The Okotoks Art Gallery welcomed two Foothills-based artists and their exhibits during an opening reception on April 6.
Okotoks artist Tanya Zakarow depicts the beauty and privilege of growing old through her art, while Diamond Valley-based Bruno Canadien's exhibit is an ode to his Dene roots and family members.
Like most of his work, Canadien's Mother Tongue/Ehts’o Ket’a incorporates classic elements of Dene art.
"Dene artists generally use a lot of floral designs in their work," he said. "They do bead work, moose hair tufting, embroidery, quilt work and mostly sewing arts, right? Like moccasins, or vests, or jackets."
These floral designs are prominent in his paintings, many of which also prominently feature ribbons.
"I know the Dene are northern people, so we're not based in southern Alberta," he said.
Canadien hopes the exhibit inspires people to seek out other Dene artists and artwork.
"I hope [visitors] see those connections and relationships we have with the land, and with family," he added
Fellow exhibitor Zakarow also shares her own personal family experiences and perspectives through her artwork in RIPE - The Beauty and Privilege of Growing Old.
"It came from my cousin who passed away from ovarian cancer," she said. "I was grieving and I was just realizing that it is a privilege to grow old because not a lot of people get the privilege of getting there.
"The lines that we have, the wrinkles that we have, they're the road maps on our face and they tell our story in so many ways, and it just gave me a lot of perspective"
The inaugural Okotoks Art Gallery artist-in-residence added that her work aims to inspire people of all ages.
"We live in such a world of like youth and vitality and everybody wants to be younger," Zakarow said. "Everyone's scared of growing old, everyone's terrified of becoming wrinkled, but there's such a privilege to that."
The exhibits will be on display until June 22.
