The Hindsight 2020 exhibition will be at the TREX Space gallery until July 3. (CHAT News Photo/Ross Lavigne)

By Chris Brown

New partnership

Art and Design class of 2020 getting exhibition at TREX Space

May 25, 2021 | 3:00 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – They’ve had to wait more than a year, but members of the 2020 class of the Medicine Hat College Art and Design program are getting their moment in the sun.

That’s thanks to a new partnership between the program and the TREX Space that was spearheaded by 2020 grad and current TREX assistant Sierra Zukowski.

Last spring’s grad class didn’t get to have an exhibition, one item in a long list of events cancelled when the COVID-19 pandemic’s first wave swept across the world.

When Zukowski started working at the TREX space, the pieces to finally get an exhibition for the class began to fall into place.

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“Genevieve (Farrell) our program manager at TREX space also wanted to foster a community partnership between art and design program and TREX space, kind of make it a community hub where the artists feel supported and celebrated,” says Zukowski. “And this just seemed like the perfect project since it never got shown.”

The 2020 grad class exhibition, called Hindsight 2020, can be seen through the TREX Space windows at Fifth Avenue and Third Street until July 3.

Zukowski says 10 of the students from the 2020 grad class chose to participate in the exhibition. She says it’s a mixture of painting, sculpture, photography, design work and video. There’s also exhibition text in the window for people to learn a little more.

The hope is that sometime during the time of the exhibition people will be able to come into the space but that depends on public health measures and restrictions.

Zukowski says it’s special to finally see the work together in a gallery even if it took a year.

“I think that all the graduates, myself included, feel really grateful for the opportunity,” she says. “The world goes on and we’re making these adjustments. Even though it’s not what we originally imagined it’s still really special and to see the work all together means a lot.”

As for the TREX program, Zukowski adds it’s really important for it to create those community partnerships and foster community and those relationships.

“The whole goal of TREX is to celebrate local art, make are accessible to people and that starts with part of the local emerging talent which a great source of that is from the art and design program at the college here,” she says.

They hope the relationship will continue in some form beyond the Hindsight 2020 and Freeform shows.

This year’s grad show Freeform did get an exhibition at the college’s One on One gallery but could only be seen virtually. It will be in the TREX Space from July 10 until August 21.

Booking by public venues

Last week the Travelling Exhibition Program, headquartered locally in TREX Space, announced public venues in the province can begin booking short-term exhibitions.

Venues such as schools, libraries and community centres can book up to three exhibitions per year at a cost of $75 per exhibition.

For more information on the available exhibitions and how to book visit trexprogramsoutheast.ca.