The Moose Jaw Museum and Art Gallery (MJM&AG) has a few new exhibitions on display in the Norma Lang Gallery.

The first, entitled They didn't know we were seeds, features a series of 18 portraits of Holocaust and residential school survivors by Saskatoon artist Carol Wylie.

"She's Jewish herself and she decided that she should be attending Holocaust memorials and hearing the stories from Holocaust survivors before they're gone," explained MJM&AG director/curator Jennifer McRorie. "When she was attending one of those memorials, there was discussion about connections basically that Holocaust survivors have survived trauma just as residential school survivors have survived trauma. Although you can't compare the experiences, they are two groups that have experienced real atrocities, genocide and are now forced to deal with that trauma intergenerationally."

The portraits feature bright faces contrasted against dark backgrounds which elude to the fact that these are survivors that have come out of the darkness towards healing.

"She consulted with elders and survivors and I think they saw the merit in the project and how it would be really educational for people. Basically, the show really speaks to the importance of hearing these stories, bearing witness to them so that we don't repeat this history," continued McRorie.

She says the art gallery saw it as an opportunity to speak to truth and reconciliation and acknowledge the history of residential schools and the impacts it has had on Indigenous people but also to address some of the anti-Semitism that's on the rise right now as well.

MJMAGAbstraction art breaks the elements of painting down to its basic principles

The second exhibition is a survey show of abstraction drawings and paintings by Jonathan Forrest, who was based in Saskatoon.

McRorie says the One Thing Leads to Another exhibit follows Jonathan's career from the mid-80s until present day. 

"He's one of a few Canadian artists that is really interested in abstraction and has continued to work with abstraction but pushing it in new contemporary ways," she commented. "We have actually included some of our pieces of his work from our permanent collection as well."

MJM&AG is partnering with the Art Gallery of Swift Current on the exhibit, which was curated by Kim Houghtaling.

McRorie, who also curated the exhibit, explained how abstraction art is created.

"They're basically breaking the elements of painting down to its basic principles. It's looking at composition, colour, form, line, pattern, and tries to encourage viewers to engage with the materials of paint and just the basic principles of how you put a composition together. It is open to interpretation of course."

A closing reception featuring Jonathan Forrest will be held at the Moose Jaw Museum and Art Gallery on April 1 at 1 pm.

In addition to the two exhibits in the Norma Lang Gallery, there is also a lobby exhibition called Plains of Abstraction: Works on Paper which was curated by Jennifer McRorie. It features work from the permanent collection, which was put up to complement the One Thing Leads to Another exhibit by Jonathan Forrest.

All three exhibits run until April 30th.

The Moose Jaw Museum & Art Gallery will be open on Family Day, Feb. 20. There are also several events taking place throughout Family Week. Go to www.mjmag.ca for details.

MJMAGThe lobby exhibition features work from the permanent collection, which was put up to complement the One Thing Leads to Another exhibit by Jonathan Forrest