Opening Reception:  Friday, March 20, 20265-8PM

Artist Statement – Madison Pascal

Back to the Garden emerges from a lineage of tending, nurturing, and learning through the quiet rhythms of the land. Gardening has always been integral to my family’s history. As a child, my grandpa would take me into his garden in Moosomin to look for signs of new growth — how tall the sunflowers had stretched, whether the baby potatoes were ready to lift, and how many earthworms wriggled in the soil, a sure sign of a healthy garden. Through these small rituals he taught me patience, tenderness, and the understanding that care is something you cultivate slowly over time. These memories form the roots of this exhibition. They connect to the broader history of my Métis culture, where land, family, and knowledge are deeply intertwined. A garden, for me, is an in-between space: built between wilderness and concrete, shaped by both human hands and natural forces. It is a place of refuge, of quiet attention, and of community — a space where life grows with intention but not control. In this body of work, I return to that symbolic garden. Through painting and drawing, I explore how memory and identity take root, how tenderness survives even in difficult soil, and how resilience can be cultivated like a living thing. These works honour the spaces where growth happens — gently, gradually, and often unseen — and reflect on the relationships that teach us how to care for ourselves, for each other, and for the land that holds us.

Artist Statement – Melanie Monique Rose

Back to the Garden is a body of work from the ongoing series, The Flower People which is a form of visual storytelling about me, my family, my people and our connection and relationship to the land, ourselves, and each other. The Flower People is derived from the name ‘The Flower Beadwork People’ a name given to the Metis who are well know for their floral beadwork. Felted pieces, combined with the use of collected blankets create a canvas for my personal exploration of identity as a contemporary Indigenous Artist, alongside my Ukrainian heritage. My floral imagery invokes stories of people, place, and the land. Inspired by culturally traditional art forms of the Métis and Ukrainian folk art, my works are wholly fresh and new, but my past/ancestors are very much present. Personal, cultural, and universal symbolism are woven into the fabric of my work with an emphasis on movement, colour, and narrative. The slow, process orientated execution of felting becomes meditative and at times acts as healing and a prayer to my family and community. My works are personal acts of Indigenous survivance & solidarity, which have made me critically look at how I tell my story as an active Indigenous presence in the world today. In the exhibition, Back to the Garden I am pleased to share this collection with fellow Metis artist, Madison Pascal. Together our work like the promise of spring hails the joy of new growth, potential and hope.