Celebrating RISE at the QAC Cultural Hub

By Janet Jarrell Belleville

The Quinte Arts Cou-

ncil Cultural Hub and Gallery was full of creativity and inspiration this March as it hosted the 7th annual RISE exhibition. This event showcases the talents of local artists under the national theme "For ALL Women and Girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment." The exhibition was a vibrant celebration of the unique perspectives and creative journeys of women and girls, reflecting their struggles, triumphs, and aspirations.

Each work in the display told a story, capturing the essence of the theme through various mediums such as painting, photography, and mixed media. Visitors to the gallery were treated to a diverse array of artworks that highlight the multifaceted experiences of women and girls.

Adding to the excitement, the Quinte area hosted numerous gatherings on March 8th in honour of International Women's Day. These events brought the community together to celebrate and support the rights, equality, and empowerment of women and girls. From panel discussions and workshops to performances and social gatherings, the day was filled with activities that highlighted the importance of gender equality and the contributions of women in various fields.

The Quinte Arts Council has provided a welcoming space for these artists to share their voices and visions. The RISE exhibition ran for the month of March.

Karen Buck-Mackintosh (Matriarch)

The group portrait depicts female, intergenerational relationships, figure-headed by the matriarch. Four generations are posed together on the 1960’s sofa with appointed positions and respective loyalties. Each figure is under painted in a hue to denote personality and a sense of individual, spiritual aura. A halo crowns the rose-coloured, mother figure to signify her status. Skin tones are worked in paynes grey in respect to the great grandmother. The lack of realistic skin colour also represents the suppression of shared knowledge and wisdom between the figures of that era. Underlying wounds of sexual abuse, cancer, mental health and aging resurface with the experience of memories and the passage of each generation. The desire for individuality is suppressed by the need for refuge from vulnerability within the family group.

Kelly Beaulieu (Sister Survivor)

I have been reflecting on family and the dynamics of abandonment and abuse. My sisters and I are survivors. I start a natural portrait based on a photo and then let the paint guide me into the subconscious. The results show the balance of being content in your own skin or fighting the negative self-talk. I deliberately share what I am uncomfortable with—my weight gain, my self unclothed, vulnerable. Trying to be a beacon for authentic love of my raw, unfiltered, with no cosmetic enhancement. There is anger there. It is kept at bay by painting out the anger in broad strokes. There is the humility of being held honest with my artist community and the students I work with. They demand that I am as vulnerable as I ask them to be in the process.

Rhonda Nolan ( Altar to Apasia )

O Apasia how did that happen? How did you get forgotten? Who dared do that to you when you were the esteemed teacher of such a prized and historically known scholar, Plato. But where are you now? Wiped and scrubbed from history books. You and the many other forgotten women will now be unearthed, recognized and thanked. Yes we are deserving of this.

We have wonderful and worthy attributes that have been completely forgotten. We will reclaim them. Methodically and slowly we will move from a very battered and time-worn past to rise from the hourglass of time, and find our own voice. Women supporting women to nourish this planet.

I feel it is important to have this altar. Now is the appropriate time for all women to be worshipped. This altar is a place that will hold space for reverence to all women. We are now reconstructing anew, and creating a strong unified threshold. Standing on the shoulders of our foremothers, we enter into our future. Listening and opening our girdered hearts to hear our own true voices. We will strengthen and redeem these lost women. Women supporting women.

Angela Wiggins (Embraced, I Am Here)

My art shows bold colour and movement. I want everyone who views my work to feel joy and a sense of healing within their soul. I have always felt a need to heal those around me and my work enhances my ability to bring joy to those around me.

Embraced - The strawberry representing love surrounded by the traditional medicine wheel colours in the vine as it embraces the lost souls looking for roots, and an identity.

I Am Here - Standing as a proud indigenous woman in front of the traditional medicine wheel wearing a contemporary ribbon skirt with medicine wheel color ribbons. This piece is paying homage to so many indigenous women in a culture that does not claim them. I speak for many women who are lost and looking for a foundation to grow roots and grow strong!

Ruth McCurdy (Raised by a Community) I 'Capture Moments in Time' through my camera lens that can never be rec- reated. I respect and honour the world I live in and am able to capture the most tender moments as a result and it shows up in my work.

Sarah Winn (Jackie)

Jackie Shane was a pioneer transgender performer and was a prominent jazz singer in the 1960s, Toronto.

Anne Risi (Reach, Unbound)

My work is rooted in themes of self-resilience, exploring femininity and the complexity of womanhood.

Each piece is a part of my personal journey, where I share my experience and I hope to create space for introspection, where the viewer can engage with their own feelings.

I often activate my canvas using the colour yellow, which symbolizes something deeply personal to me. It’s the foundation of my art; it wouldn’t exist without it. I then apply paint and drag it across the surface in order to create a raw, impressionistic feel.

I aspire to seamlessly blend fine art with craft by combining paint and textiles in a way that challenges traditional boundaries. Just as painting has been a "historically" male-dominated form of fine art, textiles have often been considered women's crafts, yet together, they can create unmatched textures and meaning. My approach is about bridging the divide between these two worlds while honouring both. Maybe that’s just my way of merging passion and breaking boundaries, just as I did studying electrical engineering.

The dummy - Makeshift, made of a bit of old wood, paper-mache and some imagination.

The boots - Old worn cowboy boots, painted and glittered.

The overalls - Whimsical Individual sketches done on fabric and sewn onto the piece. Inspired by a jacket sketched from photographs. And those days in class (eons ago) when we all doodled on our jeans.

Lorraine Huebner (Invisible Woman)

This work explores the concept of invisibility - personally, societally and globally. Many marginalized individuals today are unseen, their struggles overlooked. Within laws, religion and politics women and girls are increasingly becoming more invisible.

This work was inspired by my friend and neighbour Shirley, after many discussions about this topic. Shirley has recently passed away.

Kathy Keenan (I AM HERE, I AM)

These three art pieces were executed from loose pencil drawings of draped models at Belleville Libraries’s life drawing sessions over the last few months. It was wonderful to jump in on this opportunity to hone my skills further. I believe I was successful in capturing some great emotions expressed by these women.

Tina Osborne (Rebirth: Hope in Chaos)

This year my creative processes are being drawn to more spiritual expressions of who the female energy is and can be.