WHITEHORSE—Art and craft work by Yukon artists will be highlighted at the Haines Junction Visitor Information Centre in the Da Kų Cultural Centre, where Doug Smarch Jr.’s monumental Ice and Flowers is being unveiled for the facility’s opening on June 21.
“It was only natural to make art and craft the focus for Yukon’s visitor facility in Haines Junction, with Doug Smarch Jr.’s piece illuminated by the sky and mountains beyond,” Tourism and Culture Minister Mike Nixon said. “Showcasing our visual arts in this remarkable setting is a terrific way of sharing our diverse culture with visitors as they travel through the Kluane region.”
Smarch Jr.’s Ice and Flowers consists of 16 translucent acrylic masks suspended from the building’s ceiling, flower designs inspired by Southern Tutchone beadwork on the walls and a circular base filled with local river rocks.
“Ice and Flowers is the culture of Yukon,” Smarch Jr. said. “There is a lot of history here, of people who came from the coast to trade. I wanted the piece to reflect the experience of living through the seasons and how, from history to present, our faces are reflected in droplets of water in the spring; you don’t notice it, but they’re there. You can’t tie one culture to it. We’re all here and we all experience it. It comes down to having the same conversation every spring.”
The work of 40 other artists was also acquired for the visitor information centre for permanent and rotating displays. Pieces from the Yukon Permanent Art Collection will be exhibited at the centre as well.
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See backgrounder and photo below.
Contact:
| Elaine Schiman Cabinet Communications 867-633-7961 elaine.schiman@gov.yk.ca |
Heather LeDuc Communications, Tourism and Culture 867-667-5318 heather.leduc@gov.yk.ca |
Backgrounder
The Haines Junction Visitor Information Centre will feature art and craft, in permanent and rotating displays, by the following Yukon artists:
1. Sonja Ahlers
2. Shiela Alexandrovich
3. Eugene Alfred
4. Virginia Allen
5. Dolores Anderson
6. Karyn Armour
7. Vernon Asp
8. Bob Atkinson
9. Nicole Bauberger
10. Horst Berlow
11. Janice Brodie
12. Sadie Brown
13. Mary Caesar
14. Wendy Chambers
15. Leslie Chapman
16. Sarah Davidson
17. Halin de Repentigny
18. Mida Donnessey
19. Libby Dulac
20. Lyn Fabio
21. Betty Frost
22. Simon Gilpin
23. Paul Gort
24. Nancy Hager
25. Sharon Kabanak
26. Blake Lepine
27. Joyce Majiski
28. Lara Melnik
29. Bev Morris
30. Lee Persinger
31. Mark Preston
32. George Roberts
33. Dennis Shorty
34. Ann Smith
35. Lynne Sofiak
36. Sandra Storey
37. Susan Stuart
38. Threadbearers Quilting Group
39. Doug Twiss
40. Bud Young