Kinship Ecologies

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Art Gallery of St. Albert

Lara Felsing, Harvesting Hands, 2024. Bronze and dried dandelions (photo courtesy of Art Gallery of St. Albert)

The Art Gallery of St. Albert (part of the Arts and Heritage Foundation) is launching its newest exhibition in the beautiful main gallery space on June 5. Kinship Ecologies allows visitors to give thanks to our land.

Edson artist Lara Felsing knows that her hands are the same as her mother’s, grandmother’s and her daughter’s. They are hands that harvest medicines, pick berries and make dyes. Generations of Felsing’s strong Métis and Woodland Cree female ancestors have utilized earth’s gifts to preserve their wisdom, knowledge and skills of the land.

To enter Kinship Ecologies is to step into an expression of overwhelming gratitude for the natural world. The smell of the land perfumes the space. Poplar reminds visitors of days spent with sticky yellow feet. The scents of pine and spruce ground in the wonder and joy of early summer.

Interwoven with the story of her family and history, Lara creates entirely from land-based materials. Everything is harvested, gifted or reclaimed, and will ultimately decompose back into the land. Visitors can run their fingers along the edges of woven baskets, feeling the smooth sides of needles and grasses as they are woven with scraps of cloth. As flowers dry, their seeds start to migrate around the space. Branches are adorned in fabric and beads. Many things, such as flagging tape and bits of chip bags, have been brought out of the woods where they did not belong. Broadcloth and muslin curtains are dyed with spruce needles and pressed flowers. Drawings are added, created with charcoal found in burn sites around Lara’s home.

For Lara, this is only a small gift of thanks given to the land - to kin. She feels that being in kinship with the land is a collaboration, a partnership. Kinship Ecologies runs until July 19.

Events:

Artist Talk/Reception: June 5 from 6-8 pm (talk at 6:45 pm)

Virtual tour: June 11 at noon on Facebook Live

In-person tours: June 18 at noon and July 10 at 6:30 pm

Artist led workshops: July 18 from 1-3 pm (ages 8-12) and July 19 from 11am-2 pm (ages 15+)