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The Art Gallery of Alberta respectfully acknowledges that we are located in Treaty 6 Territory and Region 4 of the Metis Nation of Alberta. We respect this as the traditional and contemporary  land of diverse Indigenous Peoples including the Plains Cree, Woodland Cree, Beaver Cree, Nitsitapi/Blackfoot, Métis, Nakota Sioux, Anishinaabe/Saulteaux/Ojibwe and Dene Peoples. We also acknowledge the many Indigenous, Inuit and Métis people who make Alberta their home today.

Rebecca Anderson

Rebecca Anderson with Houle artwork     Terrance Houle artwork Ghost Days 3

 

“When I first saw Ghost Days Indian Graves I immediately was drawn to it. I love art with intensity and gravitational pull. This photo has a sense of depth and loss but it’s pulled upward in a kind of celestial opening; a spiritual dome with the tree tops and cluster of orbs.

I believe art is a way of connecting to other worlds, but it is also a powerful connector to our own world and the cultures within it. We can reach out and find out our similarities and our differences. It’s a way of understanding someone else’s story; of listening and receiving. I had the great pleasure to be able to contact the artist and to learn more about his creative process and the importance of his culture, not only in his art, but also as a way of living and believing. He told me that his peoples, the Kainai and Ojibwe, bury their dead in trees. Knowing this, the photo can be understood as a sacred shrine and a testament of a spiritual encounter.

Art makes me think about the stories we can share. Great art creates the space to listen. Thank you Terrance Houle for welcoming me to reflect on your photo and to share my own musical response to it.”

 

About the musical response:

“I wanted to create something of the magnetic depth that I felt looking at Houle’s photo and chose to play a droning accordion and to sing in a mostly vocalized manner. The few words at the end reflect Houle’s own idea of creating for the spirits. I ran the initial audio practice past Terrance and am thankful that he was so welcoming of my attempt to reflect on the story and the beauty of his photograph.”

 

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F and M band

F&M (Rebecca & Ryan Anderson) is a baroque-pop outfit with a penchant for dark lyrics and mesmerizing melodies. Rebecca contributes hauntingly pristine vocals, adventurous keyboard arrangements and emotional snapshots, while Ryan offers a soulful croon, sturdy guitar riffs and wryly astute lyrics. Their last album, At Sunset We Sing, was shortlisted for the Edmonton Music Prize and earned a Best Alternative Album nomination at the Edmonton Music Awards. F&M’s new album Lessons From Losers was released on September 21, 2018.

Image credit:
Terrance Houle
Ghost Days: Indian Graves #3, 2015
LightJet print on paper
Art Gallery of Alberta Collection, purchased with funds from the Canada Council for the Arts New Chapter grant program

Hours

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Thursday: 11am-7pm
Friday: 11am-5pm
Saturday: 11am-5pm
Sunday: 11am-5pm

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Location

2 Sir Winston Churchill Square
Edmonton, Alberta
Canada T5J 2C1

780.422.6223
info@youraga.ca

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The Art Gallery of Alberta respectfully acknowledges that we are located in Treaty 6 Territory and Region 4 of the Metis Nation of Alberta. We respect this as the traditional and contemporary  land of diverse Indigenous Peoples including the Plains Cree, Woodland Cree, Beaver Cree, Nitsitapi/Blackfoot, Métis, Nakota Sioux, Anishinaabe/Saulteaux/Ojibwe and Dene Peoples. We also acknowledge the many Indigenous, Inuit and Métis people who make Alberta their home today.