Zoé Fortier, SCC Curatorial Research Assistant & Mackenzie Usher, SCC Festival & Curatorial Assistant.
This summer we have two wonderful summer students with us at the SCC! Zoé & Mackenzie were hired at the end of May, and will be helping us with several projects throughout the upcoming summer. You may see their smiling faces if you come into the office or gallery sometime between now and September. Welcome, Zoé & Mackenzie!
Meet Zoé Fortier, the SCC’s Curatorial Research Assistant.
She began working here on May 25, and will be working for the SCC for 12 weeks. Her position is funded in part by the Government of Canada, Young Canada Works Program.
What are your main projects at the SCC this summer?
I am working on a research project concerning the Finnish Saskatoon textile artist Kaija Sanelma Harris. Kaija is one of the most important textile artists that has ever worked in the province, with a prolific national and international exhibition career. She is definitely a great example of the weaving traditions that Eastern-European people contributed to our province. I am currently cataloguing a list of all of her works. If anyone reading this is a collector of Kaija’s work, you can email me to let me know! My email is scc.research@sasktel.net.
Where do you go to university and what are you taking?
I am in my fourth year at the University of Saskatchewan. I am completing a Double Honours degree in Anthropology and in Studio Art.
Where are you from?
I am from the little Fransaskois town called Zenon Park, near Tisdale and Nipawin.
Do you do any art yourself?
Yes! I am a visual artist. My practice includes painting, drawing, and printing. Lately I have been exploring sculpture, installation and performance art.
What do you do for fun?
I co-host the francophone radio show Couleurs Café at CFCR Saskatoon community radio station. I absolutely love discovering new French music from all over the world, new and old. I also enjoy the connection I make with the radio listeners. It always makes me smile when someone calls the station to thank us for playing a French song they particularly enjoyed.
What do you like most about living in Saskatchewan?
What I love most about living in Saskatchewan is that I feel like I belong here. In Saskatchewan I belong to a lively and diverse Fransaskois community, a visual art community, a radio community, a salsa community and most recently, the province’s craft community. I also really enjoy being close to my family who live all across the province.
Why were you interested in working for the SCC?
I have always been interested in folklore, and the artwork that a culture creates. In my town of Zenon Park we had traditional Canadien-francais fiddle playing, story-telling, and call and answer songs, we had wood, and stone carvers, and much more. All of these artistic expressions have formed what I know about Saskatchewan, and why I call this place home. I believe in the work that the SCC is doing to support the creation of works that come from the province: works that are made from, and of, what the province has to offer in terms of histories, of materials, of meanings, and of talents.
Why do you think promoting Fine Craft specifically is important?
I was attending a lecture at the Gordon Snelgrove Gallery at the University of Saskatchewan a few years ago. Our lecturer, an Edmonton Printmaker, informed us that he had fallen upon one of the most profound metaphors he had ever heard concerning the importance of visual art. I think this same metaphor also applies when talking about Fine Craft. This man, our lecturer, told us that art is the fossilization of our society. It is the most permanent and profound mark humanity leaves behind. Fine Craft for me is this testament to our creativity and skills as human beings, and it is perhaps to preserve these most astounding human qualities that Fine Craft remains, in my mind, an important aspect of society.
How have your first few weeks been?
They have been great! Everyone is suspiciously sweet and generous. (Are these guys for real?) I am learning so much about textile art as well, so I’m really excited to get to know Kaija’s work.
Meet Mackenzie Usher, the SCC’s Festival & Curatorial Assistant.
He began working with us on May 19, and will be staying for 14 weeks this summer. His position was funded in part by the Government of Canada’s Summer Job Program.
What are your main projects at the SCC this summer?
I have many different responsibilities, but I’m primarily helping Ferron Olynyk, the SCC Member Services Coordinator, organize summer events put on by the SCC: WaterFront Fine Craft Market, Citizens of Craft Day in the Park, and the Saskatchewan Handcraft Festival. I will also be helping plan Regina’s Wintergreen Fine Craft Market.
Where do you go to university and what are you taking?
I’m going into my second year of Jazz Studies at the University of Sherbrooke in Sherbrooke, Quebec. I spent the first term exclusively taking French classes, though, as it is a francophone university.
Where are you from?
I moved around a bit as a child – was born in Alberta, spent a year in Christchurch, New Zealand – but ended up in Saskatoon when I was 10 years old, staying here until my early twenties. This is home to me.
Do you do any art yourself?
I play music – the vibraphone and marimba are my principal instruments, which are pitched percussion instruments. The instruments are played holding four mallets – two in each hand – allowing me to cover the role of the chordal player in the band at times. I especially love to improvise; I find it’s a great way to live in the moment.
What do you do for fun?
I feel like I am in the middle on the introverted/extroverted scale, and what I do for fun reflects that: I value quiet time in the outdoors or time alone with my headphones as equally as I value playing sports, games and bouncing energy off my friends and family.
What do you like most about being back in Saskatchewan for the summer?
It’s such a pleasure to catch up with friends and family. Quebec is too far away!
Why were you interested in working for the SCC?
A number of my family members pursue craftmaking in their spare time: knitting, furniture-building, glass-blowing, felting… to name only a few. Their work inspires me, and working for the SCC this summer has allowed me to learn much more about Fine Craft in general. I knew I would enjoy working in an environment surrounded by other artists and art appreciators.
Why do you think promoting Fine Craft specifically is important?
I feel like it’s a little lesser known or less respected than other art forms, but it ought not to be that way, because I don’t think it is any lesser in value. I would like to see Fine Craft become more appreciated in Canada.
How have your first few weeks been?
It has been varied and challenging. I’ve had an abundance of things to learn in a small time-frame, but I like that – it keeps me on my toes. The staff has been so friendly, and we all know how that can make or break a workplace!