Intermedia artist Brad Necyk is still in the middle of wrapping up his year-long Friends of University Hospitals’ artist residency with his art exhibit Retreat. He is also set to present a short film about his experiences with families of organ donors and their recipients. It’s intense and emotional material to say the least.
The film itself runs only 30-minutes long and is the culmination of interviews that Necyk conducted with six families of organ donors, including one of an individual who died by suicide. His daughter is now grown up and trying to learn more about him, an act that the artist found to be profoundly moving.
“Nobody can really plan for their child’s suicide. A lot of it was talking about how they came to those decisions. The film itself isn’t directly about donation. Their stories weave into the dialogue that I wrote.”
The title, he explained, refers to a woman coming to understand mortality as she is dealing with the death of a loved one. The hope of the film, he continued, is to open dialogue around death between family and friends, for it to be a more approachable topic that could lead to a better understanding of each other’s final wishes.
Alberta is set to screen from 7:30 to 9 p.m. on Tuesday, April 19. The screening will include a panel discussion including Necyk himself and some special guests. Metro Cinema is located in the Garneau Theatre, 8712 109 St. in Edmonton. Visit www.metrocinema.org for more information.
Retreat stays on display until Sun., May 1 with an artist talk that day from 2 to 4 p.m. The McMullen Gallery is located in the U of A Hospital at 8440 112 St. in Edmonton. More information can be found by calling 780-407-8428 or visiting www.friendsofuah.org/mcmullen-gallery-shows.
Student members of the Social Justice Club at Ă©cole Secondaire Ste. Marguerite d’Youville have created a series of posters based on the United Nation’s 17 sustainable development goals.
“These are the U.N.’s goals for the next 15 years to end poverty around the world,” club leader Madeleine Pawlowski said. “So we did this really cool art project. They really want to spread awareness around the community.”
Club member Halle Forsythe explained that she took the goal of ‘reduced inequalities’ because she thought it was important to highlight the wealth gap between the rich and the poor. This doesn’t just refer to individuals with the citizenry, she noted.
“It’s about helping out third world countries and getting everyone to the same point. This is the first time that richer countries like Canada and the U.S. are incorporated into a project like this. It’s basically us trying to help out these countries in order to get them higher education and better resources,” she said.
The banners are now available for viewing along with other art from ESSMY students. It will remain on display at the Arden Theatre until May 31.
St. Albert photographer Dawn LeBlanc recently got some great news about how her art is going to be at cruising altitude along with multitudes of international air travelers. She had two of her photographs selected for the Dutch Airline KLM's next issue of iFly Magazine.
