ARTS’ BIRTHDAY | WALK OR DRIVE-BY OUTDOORS & VIRTUAL
January 17 | 6 - 7 PM MST | FREE
with Matthew Cardinal and Stephanie Kuse
In partnership with CKXU 88.3 FM
We invite you to celebrate Arts’ Birthday with the SAAG, for a walk or drive by event outside the gallery, or to join us online on Instagram Live.
This year we are hosting an audiovisual performance from Matthew Cardinal and Stephanie Kuse. The pair have been working together for years now, with Kuse taking inspiration for her psychedelic visuals from Cardinal’s ephemeral night-time flash photography, and layered looping guitar. Together their collaborative audiovisuals create a soft, hypnotic, immersive sensorial experience, that reflects the dreamy and nostalgic nature of both their artistic practices.
IN-PERSON attendees can walk or drive by the gallery to view a collaborative audiovisual performance from artists Matthew Cardinal and Stephanie Kuse, projected onto the front of the gallery. The audio component will be played outside for those walking by, and if you’re driving by tune into CKXU 88.3 FM. An interview with the artists will be aired on CKXU before the event, from 5 - 6 PM MST.
Limited parking spots will be available for viewing in vehicles. Please attend within your cohort groups, and wear a mask and socially distance (6 feet / 2 meters).
ONLINE we will be streaming the performance on Instagram Live, so you can tune into the performance at home, and from anywhere. For those adverse to cold weather, this is a welcome option. Invite your friends from near and far to celebrate Arts’ Birthday with you!
MATTHEW CARDINAL is a musician and sound designer based in Amiskwaciy (Edmonton) on Treaty 6 Territory. He is a member of the band nêhiyawak, the moccasingaze trio whose debut album nipiy is currently nominated on the 2020 Polaris Music Prize Shortlist and was nominated for a 2020 JUNO Award for Indigenous Album of the Year. Cardinal released his first full-length solo album, Asterisms, through Arts & Crafts in October 2020, a meditative, avant-garde, improvisational interplay of freeform guitar and synth. This dazzling collection of ambient electronic music acts as an audio journal that crystallizes captured moments of experimentation and expression, drawing attention to where Cardinal was musically, mentally and emotionally.
STEPHANIE KUSE is a multimedia visual artist working with digitally manipulated video footage of natural textures to create painterly abstract video art. She uses video editing software to amplify and distort details pulled from patterns and textures found in nature to produce vibrant synthetic compositions that maintain the organic energy and movement derived from the source material. The resulting work is gentle and soft with occasional digital grit. Kuse has worked collaboratively with musicians, audio artists and arts based organizations in a visual capacity since 2013. Since incorporating video art into her practice in 2016 she has produced interactive audio/video installations, created projections for music videos and theatre productions and performed live projections on several tours throughout Canada in addition to touring Germany with Manitoba based artist Rayannah in the fall of 2019. As a graphic designer, Kuse has created memorable visual identities for musicians and arts organizations from across Canada, the US and UK.
This inaugural event, where we celebrate the imagined inception of art, as proposed by French Fluxus artist Robert Fillou in 1963, has become a favourite costume-party gathering at the gallery. We’re celebrating Arts’ 1,000,058th birthday, adapting the event to be safe for attendees, with multiple ways to participate.
ARTS’ BIRTHDAY ART TRADE
Stay Tuned! Spring/Summer TBD
Arts’ Birthday Art Trade will be postponed to the warmer months, when we can hopefully gather more safely in-person. The SAAG invites you to spend the winter crafting and making, keeping in mind that your creation may become a welcome gift for a fellow artist. Stay tuned to the SAAG website, social media and INDEX for further updates about this event.