Lotus Art Gallery Exhibits
2016
One of the first exhibits at the studio. It included 5 local artists from Edmonton and Me. The exhibit played on the notion of 3D on canvas. I wish I had kept the official poster with the names of all the artists. They know who they are though. My studio space became Lotus Art Gallery after this show. It was located in the basement of an install I designed for a friend to help him market his business, which was actually called Lotus Cafe.
In the past, I collaborated with various local artists outside of my studio. One of my favourite collaborations was with MINBID in Edmonton, Alberta. MINBID is an underground art auction gallery run by artists. Although they are mostly located in British Columbia now, I enjoyed the atmosphere and had a great time participating in their live art battles and silent auctions. I still love to participate in MINBID art auction events.
The individuals on the left side of the picture are the owners of Lotus Cafe. They had sponsored me as their marketing artist and provided me with a studio space in the basement of their business. The cafe is located on 124 Street, which was also known as an art gallery district in 2015. The most logical thing to do back then was to create an art installation to start up the cafe. The couple on the right-hand side of the photo helped us market the idea of a Persian cafe and artist studio. I am forever grateful to these individuals for believing in my ideas and going with my creative flow to create something that the community would enjoy. In 2017, I was awarded the Ambassador of the Arts Award by the Mayor of Edmonton.
The artist on the floor, is one of the first artists I mentored at Lotus Art Gallery. I had an open call for art and one day I found this young mom who wanted to do something with her art. After a fun conversation, she planned to do paint nights, so we started running them out of Lotus and now she is running them with another Lotus Musician and making their dreams come true. I continue to be in touch with them and hope to eventually work with them on another project.