Fourteen Edmonton writers and nine visual artists hailing from
different parts of the world have come together to share their thoughts
and views of our city through paintings and writing.
Nataliya Bukhanova
The first phase of the project “Painting a Book of Edmonton,” which
is led by a group of multicultural artists in cooperation with Writers
Beyond Borders and the Borderlines programs, launched on January 24, and
the free exhibit will run on weekdays at Arts Habitat until February 21
st.
“This [idea] was gathered together in one meeting about three or four
months ago, and [the Multicultural Artists’ Group] started to think
about ideas for our winter exhibition,” recalls lead organizer and
visual artist and writer Nataliya Bukhanova. “It just came up, because
it is connected with our city, and it is a thing that we all have in
common: we live here; we have some thoughts or ideas or emotions about
Edmonton. So it would be very interesting and exciting to paint.”
What originally started off mainly as a visual arts project expanded to invite other artists to the table.
Maitham Salman
“Then I thought that it would be very interesting to connect artists
and writers, because I’m also a member of Writers Beyond Borders, and I
know there are brilliant artists there, and they have very big
difficulties to get noticed,” Bukhanova shares, adding she was also a
member of the Borderlines Writers Circle at the Edmonton Public Library.
“So I wrote to Writers Beyond Borders [and] to Borderlines program, and
it had huge and enthusiastic response from them.”
The artists, who come from countries such as Lithuania and Iraq,
explored aspects of the city of Edmonton using various media and art
forms to create a book with pages that will reflect night and day,
sadness and laughter, summer and winter amongst other themes.
The gala launch of the “Painting a Book of Edmonton” exhibit drew 60 attendees.
“It’s really good - in general, [people] liked [the exhibit], and
they were willing to help and willing to participate,” says Bukhanova.
“We actually got a few new people through this project asking if they
could participate, be part of our group – and of course I said yes!”
Ruta Nichol
Bukhanova, who studied classical art and visual arts on top of
medical school in Russia, is eager to share opportunities with other
newcomer artists through the Multicultural Artists’ Group, as she faced
challenges of her own when she came to Canada in 2007.
“When I came [to Edmonton], I had classical [arts] education, but I
didn’t know how to promote visual arts, how to promote myself as an
artist, and how to connect to other people. It took two or three years
before I started to notice art societies and art festivals and art
galleries in existence and how to get there.”
Three or four years ago, Bukhanova came up with the idea to gather
newcomer artists to provide the platform to connect them to
opportunities. The Multicultural Artists’ Group was launched a year and a
half ago.
“[There are] a lot of talented, brilliant people out there, and
they’re all disconnected. Often when they come here they don’t know how
to continue their career and where to start and where to go and they
don’t know about all the opportunities that exist in Edmonton for
artists.
The positive response that “Painting a Book of Edmonton” has received
so far has inspired Bukhanova and the artists involved in the project
to do more.
Maria Reidyk
“It is a good idea, and it would be a pity to just stop it. So
probably we may publish a book; probably we may show it to some other
venues; probably we can do something like online presentation or
electronic book.”
Despite original challenges of finding her way around in the arts
community in Edmonton, Bukhanova is appreciative of the City’s support
for the arts.
“There’s lots of possibilities for artists: arts festivals and arts
projects. I really like the programs of Edmonton Arts Council, too. And I
really like the educational programs of other organizations, so the
artists here have a lot of opportunities to grow.”
http://yegarts.tumblr.com/post/76433043315/multicultural-art-project-paints-a-book-of-edmonton
نقرأ في قصة "ميت بجثتين": (كل ما يلزم الدفن جاهز، عدا الجثة. الناس ترحموا على الميت غيابياً ثم رحلوا إلى مآتم أخرى. الجدث مفتوح، ينتظر القادم الجديد ولا يسعه الانتظار أطول. أهل الفقيد جفت دموعهم. ماذا عساهم فعله في زمن يباع فيه كل شيء حتى الجثث؟! زمن لا يكون فيه إهراق الدم هو نهاية المطاف، حيث القسوة والانتقام لا يرتويا من الدماء فقط. فالأرض تشهد على ذلك: أجساد خَطَّت على الطرقات تاريخ الانتقام بفرشاة حمراء؛ أجساد مزقت لحم الأرض بمعاول عظمية؛ أجساد كالجمر ألهبت الأديم؛ أجساد مثل عجينة دهن خالطت التراب...) ص66.
