Sparrow Artspace in the news . . .
For media inquiries, please contact Sandra Neill, 403-819-9318, sandra@sparrowartspace.com
Puppet project: Calgarians learn to make ‘really entertaining’ little characters
By Gil Tucker, Global News
March 8, 2024
Calgarians are getting a new chance to do some real hands-on creative crafting. They’re bringing some cool characters to life with some pretty unusual materials. Sparrow Artspace in the city’s Bridgeland neighbourhood is hosting several puppet-making workshops throughout the month of March.
Veteran Calgary artist Jenny Dale Stables is one of the people leading the sessions. “Puppets require us to be creative, to problem-solve” During one workshop, Stables was encouraging the kids in attendance to imagine what kind of puppets they could fashion out of small dried gourds.
Check out the feature about the wasakamapiwak wearable art collective in Curious Magazine!
Calgary Indigenous artists share ‘incredible diversity’ of wearable art traditions
JANUARY 9, 2024, Global News
This new year brings a new chance for Calgarians to get in touch with some very old traditions. As Gil Tucker shows us, local Indigenous artists are showcasing a strong connection with nature that goes back many centuries.
Indigenous artists create wearable art, share knowledge at gallery workshops
Jan 10, 2024, CTV, Kevin Fleming
Throughout January, Sparrow Artspace is hosting 11 Indigenous artists who mainly use materials harvested from the land to create wearable art.
Sandra Neill, who runs the gallery and organized the workshops, says there's a waiting list to attend.
"It's wonderful to have these artists share their art form," she said.
"They've really embraced what Sparrow Artspace is all about: creativity, community and collaboration. They're all learning from each other and they're sharing their passion and their skills with the public, which is amazing."
Calgarians invited to explore Mexican ‘Day of the Dead’ traditions
By Gil Tucker, Global News, November 1, 2023
Halloween may be over, but this week brings another celebration for a lot of Calgarians. It’s all about keeping ancient traditions alive and making new connections.
Sparrow Artspace in Calgary’s Bridgeland neighbourhood is hosting a special “Day of the Dead” public event on Saturday, Nov 4. Artists Oscar and Fabi Rios, both from Mexico City, have created several colourful figures to add to the festive atmosphere in the art gallery.
They’ll also be leading sessions on how to make colourful paper flowers and decorate traditional sugar skulls, both items important to celebrating the “Day of the Dead.”
Indigenous starblanket project in Calgary ‘brings comfort to people’
By Gil Tucker Global News, September 18, 2023
Calgarians are coming together in a new way to mark this year’s National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. They’re inviting everyone to join them in carrying on an important Indigenous tradition.
Members of the Indigenous community are creating a traditional star blanket. “Many Indigenous people use it as a form of giving as an honour for any rite of passage – graduation, wedding, birth of a child,” project leader Dale Swampy said.
Project participants are inviting members of the public to join their star blanket-making sessions, creating it as part of their preparations for the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on Sept. 30.
Sparrow Artspace is hosting an emotion packed free exhibit at its northeast gallery for the month of September.
It's honouring the lost children and survivors of residential schools and the Sixties Scoop.
Sheila Norris, the executive director of the Colour it Forward Reconciliation Society, hopes the exhibition starts conversation with visitors.
"All of the art in here is so emotional because it does tell a story," she said. "It does tell something about the horrors that we're in, the history but it also has hope."
‘Phenomenal’ new Calgary exhibit showcases women’s struggles during COVID-19 pandemic
By Gil Tucker, Global News
Posted June 2, 2023 11:00 am, Updated June 2, 2023 12:19 pm
There’s a new Calgary effort to end some of the lingering inequalities that have been highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Artist Veronica Funk has put together an exhibit called Woman’s Work, featuring portraits of 50 women who work in a wide variety of fields. Funk began connecting with them shortly after COVID hit in March 2020.
The project also includes those women’s stories of how their lives changed during the pandemic. “I was really disappointed to hear how many women were disproportionately affected by job loss during the pandemic,” Funk said. “Everything was falling on women, again.”
CBC Homestretch
June 6, 2023
A new exhibit is taking a closer look at the stories of women impacted by the pandemic. Chris dela Torre interviews Veronica Funk.
Calgary photographer focuses on Alberta’s ‘treasures’
Ramsey Kunkel features portraits of Albertans all in one artspace
CALGARY CITIZEN ARTS & CULTURE
By Emma Boyne | July 26, 2022
The Calgary community is a tight-knit group, always looking for new ways to connect and support each other to build a brighter future. With COVID sweeping the nation over the past years, a local photographer wanted to highlight the Alberta community and the impact it has made in building our province.
Ramsey Kunkel has lived in Calgary all of his life. Having worked in photography over the years, Kunkel has had the opportunity to capture a wide range of people.
Through his travels, Kunkel has built up a collection of portraits of locals who embody Alberta, and is now showing his exhibit, the Alberta Portrait Project, at the Sparrow Artspace in Bridgeland.
Calgary's Sparrow Artspace offers creative healing experience
CITY News, By Taylor Braat
Posted May 18, 2022, 1:17PM MDT.
Calgary’s Sparrow Artspace in Bridgeland offers drop-in gallery viewings and art workshops, but it’s more than just painting an ornament for your garden, it’s an invitation to discover the healing power of art.
“See Me. Hear Me.” is a collaborative art residency hosted by Sparrow Artspace during the month of May. It features 25 local artists’ work with a theme of empathy, and runs Thursdays to Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. until May 28.
Kim Webb, co-creator of “See Me. Hear Me.”, says the mission is to provide an experience through art for creative healing after two years of hardship during the pandemic.
Join Calgary artists in an archeological dig of lost and forgotten items
Helen Pike, CBC News, Feb 21, 2022
“In the basement of a more than 100-year-old building, there's a treasure trove of memories, photos, and pin-ups disintegrating on the walls.
Inside the Sparrow Community Artspace, an artistic archeological dig is happening — four artists, inspired by each other and the items they find, are hoping to have community conversations.”