July 6th - 30th
The Annual Harrison Festival Gallery Show.
Sponsored by The Harrison Festival Society, and the The Kent Harrison Arts Council.
The exhibit featured two shows and two artists - Sylvie Roussel-Janssens and Alyssa Schwann.
Inside the Gallery
Mend by Sylvie Roussel-Janssens
“If we can make small gestures of repair, perhaps we can have the courage to fix our broken world.”
Mend is the title for the exhibition project at the Ranger Station Art Gallery.
The sustainable art practice in sculpture melds embroidery and environmental concerns. In my recent work, I transferred my experience in textile work to plastic waste material. The plastic debris was gathered in the Fraser Valley during the pandemic.
Stitching is healing. If we can make small gestures of repair, perhaps we can have the courage to fix our broken world.
Mend is a series of 28 embroidered recycled plastic. This number is a way for women to measure time. It symbolizes the phases of the moon and also refers to the effect of plastic on the hormonal system. We are surrounded by plastic and it affects our body and our mind. Eco-anxiety is real and I find stitching to be is healing and meditative. It is a good way to process emotions and thoughts as I am facing difficult decisions regarding adapting to climate change.
All the pieces were made with discarded plastic objects, drilled and threaded with masonry twine.
The sustainable art practice in sculpture melds embroidery and environmental concerns. In my recent work, I transferred my experience in textile work to plastic waste material. The plastic debris was gathered in the Fraser Valley during the pandemic.
Stitching is healing. If we can make small gestures of repair, perhaps we can have the courage to fix our broken world.
Mend is a series of 28 embroidered recycled plastic. This number is a way for women to measure time. It symbolizes the phases of the moon and also refers to the effect of plastic on the hormonal system. We are surrounded by plastic and it affects our body and our mind. Eco-anxiety is real and I find stitching to be is healing and meditative. It is a good way to process emotions and thoughts as I am facing difficult decisions regarding adapting to climate change.
All the pieces were made with discarded plastic objects, drilled and threaded with masonry twine.
Outside the Gallery
by Alyssa Schwann
The works exhibited are temporary interventions, “drawing” with string, and continue Alyssa Schwann’s ongoing studies in the intersection of “art + ecology”, examining the temporal and formal relationships between land and place.
The work is intended as a meditation on an understanding of the need to nurture a deep relationship to place, using the Coastal Western Hemlock forest—and string—as the subjects.
The work is intended as a meditation on an understanding of the need to nurture a deep relationship to place, using the Coastal Western Hemlock forest—and string—as the subjects.
The Kent Harrison Arts Council’s (KHAC) Thriving Artist Symposium
Saturday, May 6, and Sunday May 7, Memorial Hall
Many Artists in Residence who have lived in our community over the last fifteen years are coming back to Harrison to share their experiences since their residency. There will be a community dance Saturday night and curators Jordan Strom, Surrey Art Gallery and David Chapperon, Jones Gallery will be joining the symposium on Sunday.
Fraser Valley Biennale, curated by the Reach Art Gallery
August 5 – August 27
Reception: Sunday, August 6, 2-4pm
Planned by the Reach Gallery in partnership with the Kent Harrison Arts Council and other regional arts organizations, the Fraser Valley Regional Biennale is a dynamic, collective representation of exceptional artwork produced by artists in the Fraser Valley region.
Gwenyth Chao
September 2 – October 1
Reception: Sunday, September 3, 2-4pm
Gwenyth Chao’s work combines a deep and far ranging research practice with experimentation with new sculptural materials to create innovative installations. Chao’s materials often include ingestible biomaterial such as onion skins, tea leaves, coffee grounds, cherry blossoms, kiwi, xanthan gum, gelatin, methylcellulose.
Stephanie Gagne
October 6 – November 5
Reception: Friday, October 6, 2-4pm
In her exhibition, Living Dead Girl, Stephanie Gagne will consider how insect wings are used across art history and contemporary media, to simultaneously represent both beauty and death.
Small Works Show
November 12 – December 3
Reception: Sunday, November 12, 2-4pm
Annual show of small works by new and established artists.
Arts Council Members' Show
December 9 – February
Reception: Sunday, December 10, 2-4pm
Work from Kent Harrison Arts Council members.
Mini-Residences May 27 - June 18, 2023
Luke Pardy of Chilliwack Sat May 27 to Wed June 7 Analogue Photography Cobi Timmermans of Abbotsford Thursday June 8 to Sunday June 11 Installation art, Collage, Projections The highlight of Cobi's residency is an open studio installation - Saturday evening June 10 - starting at 6:30. Everyone is invited to visit the Gallery at any time during the residency and particularly to join Cobi and her work Saturday evening. Claudia Fernandez of Vancouver Although Claudia is not able to do a residency at the Gallery, her work will be on display for two weeks starting June 12 - 29. |
Young at Art Show, May 6 - May 28
Colleen Brown, Artist in Residence April 1 - 30

If you lie down in a field, she will find you there
For this exhibition, Colleen created textiles, sculptures, paintings and works of intervention related to her upcoming book titled, If you lie down in a field, she will find you there, soon to be published by Radiant Press in the Fall of 2023.
For this exhibition, Colleen created textiles, sculptures, paintings and works of intervention related to her upcoming book titled, If you lie down in a field, she will find you there, soon to be published by Radiant Press in the Fall of 2023.
Hunter Ramey, DIY - March 4 - 26

Hunter Ramey combines her background in graphic design, and media studies, with photography and illustration to communicate Do-It-Yourself inspired concepts. She thinks of objects in their deconstructed parts, such as a toy being made, or the ingredients in a recipe, showing what simple elements can go into things, in contrast with our complex production system. Concepts of ‘reuse’ and local production are common elements in her work. The works encourage us to engage directly in the activities shown through tutorials and illustrations.
DIY is a culmination of Conte Crayon illustrated ‘recipes’ inspired by windowsill plants, locally growable foods, and crafting, as well as canister wraps influenced by DIY design movements.
Hunter Ramey is an interdisciplinary artist, crafter, media studies enthusiast, and designer, who is constantly balancing being connected to technology with the need to disconnect and put pencil to paper. Her location in the Fraser Valley, provides her with rural roots, leading to her passion for DIY and craft.
DIY is a culmination of Conte Crayon illustrated ‘recipes’ inspired by windowsill plants, locally growable foods, and crafting, as well as canister wraps influenced by DIY design movements.
Hunter Ramey is an interdisciplinary artist, crafter, media studies enthusiast, and designer, who is constantly balancing being connected to technology with the need to disconnect and put pencil to paper. Her location in the Fraser Valley, provides her with rural roots, leading to her passion for DIY and craft.