Three local artists selected for RBC Sustained Artist Mentorship Program
For immediate release — June 25, 2024
SASKATOON — This month, Remai Modern kicks off the third iteration of its mentorship program for local artists working in performance and public practice. Gabby DaSilva, Xiao Han and Luke Maddaford have been selected to take part in the RBC Sustained Artist Mentorship Program for 2024-25.
Over a one-year period, the museum will work in collaboration with each artist to develop a program that includes research, public engagement such as artist talks or workshops, and the development and presentation of new work or work in progress.
Successful applicants receive financial supports, access to museum resources and professional development opportunities. Artists also receive a Remai Modern membership, access to staff insight and expertise and mentorship opportunities with visiting artists, cultural workers and other community leaders.
“The program is designed to be flexible with each artist developing their own year-long plan. In the first two iterations of the program, it has been wonderful to see how the participating artists come together to support one another as they pursue their individual projects,” said Troy Gronsdahl, Curator (Performance & Public Practice) at Remai Modern. “While the financial supports provide the artists with time and resources to invest in their work, it is the relationships, mentorship and the exchange of ideas and energies that nourishes artistic growth.”
The artists were selected by an internal committee guided by Remai Modern values and strategic objectives.
Gabby Da Silva is a (dis)abled artist fascinated with the relationship between digital and physical mediums. Born and raised in Saskatoon, to a multicultural family of Portuguese and Canadian descent, her work responds to both her surrounding environments and everyday experiences, often accompanied by her own cluttered spoken word.
Xiao Han is a Saskatoon-based artist and curator originally from Wuhan, China. Han’s creative practice focuses on photography, lens-based performance and storytelling in a community-based context. Han’s research explores diaspora identity, relationships between immigrants and Indigenous land, and contemporary gender issues with a decolonial lens.
Luke Maddaford is an interdisciplinary artist, writer, and curator. His practice engages Queer culture and regionality through performative text and objects. He collects Queer ephemera, works collectively with QueerSoftOrange, and co-edits Off Centre, an online arts publication.
Visit remaimodern.org to learn more and hear about opportunities to engage with the RBC Sustained Artist Mentorship Program artists.
Remai Modern acknowledges the support of RBC and the RBC Emerging Artists program for their support of this program.
About Remai Modern
Remai Modern is situated on Treaty 6 Territory and the Traditional Homeland of the Métis. We pay our respects to First Nations and Métis ancestors and reaffirm our relationship with one another.
Remai Modern is a new museum of modern and contemporary art in Saskatoon. The museum presents and collects local and international modern and contemporary art that connects, inspires and challenges diverse audiences through equitable and accessible programs.
Open since October 2017, Remai Modern is the largest contemporary art museum in western Canada and houses a collection of more than 8,000 works, including the world’s foremost collection of Picasso linocut prints.
Remai Modern would like to acknowledge the contributions of the Frank & Ellen Remai Foundation, the Canada Council for the Arts, SaskCulture through the Sask Lotteries Fund, SK Arts and the City of Saskatoon.
For additional information contact:
Stephanie McKay, Communications Manager
306.975.2242