A new exhibition in the main gallery at the Moose Jaw Museum & Art Gallery is debuting today, showing exclusively works from female artists in Saskatchewan in order to celebrate their contributions to the art community.
Organized by MJMAG curator Jennifer McRorie, the new show is titled Fire in the Belly: Saskatchewan Women Artists and focuses on the work of notable female artists from the 1960s up until the present.
“There’s a real diversity in the show, there’s senior artists and more younger, emerging artists. There’s also Indigenous artists and culturally diverse artists, and those from the LGBTQ2+ community as well,” said McRorie.
Fire in the Belly includes many notable women from the Prairie art community, exploring the ties between artists and their work over the years, while also showcasing some of the famous pieces the MJMAG has in its possession.
Each piece used in the exhibition is from the MJMAG’s permanent collection, and the show includes a variety of mediums such as acrylic painting, sculpture, photography, video and installation, among others.
“We have so many shows and people wanting to show here that we don’t always have the time to do a permanent collection show, but that is part of our mandate, to give access to the collection, so it’s a nice opportunity,” said McRorie.
The flow in the gallery follows a clear theme, explained McRorie, with works arranged in several sections to emphasize the connections between the art itself and the artists behind it.
Upon entering the space, the first area focuses on abstraction, including the career-altering painting “Red Around Three” by Moose Jaw artist Joan Rankin, which attracted the attention of famous New York art critic Clement Greenberg, brought him to Saskatchewan, and prompted a turning point in Rankin’s career.
Another section explores the idea of figuration, contrasting canvas mediums with sculpture form and body, while another area of the gallery features work from Indigenous artists, including Donna Coxton, Judy McNaughton, Heather Benning and Catherine Blackburn.
The final area focuses on landscapes, and includes notable works from artists including Dorothy Knowles and Wynona Mulcaster.
The title Fire in the Belly was very carefully chosen for this particular show, said McRorie. It references the motivation that female artists from throughout history have had to exhibit in their careers.
“Artists need to have a lot of passion and drive in order to establish a practice and sustain it, and women artists especially need to have that fire in the belly,” said McRorie. “So I think a lot of these artists were very passionate and so it's nice to honour them and recognize their work and what they’ve contributed to the arts community in Saskatchewan.”
Gender-specific exhibitions have become common in galleries across North America, said McRorie, as curators work to create more equality in the arts community.
McRorie shared that a survey of galleries in the United States recently showed that from 2008 to 2018, only 11 per cent of the works in permanent collections were pieces by female artists. It was a shocking statistic, she continued, especially knowing that more than 50 per cent of artists in Canada are women.
She also noted that surveys have found that female artists tend to earn less money than male counterparts and receive less recognition for their work overall, which is why she finds it so important to continue highlighting women in specific exhibitions like Fire in the Belly.
“It is too bad that we still have to do this sort of thing in 2021, but women are making gains,” said McRorie. “You can see from the strength of this show, I think, the impact that women are having on the arts, not only in Saskatchewan but in Canada and internationally.”
McRorie estimated that around one-third of works included in the MJMAG’s permanent collection are pieces from female artists, adding that the Saskatchewan art community is made up of just over 60 per cent female artists — both higher than average statistics.
Although the MJMAG is not hosting a gallery opening event for this exhibition, there will be a panel event held on March 8 for International Women’s Day to discuss the topics explored in Fire in the Belly.
A selection of artists from the exhibition will talk about their experiences as female artists, equality in the arts community and how their careers have unfolded, to be shared via video.
The MJMAG is also working on a related exhibition that will be installed in the gallery’s lobby space later this month, featuring landscape artwork specifically related to Moose Jaw or by Moose Jaw artists.
Fire in the Belly: Saskatchewan Women Artists will be on display in the Norma Lang Gallery at the MJMAG from Feb. 12 until May 2, with visitors welcome any time during gallery hours or by booking a private viewing time. A virtual exhibition will also be shared on the MJMAG website for those unable to visit in person.
“We’ve been trying to promote the gallery as one of the safest places in town, because it’s quiet and large enough to physically distance from people and nobody touches anything, of course,” said McRorie.
For more information on gallery hours or booking a private time to view the gallery, contact the MJMAG by calling 1 (306) 692-4471.
