SNEAK PEEK: Bluerock Gallery

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Tarek Nemr holds a ceremonial vase made by David Barnes at the Bluerock Gallery in Black Diamond, Alta. (courtesy Bluerock Gallery)

Tarek Nemr is like any small-town gallery owner busily preparing for a major show – except for one big difference: He’s a Syrian refugee who arrived in Canada in 2017, when he was just 22.

Nemr began working at the Bluerock Gallery southwest of Calgary in the town of Black Diamond, population 2,700, the following year. He quickly became a key employee and, at the start of 2019, bought the gallery from its previous owners, Chris Wengarth and Karen Gimbel.

“We feel confident in Tarek’s capacities and abilities – as well as his passion for the gallery and continuing it on in the same spirit,” they said at the time. “Frankly, Tarek amazes us. The combination of his nimble mind and active curiosity along with his strength of character and good heart comprise a constellation of traits we’ve rarely met with.” 

Nemr, who is preparing for A Passion for Clay, a group exhibition that runs Sept. 26 to Oct. 18, is continuing the gallery’s focus on regional artists. 

“We are a well-known, well-established gallery in southern Alberta, with a deep love of ceramics,” says Nemr.

The show features some 20 ceramics artists, including David Barnes, who is exhibiting a pair of ceremonial vases inspired by an illustration in a book about Swiss artist H.R. Giger.  

“I wanted to incorporate some type of traditional decoration, hence the flowers,” says Barnes. “As my head continued to work on the idea, one vase turned into a pair … I wanted to make them like ceremonial pieces – something you may find at the entrance of an ancient temple.”

Other artists in the show include Juliana Rempel, Darlene Swan, Evonne Smulders, Mindy Andrews, Tanya Everard, Katie Borrowman and Neil Liske. 

Nemr’s story has been followed by Global News, which first introduced him to Canadians in 2015 after the Liberal government agreed to welcome 25,000 Syrian refugees to Canada. 

He lived in Jordan for more than three years after fleeing war-torn Syria and was privately sponsored by the Calgary Centre for Global Community, a humanitarian organization. 

Nemr didn't have a background in the arts in Syria, although he played violin and guitar growing up.

"There wasn’t much of an appreciation of the arts in our society, considering the long-lasting wars and conflict," he says. "I think that that's what made my introduction to Alberta's art scene all the more astonishing and made me want to learn about it more and more." ■ 

A Passion for Clay at the Bluerock Gallery from Sept. 26 to Oct. 18, 2020.

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