The sound of art

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This article was published 27/11/2020 (2135 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

COVID-19 has forced artists and musicians to think outside the box to find ways to connect to their audiences.

The latest innovation comes from the Manitoba Arts Network, which will begin a new monthly series that will team up visual artists with musicians. The results will be livestreamed on the arts network’s YouTube channel .

The Digital Creation Swap begins its five-part collaboration on Sunday at 7:30 p.m. with videos that combine the works of MacGregor visual artist Heather Martens Rempel with Calgary singer-songwriter Jenn Beaupré. 

“It’s kind of interesting to say yes to something that’s terrifying but exciting,” Martens Rempel says. “But when I saw the musicians who had said yes, I thought, ‘Oh no, what have I said yes to?’ because the calibre of work was just phenonomenal.”

Martens Rempel’s video, which will be part of Sunday’s livestream, incorporates time-lapse photography and still images of her creating her collage art that matches up with one of Beaupré’s songs. 

“My method of work is quite complicated,” Martens Rempel says. “It’s not like I sit in front of a canvas with my palette of paints and paint. It’s extremely messy and it also takes a long time because it’s a medium I don’t have a lot of control over… I take photos and from those photos I create these collages from papers that I’ve had printed.

“I can trash my studio pretty quickly.” 

She’s hesitant to talk about Beaupré’s song that’s paired with her art, not wanting to spill the beans from the video, but says the Canadian Idol alum has a powerful and emotional voice.

“The song, there’s obviously a personal story to it, but I don’t need to know those details to hear that message, and I can relate to the message she’s trying to communicate.”

The Digital Creation Swap couldn’t have been timed better for Martens Rempel. COVID-19 restrictions on public gatherings and indoor spaces have shaken up a tour of her exhibition, Silent Witnesses, which had been set up by the Manitoba Arts Network and was to have started in the spring at Killarney’s Heritage House for the Arts.

“It was set up in Killarney, and ready to open and the first shutdown happened. They were quite gracious and they put it online for a little while,” she says, adding it’s scheduled to be shown at the Burrow Trail Arts Council gallery in McCreary in December and January.

Martens Rempel dove full time into creating art five years ago after teaching art at MacGregor Collegiate. She couldn’t kick the teaching world cold turkey, though. She goes back to schools to interact with students and help them with their art as a guest, she says.

‘I still do a lot of work in schools. It’s all the fun part and none of the hard stuff, just being able to be affirming to kids and their artwork and not having to evaluate it,” she says.

“Being a guest at schools is different than being perceived as a teacher too. It’s like a honeymoon, the kids love you right away.”  

Manitoba Arts Network, a nonprofit, charitable organization that showcases the works of Manitoba artists across the province, came up with the concept as a way to help artists such as Martens Rempel, who have been hampered by the COVID-19 pandemic. It also sought to break down the barriers between visual and musical artists, says executive director Rose-Anne Harder.

Martens Rempel’s and Beaupré’s videos will be followed by others once a month until March 2021. Future collaborations include Manitoba artists such as the folk group Leaf Rapids, multimedia artist Rosemary Dzus, fabric artist Cathie Ugrin, singer Raine Hamilton and visual artist Jan Jenkins.

alan.small@freepress.mb.ca  

Twitter:@AlanDSmall