Spring/Summer 2025 Exhibitions at MSVU Art Gallery

Diana Thorneycroft, Consensual Fluid Transmission #3 (Man with Tie), 2021, colour pencil crayon on paper, clay, acrylic paint. Photo: Michael Boss

Together Apart | Under One Roof

May 10 – July 27, 2025
Opening Reception: May 10 at 1:00pm
Curated by Denise Lawson and Angela Somerset
Organized by Comox Valley Art Gallery & DTS Studio
Lower Gallery

This exhibition celebrates the distinct practices and the enduring friendship of Winnipeg-based artists Aganetha Dyck, Reva Stone, and Diana Thorneycroft, who have been studio neighbours in Winnipeg for over 30 years. Central themes of the show include feminist art practice, the creative power of relationships, and the interplay between human and non-human. Curated by Denise Lawson and Angela Somerset, previously presented at Comox Valley Art Gallery and the Confederation Centre Art Gallery.

About the Artists

Reva Stone is a Canadian artist exploring the interplay between our bodies and technology, particularly how artificial intelligence affects personal spaces and privacy. Her recent work focuses on the implications of surveillance technologies infiltrating intimate environments and the potential digitalization of our thoughts, dreams, and memories. Stone has received numerous awards, including the 2017 Distinguished Alumnae Award from the University of Manitoba and the 2015 Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Arts. She has exhibited extensively in Canada, the US, and Europe, and her work has been featured in various journals.and Design, New York; Rideau Hall, Ottawa; and the Canadian Museum of History, Ottawa.

Aganetha Dyck is a Canadian artist interested in environmental issues – specifically the power of the small. She is interested in interspecies communication. Her research asks questions about the ramifications all living beings would experience should honeybees disappear from earth. Aganetha Dyck has been the recipient of: Making a Mark Award from Winnipeg Arts Council in recognition of excellence in professional artistic practice, 2013; Art City Star Award, 2013; Spotlight on 40 years: Artworks from the Canada Council Art Bank, 2012; Canada Council’s Governor General’s Award for Visual and Media Arts, 2007; Manitoba Arts Award of Distinction, 2006.

Diana Thorneycroft is known for her art that blends black humor with provocative themes. Growing up on a Canadian military base near Baden-Baden, Germany, the Black Forest greatly influenced her work. Her installation Black Forest (dark waters) led to the premiere of her stop-motion animation Black Forest Sanatorium at the 2020 Vancouver International Film Festival, which has since shown in fifteen venues. She is currently working on her second animation, Black Forest Fastnacht, featuring a novice priest during Mardi Gras.

Kay Sark, Serena, 2024, birchbark, porcupine quills, synthetic sinew, sweetgrass.

Epekwitk Quill Sisters: Etleoogoeiog (Talking Together/ Dialogue)

May 10 – July 27, 2025
Opening Reception: May 10 at 1:00pm
Curated by Emma Hassencah-Perley
Organized by the Beaverbrook Art Gallery

Epekwitk Quill Sisters: Etleoogoeiog (Talking Together) is an exhibition featuring the Epekwitk Quill Sisters, a collective of Mi’kmaw women artists: Kay Bernard, Melissa Peter-Paul, and Cheryl Simon. The sisters are dedicated to strengthening and sustaining the ancestral knowledge and practice of Mi’kmaq porcupine quillwork.

This exhibition is more than just a celebration of the evolution of Mi’kmaq porcupine quillwork. It emphasizes the importance of family and sisterhood among the artists, the artistic legacies they inherit and create, and the rich histories of quill art that shape their work. Epekwitk Quill Sisters: Etleoogoeiog (Talking Together) is a tribute to the inspiring journey of Mi’kmaq porcupine quillwork and the artists who carry forward these sacred traditions.

About the Artists

Kayla Sark is a Mi’kmaq woman from Lennox Island, Epekwit. An apprentice in Mi’kmaq Quill Art since 2016, she learned traditional harvesting practices and quilling techniques. Over the past five years, Kay has shared this art form through community workshops. She harvests porcupine quills, sweet grass, and birch bark with her partner, creating a cultural experience for their family. Developing a unique style, Kay starts each piece with a foundational eight-pointed star, reflecting her connection to Mi’kmaq symbolism.

Cheryl Simon, a Mi’kmaq woman from Epekwitk (PEI) living in Halifax, creates art using porcupine quills, birchbark, spruce root, and sweetgrass. Inspired by her mother’s quill collection, she launched Mi’kmaq Quill Art in 2011 after learning the insertion technique in 2007. Cheryl teaches quillwork workshops, mentors apprentices, and blends traditional designs with petroglyph techniques. Recently, she has embraced contemporary Mi’kmaq art, aiming to pass on her knowledge to younger generations and strengthen community connections through quillwork.

Melissa Peter-Paul is a Mi’kmaw woman from Abegweit First Nation on Epekwitk (PEI). Surrounded by cultural teachings, she began creating regalia and beadwork at a young age and pursued quillwork, a traditional skill from her grandfather’s ancestors. After completing an apprenticeship in 2015, she established a quilling community and held her first solo exhibit in 2019. Influenced by 20th-century Mi’kmaw quillwork, she is committed to passing on the art to her sons and the community.

About MSVU Art Gallery

Opened in 1971, MSVU Art Gallery is dedicated to contemporary art with an emphasis on women as cultural subjects and producers. Exhibitions explore various forms and highlight the achievements of artists in all career phases. MSVU Art Gallery promotes critical access to its exhibitions through publications, lectures, and educational programs, recognizing socially engaged practices as models of aesthetic distinction and political imagination. Consistent with the principle that exhibition spaces are civic spaces, the Gallery is committed to normalizing accessible presentation practices throughout its public programs. Admission is always free.

MSVU Art Gallery respectfully acknowledges that the Gallery and Mount Saint Vincent University are situated on Mi’kma’ki, the ancestral, unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq.

MSVU Art Gallery
166 Bedford Hwy
Halifax, NS B3M 2J6

www.msvuart.ca
art.gallery@msvu.ca
902-457-6160

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Accessibility:
MSVU is partially accessible. For more information, visit the Plan Your Visit page on our website.

Support from the following organizations is gratefully acknowledged:
We gratefully acknowledge support from the Canada Council for the Arts, Halifax Regional Municipality and Arts Nova Scotia.

Image Descriptions:
1. A colour pencil crayon drawing of a person with checkered pants and a blue collared shirt and pink tie and red hair standing next to a seated figure with their arms crossed on their lap looking uncomfortable. On their head is a blue board with ferns growing out of it. The standing figure’s head is tilted towards the seated figure. A long tongue with teeth is hanging out of their mouth.
2. A square-shaped piece of brown birch bark with a geometric design made out of quills on it. The design features multiple layers of blue and yellow lines that create a complex pattern of squares, diamonds, and triangles. At the center of the piece is a large, eight-pointed star with thin navy quills and bright yellow accents.
3. Logo for MSVU Art Gallery