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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.

Faye HeavyShield: Calling Stones (Conversations)

Faye Heavyshield title treatment
#agaCallingStones
My art is a reflection of my environment and personal history as lived in the physical geography of southern Alberta with its prairie grass, river coulees, and wind and an upbringing in the Kainai community

Calling Stones (Conversations) presents a new body of work by Alberta artist Faye HeavyShield. Driven and inspired by her memories, her family and her community, HeavyShield’s works are often composed of circles, spirals, grids and lines, recalling the bonds of families and the gathering of communities.

The work in this exhibition was inspired by the artist’s visits to the Majorville medicine wheel (Iniskim Umaapi) in southern Alberta and the stories of her ancestors that are rooted there. An important centre of traditional ceremony and worship, Iniskim Umaapi has been continuously used for over 4,500 years, making+it one of the oldest religious monuments in the world. Drawing from her responses to this site, its history and her own heritage, HeavyShield’s work provides both a personal and conceptual connection to the past, linking generations of Indigenous peoples to the present lives of the Kainai people. 

My art is a reflection of my environment and personal history as lived in the physical geography of southern Alberta with its prairie grass, river coulees, and wind and an upbringing in the Kainai community . The past, present and imagined make up the vocabulary used to realize my thoughts and ideas; responses and references to the body, land, language.

- Faye HeavyShield 

Bios
Faye Heavyshield photo

Faye HeavyShield is a member of the Blackfoot Confederacy from the Kainaiwa (Blood) Nation in the foothills of Southern Alberta. She is a fluent speaker of the Blackfoot language and studied at the Alberta College of Art and Design in Calgary, Alberta. The landscape of HeavyShield’s home community near Stand Off, Alberta is evident in her continuous use of natural materials and imagery found in her minimalist works. HeavyShield has exhibited in solo and group exhibitions across the Canada, including Nations in Urban Landscapes at the Contemporary Art Gallery in Vancouver, BC, rock paper river at Gallery Connexion, Fredericton, NB, Into the Garden of Angels at The Power Plant in Toronto, ON and blood at the Southern Alberta Art Gallery. Her work is found in the collections of the National Gallery of Canada, the McMichael Museum, Alberta Foundation of Art and the Glenbow Museum in Calgary, Heard Museum in Phoenix, AZ, MacKenzie Art Gallery in Regina, SK and the Kelowna Art Gallery, BC.

Hours

Monday: closed
Tuesday: closed
Wednesday: 11am-5pm
Thursday: 11am-7pm
Friday: 11am-5pm
Saturday: 11am-5pm
Sunday: 11am-5pm

Admission

* Restrictions apply. Please see our Hours and Admissions page.

AGA members
$Free
Youth 0-17
$Free
Alberta students 18+
$Free
Out-of-province students
$10
General admission
$14
Seniors 65+
$10

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.