Coquitlam, BC
Visual Arts
START THE HEALING Artwork At Place Des Arts
Organized by the Coquitlam Heritage Society, the exhibition Extractions: Resources Through an Artistic Lens will be available for viewing from April 1st to May 19th, 2022.
Mildred German
Coquitlam, BC – Various art mediums fill the Atrium of Place Des Arts located at 1120 Brunette Avenue in Coquitlam, BC as the opening reception was held on the evening of April 1, 2022 for the exhibition Extractions: Resources Through an Artistic Lens.
According to the exhibition page on the Place Des Arts website, “While artists often capture the beauty and grandeur of the landscape, the artworks in Extractions highlight our use and abuse of land-based resources, such as mineral extraction, logging and aquatic and land farming, today and historically.” https://placedesarts.ca/events/coquitlam-heritage-society-extractions-natural-res ources-from-our-land/
Organized by the Coquitlam Heritage Society, Extractions: Resources Through an Artistic Lens also “reflects on the abundance of natural resources in British Columbia that have inspired artists for millennia. Some artists have extracted from nature to create art, while others use art to comment on these extractions.”
START THE HEALING
“We Have Everything To Solve and Resolve Global Problems. Let Us Start The Healing.” -Artist statement
Filipino-Canadian multidisciplinary artist Mildred Grace German’s art piece “Start the Healing” is currently on display at Place Des Arts as part of the Extractions: Resources Through an Artistic Lens exhibition. Her artwork touches on the climate change crisis, corruption, stigmas, environmental plunder, forced migration, and more in-depth crises presented through visuals, depicting many social realities using acrylic and canvas as the medium.
As such, crises are also happening internally and often brushed aside due to ‘draining’. When crises happen, when there is trauma, an individual may ‘not only be drained in the body, but also drained in the soul’.
This draining, explains the artist, is an ‘extraction in action’, wherein a being too is being extracted of time, energy, and capacities to heal themselves as surviving is not enough.
Produced with the support of Motivation, Power, and Achievement (MPA) Society’s Resource Centre, Mildred Grace German’s art piece “Start the Healing” had been graciously exhibited in venues such as the MPA Society’s Annual Exhibition held at the Petley Jones Gallery, the VINE Arts Festival at Crab Park, Second Beat Art Share at the Mt. Pleasant Neighborhood House, Huwag Kang Baboy / Year Of The Swine series, and published in the Right to Food zine Issue #26–all which German is grateful for all the wonderful opportunities and creative spaces. http://rtfzine.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Issue-26-5.5-x-8.5-DIGITAL-final.pdf
Organized by the Coquitlam Heritage Society, Extractions: Resources Through an Artistic Lens will be available for viewing from April 1st to May 19th, 2022. More information on the Coquitlam Heritage Society and the work they do can be found at their website, www.coquitlamheritage.ca.
EXPLORE THREE EXHIBITIONS FOR FREE
“…we are proud to exhibit the work of local emerging artists. Exhibitions change frequently, and artworks are generally for sale with proceeds directly supporting Place des Arts and the exhibiting artists”. -Place Des Arts website
An exhibition by Donna Polos entitled “A Watercolor Experience On Canvas And Fibre” in the Mezzanine and another exhibition entitled “Spontaneous Portrait Art” by Tadaomi Kawasaki is in the Leonore Peyton Salon both at Place Des Arts located at address 1120 Brunette Avenue in Coquitlam, BC.
Including Extractions: Resources Through an Artistic Lens exhibition, Place des Arts houses three exhibition spaces in total from April 1 to May 19, 2022 and online at placedesarts.ca April 8 to May 19, 2022. Please kindly note that visitors are encouraged to make an appointment to view the exhibition spaces by calling 604.664.1636 ext. 0 to book.
“Thank you to the Coquitlam Heritage Society, to Tannis Koskela, the Heritage Manager of Exhibits, and to Place Des Arts for the wonderful opportunity,” participating artist Mildred Grace German concludes.