Following a two-month call for submissions, the City of Abbotsford, in partnership with the Abbotsford Arts Council is pleased to announce visual artist, Cari Guri, has been selected as the “Artist in Residence”, a paid summer residency through the Go Play Outside Artist in Residence program.
Guri is an emerging artist currently based in the Fraser Valley, whose current painting practice explores the relationship between identity construction and portraiture. Through her paintings, she looks at the dynamics of viewership as she uses the process of creating a work to observe, consider, decode and recode her encounters with herself and outside world, ultimately allowing her to question what it means to see and to be seen. Her work has been exhibited online and in galleries across Canada and in New York.
As part of the Artist in Residence program, Guri will be on-site at various Go Play Outside pop-up events offering live art demonstrations in the City’s parks throughout the summer. Drawing inspiration from interactions and conversations with local residents in the park she will create a series of painted and mixed media works focusing on this year’s theme of social inclusion. This collection will be displayed at the Abbotsford Art Council’s Kariton Art Gallery next Spring.
The Go Play Outside program will be at Mill Lake Park from 3:00 – 7:00 p.m. every Thursday throughout the summer, beginning June 30th and will be hosting pop-up events at various neighbourhood parks on weekends. Along with the art demonstrations by Guri, the Go Play Outside team will be leading interactive recreational activities and handing out Culture Kits, hands-on art-making kits for kids ages 6 to 13, designed by The Reach Gallery Museum and inspired by their summer exhibitions.
More information about Cara Guri, the artist residency and her schedule throughout the summer can be found at www.abbotsford.ca/artist-in-residence.
Background:
The Artist in Residence program seeks to support local culture and encourage thoughtful dialogue by facilitating an artist residency at the City’s Parks, Recreation and Culture’s Go Play Outside pop-up events throughout the summer. The goal is to enhance community connectedness while providing opportunities for recreating and experiencing culture outdoors.
For more information contact:
Aletta Vanderheyden Communications and Public Relations Manager
City of Abbotsford
E: avanderheyden@abbotsford.ca