 Elusive, Genevie Henderson. Glory of God – Revealed, Angella Lillico. Glory of God – Hovering, Angela Lillico..jpg)
Three painters. Twenty-four poets. Two months. One gallery.
The Poetry of Painting at the Mennonite Heritage Centre Gallery showcases the alchemic collaboration between words and images.
“It was all the artists. I take no credit,” says a delighted Sarah Hodges-Kolisnyk, curator of the Mennonite Heritage Centre Gallery.
The artists – Angela Lillico, Genevie Henderson and Mavi Brake – got the idea from a similar exhibit and approached the gallery to see what they thought of the idea. The gallery helped to facilitate connections with poets across Winnipeg and then set up a website with the artist’s creations on them for the poets to be inspired by.
“It really just speaks to how inspiring art can be and how creative it can be,” says Hodges-Kolisnyk.
“It was just absolutely incredible what they would see in your work and in your painting,” says artist Mavi Brake.
Brake’s process of creating visual art is already one rooted in words. “I actually go through poetry and I pick out the words because poets are so good with words,” she laughs. “I start with the idea in mind and then I do my painting.”
“After the fact, I still think those words are all in my head, and maybe they’re hidden in my painting.”
One of the poets involved in The Poetry of Painting, Ron Romanowski proved that point during the creation process. He responded to her piece “Bountiful” with a poem called “We Rejoiced in Nature Once Our Saviour”, building on a theme of survival and gratitude he perceived in the painting.
“This one came easy,” says Romanowski with a smile. “The ideas came to my head right away. You could feel the passion of their project. It’s just wonderful.”
As it turns out, the rejoicing nature of Romanowski’s poem was forefront in Brake’s life.
“About a year ago, I was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer,” Brake shares. “Nobody knows what it means or feels like until you’ve gone through it. We all say ‘live life to the fullest’, but you don’t know what that means until your life is the question.”
“’Bountiful’ is all about living,” she continues. “It is about thriving, surviving, being persistent and optimistic. The poetry is about struggle and survival and appreciating the world around you.”
The openness and goodwill in these collaborations has made the exhibit a popular destination. “It’s been really fun to see people come through because they’re staying significantly longer,” says Hodges-Kolisnyk. “Whereas people tend to, you know, visit an art gallery, walk through, maybe engage with a few pieces really closely that speak to them on some level, I’m now seeing people stay three to four times longer and jump back and forth between painting and poem.”
Even as the exhibit heads into its final month, the Mennonite Heritage Centre Gallery has programming planned around The Poetry of Painting. In celebration of World Creative Writing Month and World Poetry Day (both of which occur in March), the gallery will host a unique way to experience the exhibit. “Fifteen of the poets have been selected to read their poem,” shares Hodges-Kolisnyk. “It’ll be a really amazing collaborative creative event.”
The Mennonite Heritage Centre Gallery is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and on Saturdays from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is by donation.