Local artist sees value in reaching the non-gallery public

The work of Métis artist Leah Dorion will be featured prominently in two venues in the country’s largest outdoor gallery event.

“It’s such an honour,” said Dorion. “It’s such a first class event with the number of artists and the amount of public that gets involved.”

Dorion’s work is part of The Works Arts & Designs Festival, which runs June 23 to July 5, in Edmonton, Alberta.

“The outdoor festival is presenting art to the general public, to those people who might not be comfortable walking into a gallery situation,” said Dawn Saunders Dahl, manager of The Works. The focus of this year’s event is Aboriginal work.

There are three venues that cover the downtown area of Edmonton and Dorion will have her work displayed in the Big Tent in Winston Churchill Square along with Adrian Stimson and Sonnny Assu, as well as at the Gallery at Milner in Stanley A. Milner Library, with her work joining Jackson 2Bears.

“The outdoor focus gets a lot of people who wouldn’t walk through the doors of a typical art gallery,” said Dorion.

Another appealing aspect to the show for Dorion is having her work included with Stimson’s. Stimson, from the Siksika First Nation, in Alberta, is what Saunders Dahl calls a “big name artist.” Stimson curated a show for Dorion in November in Prince Albert.

“This is a nice extension of our relationship,” said Dorion.
Working with artists like Stimson, she said, allows her to grow and develop.

Dorion is relatively new to the art scene. She started painting just over seven years ago, when her son Louis was only three months old.

“I received two gifts in my life (at that time). I believe (my son) brought out the artist in me. He’s certainly been my little inspiration … bringing out the gift children bring, seeing the world differently,” said Dorion.

Dorion’s work is the visual presentation of the teaching of the Elders.

“I express those beautiful oral teachings on canvas. I find them so inspiring,” she said. “I get a lot of my healing, and the balance of my life comes through women’s teachings.”

Dorion’s work is also part of the Sasipenita exhibit at the Wanuskewin Heritage Park.

When the open call for that exhibit went out, Dorion knew her work fit perfectly.

“When Sasipenita took on my work, I was grateful because my work blends well to the messages of that show,” she said. The Sasipenita pilot exhibit is entitled The Recognition of Place: Strength and Endurance of Aboriginal Women.

“The foundation of my work is Aboriginal women,” said Dorion.

Dorion’s installation in the Big Tent at the Works is entitled Maskihkiy, which is the Cree word for medicine. The interactive installation is designed to honour the four gifts the Elders teach that the Creator gave: the power to think, speak, act, and listen. Her second exhibit, at the Milner Gallery, will be seven vibrant paintings in “The Power of the Natural World.”

Said Dorion of The Works, “It’s got a real ambiance and character and you couldn’t create something like that indoors.”

Dorion resides in Prince Albert. She refers to herself as “very quiet and low key. My little community is my roots, my anchor.”