Teegatha Oh Zhe | Suitcase Stories

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Suitcase Stories

Courtesy of the Gallery.

Opening Reception: November 15 | 5-7PM

Pack your bags and get ready for a trip to a place most people don’t visit – at the intersection of disability and art.

My Suitcase is an installation production and performance being created by a group of unique and talented artists supported by Teegatha’Oh Zheh.

“We want Yukoner’s to know that people with disabilities are artists,” says Teegatha’s Executive Director, Rebecca  Dacko-Brink. “We want to demonstrate the unique artistic point-of-view and talent that can be discovered when everyone has a chance to express themselves.”

Over the last year, about 30 people living with  disability have been working with community arts producer Julie Robinson, and a team of professional choreographers, artists, videographers, and musicians to create original and unique work that reflects their lives, their concerns, hopes and dreams.

Those are reflected in the art they created in “My Suitcase”, an installation work on display at the Yukon Arts Centre Nov. 15- Dec. 22 2022. The participating artists have taken old and funky suitcases and populated the empty shells with mementos of their lives, examples of their art and artistry, semi-biographical reflections and all-out rants about life.

“The suitcase sculptures tell their personal story, what they love, who they love and how they would like to be understood,” says Robinson, who noted family and friends of the artists also contributed suitcase stories to the project. “The piece is a moment for people who don’t get to participate in the dominant culture to be heard.”

The installation is just the first part in a multi-media exploration of the intersection of art and disability. Also in the editing stage is a short film featuring several of the artists showing in this exhibition.

“My Suitcase” will be unveiled at an opening Tuesday, November 15th at in the ATCO Electric Yukon Youth Gallery at the Yukon Art Centre.  The evening will begin  with a short musical performance in the lobby of the Arts Centre, including original songs written by the artists.