Five Saskatoon art gallery exhibitions to explore in April

Spring has arrived and, with it, the refreshed need to get outside and explore. While you’re out exploring, make sure to check out the works of local and national visual artists at some local art galleries. Here are five galleries with shows in April: presents 500 Year Itch by Shelley Niro, which starts Friday and runs to Sept.

21 in the Marquee Gallery. The career-spanning exhibition explores nearly 70 of the Kanien’kehaka (Mohawk) artist’s multimedia and mixed-media works through themes of identity, resilience and history. Her work is a profound and playful commentary on the lived experiences of Indigenous women and communities through personal narratives and a contemporary perspective.



“Shelley Niro is one of Canada’s foremost artists, and we are excited to be the final stop on the tour of 500 Year Itch,” says senior curator Sally Frater. “Her powerful works in painting, photography, film and other media confront legacies of colonization while stressing the beauty and dynamism of Haudenosaunee culture and the importance of family, community, healing and resilience. “I’m thrilled that Remai Modern is able to share this presentation of her work with those who are already fans of her work and new audiences alike.

” Remai Modern is located at 102 Spadina Crescent East. Information is available at . and Common Weal Community Arts co-present Why the Caged Bird Sings — Immersive Engagements by Cheryl L’Hirondelle, at the gallery through April 17.

The Saskatchewan-based interdisciplinary Indigenous artist and singer-songwriter presents an immersive and interactive experience featuring songs she wrote in collaboration with the province’s incarcerated and detained populations. She creates an immersive experience with the use of virtual reality, video and hyper-directional audio, paired with nine original drawings and nine songs at listening stations. Karaoke versions of the songs are screened in the street-facing windows for the duration of the show, and a concert featuring Saskatchewan musicians closes the exhibition on the final day at 8 p.

m. “This work considers the consequence of seemingly momentary encounters that create empathy and promote change — the empowerment we endorse when we stand in, sit in, sing with, and listen to one another, in solidarity,” L’Hirondelle said in a statement. PAVED Arts is located at 424 20th Street West.

Information is available at . presents Rounding, a group exhibition actively considering community, love and finding place by opening up, with love as the guiding principle. The current display runs through April 25.

Works by Peter Morin and Jimmie Kilpatrick join works from the University of Saskatchewan’s permanent collection, with a small library and an open access media setup. Movable furniture accommodates events, classes and research. “Rounding is a space of teaching, unlearning and engagement, premised on the need to open the institution’s exhibition spaces and permanent holdings to multiple forms and sources of authorship,” said co-ordinating curator Cole Thompson.

“Initiated in October of 2024, the most recent iteration was anchored by a production residency and live performance by artists Peter Morin and Jimmie Kilpatrick. The pair presented their ongoing karaoke project Love Songs to End Colonization, which addresses Canada’s ongoing colonialism through joy, futurity and collective voice.” Kenderdine Art Gallery is located in the U of S Peter MacKinnon Building, 107 Administration Pl.

Information is available at . The presents Lunar Lore by Saskatchewan artists Savannah Holt, Zoë Schneider and Hanna Yokozawa Farquharson. The exhibition is on display at the SCC gallery until April 26.

Bathing viewers in the full embrace of the moon, works in fibre, ceramics and sculpture illuminate the varied ways the artists are inspired by the celestial orb. Themes of cyclicality, time, consistency and ritual create a journey through the many ways we know the moon. “Cyclicality, circles, and spheres are key elements of the exhibition’s design and flow, encouraging the viewer to succumb to the natural pull of the lunar cycle,” the artists said in a group statement.

“Lunar Lore invites appreciation for fine craft, stimulating ideas, and a warm embrace, making for a unique yet inviting viewer experience.” Adds Farquharson: “The crescent moon, at its smallest, speaks of the cycles of life — birth, growth, maturity, old age, and death. .

.. (Its) soft light glows as a promise, as an essential and elemental part of who we are, and upon which fullness builds.

It should never be lost. Life is a cycle, not a straight line with starting point and ending.” The SCC Gallery is located at 813 Broadway Ave.

Information is available at . The presents Edges by Heather Cline, on display until May 3. The Saskatchewan artist’s recent works continue her explorations of the Canadian Prairies.

Through a collaboration with Nature Conservancy of Canada, she observed the terrain of Western Canada and created a series of aerial landscape paintings based on what she saw. “When I first started documenting the landscape from the aerial perspective, I wanted to be a witness to the impact that human activity has on our environment,” Cline said in her artist’s statement. “With this observation, there is the realization of how the landscape of Western Canada has radically changed in just the last 100 years.

“I hope this body of work inspires viewers to consider our impact on the landscape and to engage in some of the amazing work being done by people involved in land stewardship in Western Canada.” The Gallery/Art Placement Inc. is located at 238 Third Avenue South.

Information is available at ..