefit from access to his words and ideas. Together, we can honour Biff, celebrate his imagination, and invest in his legacy - one book at a time.
Silence Says It All will be on display at the UNB Art Centre from May 8 to June 5. The Celebration of the Life of Biff Mitchell, hosted by the UNB Art Centre, will be held on June 5, 7 - 9 p.m., in Memorial Hall on the UNB Fredericton campus.
This will be a time to celebrate the joy, humour, love, and gratitude we still hold because of Biff’s presence.
This exhibition featured new work developed by students in the course Media Arts (MAAC3001) with Professor Amy Siegel. Students created new work throughout the semester, and collectively curated, organized and executed the exhibition.
The UNB Art Centre, in partnership with the UNB Human Rights and Equity Office, is proud to present two powerful exhibitions that invite our community to reflect, engage, and celebrate Black identity and heritage.
Trayces, an exhibition by Gary Weekes, is a striking visual narrative exploring Black skin, memory, and cultural lineage. Through portraits crafted with transparent vinyl and aluminum baking trays, the exhibition draws inspiration from West African scarification traditions to examine identity, beauty, and the marks we carry. We will be also introduced to his new body of work--in progress--tentatively titled Secret Codes. This exhibition will include ambient electronic music by Mike Lukaszuk (Department of Culture and Media Studies).
Alongside Trayces, the UNB Art Centre continues its annual Black History Month project: Rediscovering the Roots of Black New Brunswickers, honouring notable Black New Brunswickers who have fought, and continue to fight, for equality in the face of prejudice and discrimination.
This ongoing research initiative adds new faces and stories each year, bringing their portraits to the streets of Fredericton throughout February. Banners along Westmorland and Regent Streets stand as a public tribute to their achievements and enduring contributions to shaping contemporary New Brunswick.
August 8 - Oct. 10, 2025.
The UNB Art Centre invites you to join us for Resist – a quilt exhibition by the Canadian textile co-operative, Fibre Art Network (FAN). Inaugurated in 1998, FAN has created 32 exhibitions, exhibited at 105 Canadian and 9 International venues.
Each work presents resist techniques, including but not limited to: wax, crayons, inks, paints, pastel/oil sticks, tape, masks, and paper cutouts, while preserving the unique and individual style of each artist. Resist can also be seen as an artistic concept - positive or negative, frightening or enlightening, to stand firm against change or temptation.
The UNB Art Centre will showcase these personal interpretations of Resist in a variety of art-making methods, including quilting, needle painting, felting, rug hooking, hand printing, and hand dyeing, by some of the best nationally and internationally recognized contemporary fibre artists in Canada.
May 9 - July 25, 2025.
IN DEEP is a group exhibition that observes complex narratives around extraction.
Together, Frédéric Bigras-Burrogano, Lori Blondeau, Gina Brooks, Emily Critch, Gillian Dykeman, Tsēmā, and New Mineral Collective care for intricate and intertwined histories while planting seeds for a future where land and body are valued beyond capitalist systems.
By way of their processes, actions, and transmissions, the artists decentralize core values of extractive activities, such as power, greed, and ownership, to create space for shared meaning-making, wonder, and learning in the pursuit of healing strategies for change.
In their works, relationships with the land, bodies, the more-than-human world, and one another are honoured and replenished.
May 3 - August 30
Into the Blue: Remembering Brigid Toole Grant is a labour of love by her daughter Hannah Grant, who along with curator Roslyn Rosenfeld, assembled a collection of acrylics, watercolours, prints, and drawings from friends, family, and the UNB Permanent Collection. It tells the story of a talented and insightful artist, who found inspiration in the people and the land she called home.
“This exhibition is like a period which marks the end of the final chapter of a really good book,” says Marie Maltais, Director of the UNB Art Centre. “It holds within it the tale of a life spun over many chapters - rich in detail, character development and action.”
It is fitting that Brigid Toole Grant is being honoured in this retrospective at UNB. She grew up on the UNB campus and spent her early years living in what is now known as Sir Howard Douglas Hall. She attended art classes with renowned Canadian artists Fritz Brandtner, Alfred Pinsky and Lucy Jarvis, one of the founders of the UNB Art Centre. She later worked as an assistant to the UNB Art Centre Director Marjory Donaldson, taught art classes for UNB’s Department of Extension and then for the UNB Art Centre’s Leisure Learning programs. Many of her works are on display throughout campus as part of the UNB Permanent Collection where they continue to enrich the lives of faculty, staff, students and visitors.
Memorial Hall | 9 Bailey Drive | UNB Fredericton campus
For more information, call 506-453-4623.
Monday to Friday: 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Free admission | Everyone welcome
Details of work: Looking Forward, c.2010 | Acrylic on canvas
Photo: Roger Smith
The UNB Art Centre is pleased to present Rediscovering the Roots of Black New Brunswickers, a program of exhibits and films designed to showcase and honour the everyday experiences of Black New Brunswickers.
Jan. 19 through March 1, with the opening on Friday, Feb. 9 at 5 p.m. This exhibit is a project commemorating Black History Month, a time set aside to celebrate Black achievement and to acknowledge that the struggle for recognition and equality happens every day.
This collection of portraits and biographies has been an ongoing project for the UNB Art Centre. This year nine new portrait panels have been added and now include Carol Howe, David Peters, Carl Howe, Terry Dymond, Chester Eatmon, Gabriel Johnson, Randolph George Hope, Dexter Noel, and Carl White.
Additionally, banners highlighting some of the individuals honoured in the panels will be on display along Regent and Westmorland Streets in Fredericton throughout February again this year.
This year’s film series, presented in partnership with the New Brunswick Black Artists Alliance, is every Tuesday in February at 7:30 p.m. in room 261 of Marshall d’Avray Hall on the UNB Fredericton campus.
