Canopy Studios hosting month-long expressive art show focused on empathy

Canopy Studios is hosting a month-long exhibit called See Me/Hear Me, with a focus on empathy. Visitors can view the art and talk with some artists in person.

Calgary’s Canopy Studios is hosting its fourth annual expressive art show, See Me. Hear Me., featuring 30 local artists.

The show’s theme this year is empathy. Kim Webb, creative wellness director at the studio, says the show was initially paired with Mental Health Awareness Month.

“I do think that this is the most eclectic show we’ve ever had,” she said.

“Anything from sculpture to painting to poetry and also theatre. We even have an interactive piece this year. It’s quite a range of artists, some that have displayed in galleries before and other artists that are sharing their work for the very first time.”

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This year’s artists include a medical student who wrote two children’s books relating to empathy, a sculptor who crafts wrestling belts along with theatrical performers and many fine artists working in a range of different mediums.

“Each piece has a deep story,” said Webb. “These artists want to be seen; they want to be heard and they want to tell their story and share their thoughts on empathy and why it’s so important in this world.”

Webb says the artists come from a variety of backgrounds and are not all professional artists, which makes the show unique. She adds they all have unique stories of why they wanted to participate in a show about empathy.

“Visitors seem to really empathize with each artist and it really sparks important discussions and conversations around the theme of empathy,” she said.

“I think people have an idea of what empathy is, but when they really look at the artwork, it could spark new ideas, it can even create a lot of emotion within the viewer.”

This is the fourth year Deborah Millward has shown her work in the show.

“This is not just any art show; this is people being brave enough to put real human emotions on display and then discuss them and they’re very powerful,” she said.

“I think that we’re privileged to live in a country where you’re free, where you can express yourself, where you can put something about your most intimate self on display and discuss it.”

Honey Jalali is a multidisciplinary artist from Iran who arrived in Calgary during the pandemic. She says the pieces she’s showing represent the story of her life.

“The only thing helping me through this journey was and still is making art,” she said. “So with painting, taking photography, writing poems, making some sculptures, I can show my feelings, and I see other artists, other people who have the same feeling like me. We are not alone; we can share our feelings and our pains together and heal it.”

Allison Dawrant says when she’s painting, it calms her down and filters out all the social media and “noise” in her life. One of her pieces on display was inspired by her mom during a difficult time.

“I had a family member going through an illness and my mom said to me, ‘You know, just take one day at a time,’” she said. “And that came out in my art, and I find art has been there for me when I have needed it.”

The show runs from May 15 to June 13 at Canopy Studios. Learn more about it on the studio’s website.