Common Ground

Today I was the proud husband of Naomi Gerrard the artist. It was the opening of the art show titled Common Ground at the Legislature. This art show is a joint effort of the Alberta Society of Artists and the Manitoba Society of Artists. It is a juried art show - which means that art experts get to look over submissions by many artists and choose the very best.

Twenty-five artists from Manitoba were chosen based on art they each submitted. A similar twenty-five artists were chosen from Alberta. The show will tour three locations in Manitoba (Winnipeg, Boissevain and Thompson) and several locations in Alberta over the course of the next 12-18 months.

The top photo shows Gerald Folkaerts, one of Manitoba's premier artists, speaking at the podium with many of the artists with works in the show behind him.

The second photo shows the brochure for the Common Ground exhibition. Imagine Naomi's surprise when her work was chosen (by the Alberta Society of Artists) to be featured on the cover of the show's brochure.

In the third photo, Naomi is shown with Barb Enders with Naomi's art - The Heart of the Prairies behind them.

The fourth photo shows Calgary artist Liz Sullivan with her work Journey West.

The bottom photo shows Kathy Hehn from Brandon and her painting Morning Has Broken.

Naomi has come a long way in the years since she completed a degree in fine arts in the 1970s. Many years, many workshops and much effort later, it is exciting to see her art being featured in this way.