Past Exhibitions




In Conversation: An Exhibition of Works by Connie Freedy Curated by Jesse Campbell April 16 – June 28, 2025 Opening Reception: April 16, 1:30PM Connie Freedy’s painting reflects her immense love for the world and the joy found in her surroundings. This exhibition, which includes works from the 1970s to the early 2000s, shows the trajectory of her artistic explorations. In early works, depictions of domestic spaces, landscape, and still lifes are imbued with narrative qualities, drawn from Connie’s daily experiences and routines. Gestural forms and brilliant colour compositions express the pleasure of painting. The later works retain many of the immediate qualities of their predecessors, yet show great depth of awareness of regional political, social, and environmental concerns. A central component of Connie's outlook is dialogue. In her paintings, diverse subjects co-exist in charming compositions. Bright plants, luscious fruits and vegetables, and spirited creatures from across the world live in delightful arrangements, where conversations amongst different subjects give rise to new ideas, understandings, and perspectives - all with a conscious view of global connections to local contexts. Connie’s paintings are marked by honesty, surprise, and empathy. They cross back and forth between openness and optimism, awareness and tension, and her personal spaces and exterior realms. In Conversation brings renewed attention to Connie Freedy’s remarkable span of artwork, illustrating the rich, generative possibilities that result from a consistent and contemplative practice. Curated by Jesse Campbell ABOUT THE ARTIST Connie Freedy was born in 1944 in Cutknife, Saskatchewan. Growing up on a farm, at a young age she developed an appreciation of the land, and a knowledge of food sources and preparation. She studied English at the University of Saskatchewan, earning two Bachelor of Arts degrees in 1967 and 1968. In 1979, she and her family lived in the south of France for one year, immersing themselves in French culture, food, and art. Connie then earned her Red Seal certification in cooking. Connie worked as a children's art teacher at the Prince Albert Arts Centre in Prince Albert (now the Margo Fournier Arts Centre), as a tour guide in Fort Carlton Provincial Historic Park, and later as the co-owner and chef of Yellow Fender Coffee House & Eatery in Christopher Lake. Connie’s work has been exhibited in group and solo exhibitions in Saskatchewan and Alberta. Her work is represented in the collections of the Mann Art Gallery, SK Arts, Remai Modern (Saskatoon), and Dunlop Art Gallery (Regina).




14th Annual High School Juried Art Show Curated by Mann Art Gallery Educator April 15 - June 7, 2025 The annual High School Juried Art Show at the Mann Art Gallery showcases the incredible talent of young artists from the local high schools. This eagerly anticipated event provides a platform for students to display their artistic creations in various mediums, including painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, and mixed media. The juried aspect of the show adds an element of prestige and professionalism, as artworks are carefully selected by the curator. This ensures that only the most exceptional pieces are featured, highlighting the creativity, skill, and originality of the young artists. Visitors to the exhibition can expect to be captivated by the diverse range of artistic styles and themes on display, reflecting the unique perspectives and experiences of the participating students. Whether it's thought-provoking conceptual pieces, breathtaking landscapes, or expressive portraits, there's something for everyone to appreciate and enjoy at the High School Juried Art Show. Beyond simply showcasing individual artworks, the exhibition also serves as a celebration of the importance of arts education and creative expression in the lives of young people. It provides an opportunity for students to gain recognition for their talents, connect with fellow artists and art enthusiasts, and inspire others to explore their own artistic passions. Overall, the annual High School Juried Art Show at the Mann Art Gallery is a testament to the power of art to inspire, provoke, and unite communities, while nurturing the next generation of artistic talent.




49th Annual Winter Festival Art Show & Sale
Monique Martin: Guest Curator
February 7 – March 22, 2025
The Winter Festival Art Show & Sale (WFAS) is our region's foremost community art exhibition, featuring over 120 artists from across the province each year. Any member of the Mann Art Gallery is eligible to submit, exhibit, and sell one artwork, subject to meeting eligibility criteria.
Find more about the Winter Festival, the guest curator and the award winners




Susan Shantz: Confluence Jennifer McRorie, Curator, “Confluence” in Susan Shantz: Confluence, MJM&AG, 2022 Nov 14, 2024 - Jan 11, 2025 Susan Shantz’s art practice is recognized for its immersive, thought provoking and poetic explorations of the connections between humans and nature. Through intense research and a heightened sensibility towards the materiality of her sculptural forms, Shantz creates both visceral and conceptual spaces that investigate nature as a cultural construct, being “suspicious” of and intrigued by “the versions of nature we continuously invent”.i “Through her art, Shantz illustrates how our culture removes itself from our origins in nature, in spite of the fact that nature is the source of both our sustenance and well-being.” ii Confluence presents Shantz’s more recent explorations into the water sources that sustain us on the Prairies, the water that ultimately makes up 70% of our bodies. Invited by scientists to participate in field study of water sources through the University of Saskatchewan, Shantz has investigated the flow of water, from the glaciers and snow melt of the Rocky Mountains of Alberta across the prairies in the South and North Saskatchewan rivers, feeding the Qu’Appelle Valley water systems, and joining to create an enormous delta near the Manitoba border. Shantz states, “While I experience the river near my home [in Saskatoon] as a natural phenomenon and place of beauty, after learning more about the river from scientific and environmental perspectives, I have come to realize it is a highly-managed water source. It sustains us, but with a cost for those downstream. Drawing on field trips to sites along the river, I use a variety of media (from textiles to videography) to consider the currents that connect us in this prairie water basin.” iii Shantz has been described as a collector, a reference to her practice of gathering or amassing found objects that are modified and arranged to dialogue in the gallery space, presenting an “object language” that “allows new and re-arranged narratives to emerge”.iv Her found objects are often modified through acts of ‘making’, through sewing or embroidery, which domesticate and transform the objects through an intimate act of the artist’s hand. River Wear (for managers) is a prime example of this in the exhibition, where embroidery depicting three locations (glacial source, prairie meander and delta dispersion) are presented like spines running down the backs of white, collared shirts. Shantz employs embroidery or sewing as a means of drawing, such as in the work Confluence II, where a hand-sewn map of waterways on fabric panels of an enlarged bookwork elegantly cascades down the gallery wall and across the floor. The intimate act of pulling thread through fabric here serves as an analogy for water carving the landscape. This form of markmaking through sewing draws connections to the body and domesticated spaces, alluding to the embodiment of place and representing embodied ways of knowing. Shantz’s drawings, whether created with thread or as cut-outs, are a means of disturbance, a form of disorder that breaks up the pristine grids presented within the exhibition space, in the tarps and the pages and fabric panels of the bookworks. These grids reference Shantz’s research and artistic sources of maps and books, but they also speak to the colonialist practice of imposing order onto the landscape, a construct of grid systems or frameworks to map out the land. The installation piece, Water Basin I (Saskatchewan River), presents the waterways that run from Alberta across Saskatchewan to Lake Winnipeg through an enlarged map that is cut out of suspended tarps. The cut-out drawing causes the grid form to collapse, especially where larger bodies of water are located, introducing chaos into the imposed order, which plays out in the wonderful layering of shadows on the floor and walls of the space. This sense of chaos perhaps speaks to the threat of climate change we are currently facing, where natural events are becoming more chaotic and unpredictable. Shantz’s embrace of materiality in her work, in the tarps, fabrics and paper, is informed by Post-Minimalism, giving nods to the work of Robert Morris and Eva Hesse. Much like Hesse’s hanging vinyl forms and, even, Betty Goodwin’s tarpaulins, these ‘screens’ present like skins, metaphorical references to the body, and allude to its embodiment of water. Through the interplay of the exhibition’s various installations and works, Shantz invites us to consider our own sense of intimacy with place, how we come to embody place by taking into our own bodies the water sourced from Saskatchewan’s rivers and lakes. Confluence encourages viewers to consider the interconnectedness and fragility of our water sources, the environmental impacts of human progress on our water systems and how these impacts will ultimately affect us all. Jennifer McRorie, Curator We gratefully acknowledge our funders, including Canada Council for the Arts, SK Arts, SaskCulture, Saskatchewan Lotteries, the City of Moose Jaw, the City of Prince Albert. i. Susan Shantz, quote from Canopy (Saskatoon: Mendel Art Gallery, 2007), p.5. ii. John K. Grande, Susan Shantz - Nature in Parentheses: Between Creation and Manufacture, Canopy (Saskatoon, Mendel Art Gallery, 2007), p.11. iii. Susan Shantz, unpublished Artist Statement for Confluence exhibition, Moose Jaw Museum & Art Gallery, 2022. iv. Alexandra Badzak, Introduction, Canopy (Saskatoon: Mendel Art Gallery, 2007), p.8. Becoming Water: Art and Science in Conversation Susan Shantz Website: Confluence




Tone Poems
curated by Rebecca LaMarre
July 11, 2024 - Oct. 19, 2024
Explore Froese's installations featuring a variety of clay bodies and forming techniques. From small cups and plates to intricate vase forms and wall works, each piece invites contemplation with hints of musical notation and jazz composition.




Like a Rolling Stone - Habitat
curated by Lana Wilson
April 16 - July 2, 2024
Drawing inspiration from the enduring vision of a harmonious coexistence within nature, Heike Fink crafts a visual narrative where rocks and animal species serve as poignant symbols of resilience and vulnerability.
Through meticulously sculpted animal figures and reverent depictions of geological formations, the artist beckons us to reconsider our stewardship of the earth and the urgent need for a more sustainable approach to life.


13th Annual High School Juried Art Show
Curated by Lana Wilson
April 27 - June 8, 2024
The annual High School Juried Art Show at the Mann Art Gallery showcases the incredible talent of young artists from the local high schools. This eagerly anticipated event provides a platform for students to display their artistic creations in various mediums, including painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, and mixed media.
The juried aspect of the show adds an element of prestige and professionalism, as artworks are carefully selected by the curator. This ensures that only the most exceptional pieces are featured, highlighting the creativity, skill, and originality of the young artists.
Visitors to the exhibition can expect to be captivated by the diverse range of artistic styles and themes on display, reflecting the unique perspectives and experiences of the participating students. Whether it's thought-provoking conceptual pieces, breathtaking landscapes, or expressive portraits, there's something for everyone to appreciate and enjoy at the High School Juried Art Show.
Beyond simply showcasing individual artworks, the exhibition also serves as a celebration of the importance of arts education and creative expression in the lives of young people. It provides an opportunity for students to gain recognition for their talents, connect with fellow artists and art enthusiasts, and inspire others to explore their own artistic passions.
Learn more




48th Annual Winter Festival Art Show & Sale
Curated by Bevon Bradley
February 10 - March 23, 2024
The Winter Festival Art Show & Sale (WFAS) is the foremost community art exhibition in our region, featuring over 120 artists from across the province each year. Any member of the Mann Art Gallery is eligible to submit, exhibit, and sell one artwork, subject to meeting eligibility criteria.