Visual Arts Laureate Checks In

Ariane Inman recently shared an update on what she has been doing in her role as the Biosphere’s Visual Arts Laureate, and the exciting art project she has planned and is working on.

"My main art project centres on questions of land acknowledgement and I’m very excited to be having conversations with the people who live in the Biosphere about how their lives are intertwined with this special place, in this current time we are living in and hopefully to illuminate some piece of those conversations with my photos.

I’ve also connected more with the arts community in the Biosphere and I’m volunteering on a public arts committee and getting to know more artists that live in the Biosphere and I hope to bring some unique perspective to this group. I also have been learning my ancestral language and coming to a deeper understanding of how our languages and identities are intertwined with our landscapes.”

Being the visual arts laureate for the Biosphere has inspired me to have more conversations and make more connections with my community in the Biosphere.

More about Ariane’s project

• Current art project working title: Trayz pihmotew didaan Amiskwaci (13 Walks in the Beaver Hills)
• The art project will consist of:
  • Large-scale black and white environmental portraits of residents of the Biosphere
  • Large historical maps showing who has lived here and used these trails in the past. Ariane will also be highlighting historical Metis use of these trails as part of her own personal exploration of ancestral connection to this place.
  • Large "portraits" of non-human residents, lakes, trees, flowers, animals. These will be labeled in her language, Michif, to give the viewer a sense of her identity/ perspective on living in the Biosphere and to highlight the ways that we are shaped by the landscapes we inhabit.
  • Accompanying each portrait will be a short series of interview questions about how the subjects feel about where they live and how they care for where they live, sparking a conversation about connecting with nature inside of a deeper framework of how all of our identities are shaped by the places we inhabit and how we as humans affect the places we live in.

Ariane intends that these portraits, maps and interview quotes will form an exhibit to be shown in public galleries in the Biosphere and close by in the Edmonton area. Ariane hope this will inspire people living in the Beaver Hills and elsewhere to ask themselves these questions further fostering a sense of connection and stewardship of the place they live in. Stay tuned for more.