Work of the Week

Black History Month in Alberta celebrates the contributions of Black Albertans to our communities and cultural fabric, including in the arts.

The AFA is pleased to share Dine (2021) by Braxton Garneau. This artwork is currently on display in the New Views exhibition at the AFA art house in Calgary, which has free admission.

About the artwork

Dine is part of a series of five works by Braxton Garneau that was included in the …bring a folding chair exhibition organized by the Art Gallery of Alberta in 2022 for the AFA’s Travelling Exhibitions (TREX) program. The exhibition was curated by Shane Golby. It was inspired by Black History Month and recognizes the significant contributions Black Canadians – particularly Black artists – make to Alberta.

This piece joined the AFA Art Collection when it was purchased as part of the Art Acquisition by Application program in 2024.

Since the mid-1800s, the Black community has had a long and rich history in Alberta. However, even in 1944, many restaurants in Edmonton discriminated against Black people and banned them from their restaurants. 

The year 1944 is when Hatti Melton opened Hatti’s Harlem Chicken Inn in downtown Edmonton, serving up her own recipes of fried chicken, biscuits, hot tamales, steak, and more. The restaurant became a hub for the Black community and became known as the Black gathering spot for travellers, celebrities, and athletes. 

To Hatti, the place was more than just a business. It was a way for her to provide jobs to women in her community who, because of racial discrimination, otherwise wouldn’t be able to find meaningful work. It was also a way for Hatti to provide food for people who couldn’t afford it.

When it comes to the history and experience of Black Canadians, they have always been at the table, but the story hasn’t always been recognized, appreciated, or acknowledged. This artwork, which depicts Hatti Melton whipping up a dish, is about being heard and being seen and the more we tell these unique stories, the more they become everyone’s story.

About the artist

Braxton Garneau is a visual artist based in amiskwaciwâskahikan (Edmonton, Canada). He holds a BFA from the University of Alberta and has had solo exhibitions at the Art Gallery of Alberta, Edmonton (2024), GAVLAK, Los Angeles (2023) and Stride Gallery, Calgary (2021). 

Creative practice

With a focus on painting, sculpture, printmaking and installation, Garneau’s practice is rooted in materiality, costuming and transformation. Working in-between cultures, he combines visual influences from classical and contemporary forms with material investigations to consider cultural, social and historical implications. 

Garneau’s work investigates transformation through both natural cycles and the inherent human tendency for adornment, costuming and masquerade. Connecting materials, customs and clothing, he explores the ability of the natural world, and of the people in it, to adapt and transmute to whatever circumstances they may find themselves in.

Exhibitions and recognition

His work was featured in the retrospective exhibition Black Every Day at the Art Gallery of Alberta (2021), It's About Time: Dancing Black in Canada 1900 - 1970 and Now at Mitchell Art Gallery, Edmonton (2020), curated by Seika Boye, and New Direction, curated by AJ Girard and Artx at Château Cîroc, Miami, Florida (2021). 

In 2024, his work Pitch Lake (Pietà) was acquired by the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego through the Northern Trust Purchase Prize at EXPO Chicago, and he was awarded the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Emerging Artist Award. He opened a solo exhibition at Efraín López in New York, NY in September 2024, and was accepted into the International Studio & Curatorial Program (ISCP), Brooklyn, NY in 2025.

More information

Learn more about the New Views exhibition at AFA art house. 

Joan Stebbins, former Director and Curator of the Southern Alberta Art Gallery Maansiksikaitsitapiitsinikssin (SAAG), passed away on December 13, 2025 at the age of 84.

Joan had been involved with SAAG beginning in 1979 shortly after the Gallery opened to the public. She worked her way through the organization and became Director / Curator in 1985 and served in that position until her retirement in 2007. Her leadership has been credited with the gallery being viewed as one of the country’s leading contemporary arts institutions.

Throughout Joan’s career, she has received a number of honours, which include The Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Distinguished Artists award, a Member of the Order of Canada, an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Lethbridge, and an RCA Medal from the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts.

To honour the memory of Joan Stebbins and her invaluable contributions to the visual arts, we present her artwork, Heart Attacks (1979), which is part of the Collection of the Alberta Foundation for the Arts.

This week, our thoughts turn to remembrance, honouring both Indigenous Veterans Day (Nov 8) and Remembrance Day (Nov 11). In recognition of these days of remembrance, we are honoured to feature two artworks from the AFA Art Collection produced by Euphemia McNaught and Evelyn McBryan.

These two paintings from 1942 "Army Camp, Charlie Lake" by Evelyn McBryan and "US Army Camp Sept. Charlie Lake BC" by Euphemia McNaught, capture a single, pivotal moment in Canada's WWII history. They depict the U.S. Army camp at Charlie Lake, B.C., a hub for one of the most significant engineering projects of the war, the construction of the Alaska Highway.

In the aftermath of Pearl Harbour, Canada played host to over 10,000 U.S. soldiers that arrived in the north to build this critical inland supply route. Receiving an unprecedented commission directly from Prime Minister Mackenzie King, McNaught and McBryan, were two of the only civilians—and women—granted official permission to enter the highly restricted military zone. They became unofficial war artists. While not on the front lines they documented the construction of this massive, high-speed military project.

Dedicated to completing their commission the duo would go as far to disguise themselves as men, as women weren’t permitted on the sites they needed to access. Together, McNaught and McBryan were able to produce 34 paintings from 1942 to 1944.

But this is not the only story.

What the works also depict is the arrival of thousands of soldiers on the traditional lands of the Dene, Saulteau, Kaska, and other First Nations. Completion of this monumental project, built in response to the threat of invasion, would not have been possible without the key knowledge of Indigenous guides, trappers, and community members. They were the ones who knew the "unexplored" terrain, the muskeg, and the river crossings, enabling the U.S. Army to navigate the challenging northern landscape.

The Alaska Highway project would forever alter these unceded lands affecting the Indigenous communities and wildlife that called the area home.

As we look at these paintings, we see a layered history. We honour all who served and sacrificed in times of conflict. We remember the soldiers who built this highway and the artists who documented it, the critical role of Indigenous peoples and the impact of the highway forever changing the landscape.

About the Artworks

The Alaska Highway Series consists of 34 paintings and was a cooperative effort between Euphemia McNaught and Evelyn McBryan. During 1942 to 1944, both artists travelled along the Alaska Highway as far as the Sikanni River, documenting through sketches and paintings the construction of the highway.

About the artists

The relationship between Euphemia "Betty" McNaught and Evelyn "Evy" McBryan was a multi-layered, lifelong connection that began with McNaught as the teacher and McBryan as her art student in the Peace River region. This mentorship evolved into a close personal friendship and a significant professional collaboration. Together, they became the foundational figures of their local art scene, establishing the Beaverlodge and Grande Prairie Art Clubs. Their most famous project is the commission from Prime Minister Mackenzie King in 1942.

Born to Be Blue is part of a new series that deals with creating an illusion of depth and space with the use of color and drawing.

This piece was added to the AFA Art Collection in 2024 and is currently part of the New Views exhibition at the AFA art house in Calgary. It is currently featured on the art house "New Acquisitions" wall, which will be updated regularly with new works from the AFA Art Collection.

Artist Dick Der (right) poses next to his artwork, Born to Be Blue, next to Jean Der (left).

About the Artist

Dick Der was born in China and moved to Canada as a child. He graduated from the University of Alberta in 1974, earning his BFA. 

According to the late arts journalist Gilbert Bouchard, Der possesses a “love of all things urban” that he expresses through “geometric works [that] depict abstract inner-city vistas [and] boast actual objects salvaged from downtown streets—metal rods, lengths of wire, hunks of rebar, bits of wood, cardboard, and squares of metal screen.” Such materials, said Bouchard, demonstrate “Der’s particular love of more derelict aspects of city life—old buildings and abandoned warehouses… [and] aged portions of legendary cosmopolitan megacities [such as] New York or Paris.”

Der says he aims at evoking a “tranquil, mystical, and spiritual experience” through his mixed-media collages and paintings, which may also contain Chinese calligraphy whose meanings he does not intend to be taken literally, but whose forms suggest a “connection between the past, present, and future.” 

Der’s solo exhibitions in Edmonton include Studio Watch at the Edmonton Art Gallery, In the Rough at The Works Festival, and Chinatown Tango and Snapshots at the Scott Gallery in Edmonton. Several public, corporate, and private collections house Der’s work, including those of the Grand Prairie College, the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, the Camino Foundation, Anglo Continental Limited in Hong Kong, and the Singapore Eromatic Company. Der recently retired from the Department of Art and Design, Painting Division, at the University of Alberta. 

The holiday season is a wonderful time to reflect with family and friends. At the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, we are forging a deeper understanding of our role and responsibilities as Alberta’s provincial arts funder and principal supporter. We are in a period of renewal as we look forward to new opportunities. Whether it is the performing arts, literary, visual, film or video, the AFA’s job is to help individual artists and organizations explore, practice, create and promote their exceptional work.

We have a profound sense of optimism for the years ahead that is buoyed by the Alberta government’s commitment to increase AFA funding to a record-level $39.1 million by 2027. 
We look forward to continuing our work with government for the betterment of Alberta’s arts sector.

Art and Alberta’s artists are at the heart of everything that we do. In that vein, I’m proud to continue the AFA’s tradition of highlighting an artwork from our collection. This year, I’m pleased to feature Crowsnest Mountain and the Seven Sisters by Dr. Joane Cardinal-Schubert. 
This beautiful Indigenous work is representative of the mountain landscape in Southern Alberta. Cardinal-Schubert’s use of color is so appropriate during the holiday season.

On behalf of the AFA Board of Directors and staff, please accept my best wishes for a safe and restful holiday season, Merry Christmas and a happy and prosperous New Year.

Cynthia P. Moore, Chair

Alberta Foundation for the Arts

This week’s Work of the Week spotlights the exhibition HARRY MITSUO KIYOOKA – Artist. Educator. Activist., on now at the Nickle Galleries in Calgary. 

A 70-year retrospective of abstract art, portraiture and early abstract landscapes!
 

The AFA has loaned eight artworks to the gallery for inclusion in the exhibition. The exhibition is curated by Mary-Beth Laviolette and runs until April 27, 2024.

Learn more about the exhibition: nickle.ucalgary.ca/exhibition/harry-mitsuo-kiyooka/

About the artwork

The AFA acquired this painting through its Art Acquisition by Application program. This program is designed to acquire contemporary works of art by any eligible Alberta artist. The next deadline to apply is April 2, 2024. Read the guidelines and apply.

The AFA acquired this artwork through its Art Acquisition by Application program in 2023. This program is designed to acquire contemporary works of art by any eligible Alberta artist.

Artist statement:

The following is an excerpt of Simone Elizabeth Saunders' artist statement. Read the full artist statement. 

My work uplifts Black womanhood, and the resilience, joy and the strength of being a Black woman. Textiles engage upon a search for belonging, a connection to a community, to personal identity and a connection to Black history. I create narratives through cultural mythology, current iconography, and personal landscapes. A big source of inspiration within my work is Art Nouveau, an era in which female portraiture was highlighted and exuded tremendous grace and femininity. This is reflected within The Messenger, capturing a sensuality, mystery, vigor and charm amongst the vibrancy of colour. It is a style that I capture within my textiles which I have called, Black Nouveau.

Artist profile

Simone Elizabeth Saunders (she/her) is a textile artist based in Mohkinstsis - Calgary, Canada. She holds a B.F.A. with Distinction from the Alberta University of Arts in 2020. Her textiles are hand tufted in the medium of rug-making using a punch-needle and tufting machine.

Saunders explores themes of the diaspora, ancestorship and Black womanhood. Her colourful textiles highlight motifs and iconography from her Jamaican heritage and engage with socio-cultural factors reclaiming power from oppressive ideologies.

Simone has a career in the theatre arts, a previous B.F.A. from the University of Alberta’s Acting Conservatory. Weaving her theatre experiences and integrating dramatism and story-telling within her creations - Simone uplifts narratives of Black joy and resilience. 

​Simone was the recipient from Calgary Black Chambers 2023 Achievement Award for Arts, Media and Entertainment. Simone was named one of 20 "top Compelling Calgarians for 2022" and "Top 40 Under 40" of Calgarian Professionals, by Avenue Magazine. Simone was awarded the National Winner for the Bank of Montreal's 1st Art Competition in 2020.