Five new travelling exhibitions in Medicine Hat

Hello from the TREX Space in downtown Medicine Hat. My name is Genevieve Farrell and I recently moved to Medicine Hat to begin work as the new Program Manager/Curator of TREX, a Travelling Exhibition Program supported by the Alberta Foundation for the Arts (AFA).

For those who don’t know it, TREX is a program coordinated by the City of Medicine Hat’s Esplanade Arts and Heritage Centre that focuses on sending art exhibitions to non-traditional spaces such as rural community centres, libraries and schools.

By partnering with venues located outside of major cities or more traditional gallery spaces, this program allows new audiences to connect with works of art on their own terms, and in spaces they frequent and feel comfortable in.

It is a generous and outward-looking program that has been in existence for nearly 40 years, and I am delighted to continue its mission, connecting Albertan’s to works of art by Albertan artists.

While TREX exhibitions are scheduled to travel to over 24 venues throughout Southeastern Alberta (see the 20202021 TREX Calendar on our website: trexprogramsoutheast.ca), October and November of 2020 will be extra special months for those living in or close to Medicine Hat with five TREX exhibitions installed across the city.

From Oct. 7 – Nov. 3, catch three new exhibitions at Medalta in the Historic Clay District including “between-ness” by Hannah Petkau, “Heaven Can Wait” by Roy Caussy, an “Mystical Landscapes” by Arthur Nishimura.

Over the same dates, the Veiner Centre will be hosting”Figured,” a beautifully curated group exhibition featuring works from the AFA’s permanent collection.

Although it remains closed to the public, I will be working with Veiner Centre’s team to document and distribute images of the final installation over our social media platforms.

The exhibition catalogue, which includes three educational activities that are easy and fun to do at home, will be available to view on the Veiner Centre’s facebook page (facebook.com/ veinercentre), as well as our own (listed below).

Finally, I am overjoyed to announce that the TREX Space (#2-516 3rd Street, Medicine Hat) will re-open to the public very soon.

Once we have re-launched, TREX Space will be open Monday-Friday from 1-5 p.m. and will re-launch with an exhibition by contemporary lensbased artist Philip Kanwischer titled, “The Animal Responded.”

With COVID-19 precautions in place, hand-sanitizer will be available at the entrance and no more than six visitors will be allowed in the space at any time.

For more updates on TREX reopening, exhibitions and events, please follow us on Facebook @trex.se.space or Instagram @trex_space