“We recognize the creative voice of every citizen and believe that we are all richer for having listened.” - This is My City Art Society Join us on Saturday afternoon June 22nd at DaDe Art & Design Lab, from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM to celebrate This is My City’s annual fundraising event Tip Your Hat! Open to all, free of charge. This is My City (TMC) is an organization that provides opportunities for Calgary’s homeless and marginalized citizens to make art. The proceeds of this fundraiser support of the ongoing programming of This is My City’s artist mentors at various service agencies in Calgary. Come view our collection of artistically altered cowboy hats and place your bids on your favourites! Three hats will be selected for live auction and others will be offered in a silent auction. This fabulous collection of the coolest cowboy hats in Calgary may be previewed on our website (watch for updates) as well as at DaDe from June 19th through the 22nd. “This is My City - valuing the creative voices of those who know homelessness.“ Some Background: Tip Your Hat is a live and silent auction of artistically altered cowboy hats. It all started in 2009 with Reg Knelson, back when he was a resident of the Calgary Drop-In Centre and one of the original This is My City (TMC) workshop participants. His idea - to have artists create artworks out of cowboy hats that would be sold to the public - captured what TMC is all about. Tip Your Hat invites diverse artists to make works of art that express unique stories and uses them to then engage a broad spectrum of people in dialogue. As the hats are bought, worn, and displayed, they continue to tell their stories in even wider circles. In addition, the funds raised through sales help support TMC programming and the cycle of building a more inclusive community continues. We look forward to seeing you at Tip Your Hat saturday june 22, 2013 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm Add Comment 
Jill Allan Dolores Bender Graves Todd Gunnar Billmark Peter Bowles Jane Bruce Anne Clifton Taygan Crapo Robert Lewis Jim Norton Natali Rodrigues Brad Turner Gordon Webster TERRA INCOGNITA june 07 - july 21, 2013 exhibition opening reception friday june 07, 2013 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm curatorial talk by Natali Rodrigues saturday june 08, 2013 | 3:00 pm Terra Ingognita is a group show that explores a variety of hybrid practise. Each of the artists in this exhibition are making work in the interstices between disciples, art, design, craft, and science. The work they have created defines new ways of making and thinking about glass as a material. 
An evening of wine, cheese and decadent desserts while raising money to help women in Canada move out of poverty, by funding life-changing programs designed especially for them. DaDe ART & DESIGN LAB thursday may 30, 2013 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm purchase tickets here 
 april 19, 2013 - june 2, 2013 Ellinor Stenroos was born and raised in coastal Finland until she as a 21 year old moved to England to study silversmithing, goldsmithing and jewellery design. Having grown up as a Swedish speaking Finn, English was introduced to her as a third language around the age of 10. She became fully submerged in an English speaking culture during her university years. The oddities of sayings and idioms always fascinated her, and how different cultures have their own unique ways to express themselves. After 3 years in England she moved to Canada and found that the British English language she now spoke fluently was often misunderstood. Certain sayings and idioms were no longer translating and expressing what they were supposed to. The Swedish speaking Finn culture the artist grew up in often express quotes and idioms through very dark topics, ‘to fail or error’ would often lead to one’s demise or death. There is a harshness and bluntness that culturally doesn’t translate, despite how the words themselves easily might. Ellinor Stenroos has a fascination with poetry, the power of the written word and how it can emit emotion that transcends countries, cultures and timelines. This exhibition is equally an exploration of our concepts of what jewellery should represent, the actual weight and size contradicting the idea of jewellery being wearable, as well as a voyage into the realm of the written word physically being worn. ‘Statement’ is a series of jewellery art-pieces exploring how we express ourselves with the clothing and accessories we choose to wear. In a highly materialistic society, jewellery is no longer a mere symbol of a gift or a promise, but has evolved into a perceived “impression of wealth”, “ the depth of someone’s love” and “sincerity of a commitment”; we are constantly seeking approval and acceptance from our society. When the statement we are wanting to make to our peers and our society becomes anchored in a price tag or the size of ‘the rock’, whether we can afford such statements or not, we are forgetting everything that a piece of jewellery traditionally used to represent. ‘Statement’ is a conceptual exploration of wearing a physical label based on -not our successes and fortune- but our insecurities. Jewellery normally is a symbol of happiness, milestones and celebrations. This series examines the opposite, the physical notion of wearing each and every insecurity and burden, not just quietly experiencing them. This exhibition is not crafted to overshadow nor cast dismay over the beauty we find in the jewels we regularly treasure, but to embrace the thought of ‘wearing our hearts on our sleeves’, whether in-love, over-flowing with excitement or drenched in grief. We continuously label each other and ourselves. The label we choose to wear and the one others put on us are at times conflicting. With 10 oversized necklaces, displayed in wall-mounted box frames, statements and labels that we all internally battle are crudely mounted for anyone to see and judge. The weight of the chains suspending each statement are relevant to the weight we as human beings often experience as we carry our feared shortcomings and burdens around with us on a daily, and sometimes lifelong, basis. Every ‘Statement’ is a window into the darkest corners of our subconscious and ego. By recognizing and acknowledging the fears we hide inside of us, we may grow brave enough to see beauty in the weight we allow to hold us down, that ultimately also strengthen us. This series is an expedition into the artist’s self-consciousness, and an observation of our inhibitions. It is an acknowledgement of the labels we wrongly put on ourselves, hide deep inside and prevent anyone from proving them wrong. The artist wants to convey the emotion of lifting these necklaces off our shoulders and cathartically mounting them in space outside of our inner selves. opening reception (artist in attendance) friday april 19, 2013 | 7:00 pm artist talk wednesday may 15, 2013 | 6:00 pm 
ONE NIGHT ONLY thursday february 21, 2013 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm DaDe ART & DESIGN LAB | 1327 ninth avenue SE Calgary. 
Our New Shipment is Here! It was almost one year ago that Ali left in search of fabulous carpets. Now they're here and we're ready to show them off! So please mark your calendars for Thursday, January 17th, from 2pm-9pm. Because our store is too small to hold all of the new arrivals, our friends at at DaDe ART & DESIGN LAB we will be hosting our shipment reveal. Their address is 1327-9 Avenue SE (just down the street from us). A Little About Our Products We carry only hand-made carpets constructed on a simple wooden loom, a technology that dates back over 5000 years. From bold tribal craft, to elegant city masterpieces, all of our rugs are made of natural materials (wool, cotton, or silk). We have brand new rugs, pieces that are more than 200 years old, and rugs every age in-between. In addition to floor coverings, we have hand-woven saddlebags, horse blankets, decorative hangings, tablecloths and pillows. A Little About Ali's Buying Trips (How Ali Curates our Collection) The best rugs are cottage craft and the quality and style of carpets varies from village to village and household to household. Because of this, Ali travels extensively through Iran, Pakistan, India and Afghanistan in search of unique pieces that make the collection at Boft world-class. On these trips Ali sees thousands of rugs and personally selects each piece that will make it to our store. This means that his 30+ years of experience is reflected in each piece we offer. It also means that Ali has a story to share about every rug - about the tribespeople that make it; the history of the region; and the meaning and cultural significance of the design. And, since we buy our rugs without going through the usual chain of brokers and wholesalers, we are able to sell our rugs at considerable discounts. Hope to see you at the reveal, Sarah and Ali Boft Fine Rugs 1335-9 Avenue SE Calgary, AB T2G 0T2 403-457-2633 www.boftfinerugs.com SDA: Alberta is having its first meeting in Calgary Tuesday January 15th, 2013 at 7:00 pm DaDe ART & DESIGN LAB 1327 9 avenue SE Calgary AB feature presentation "PAPER LANDSCAPE" by Eveline Kolijn and Romy Straathof 
'harvest' Romy and Eveline will tell us about their project Paper Landscape, how their struggles with otherwise medicinal plants sometimes found them suffering for their art... yet the results are spectacular... You will marvel at the varieties of paper surfaces that they produced and the efforts they went to to ensure true commitment to environmental considerations. 
'branches prairie crocus' It is a colourful story that will be told in an endearing manner and many of the results of their labours will be on display for you to examine and enjoy. 
This is an SDA event but all are welcome. Non-SDA members will be asked to make a small donation. RSVP to ioftheneedle@me.com all photos courtesy of Romy Straathof and Eveline Kolijn  DaDe ART & DESIGN LAB invites you to join us for our 3rd anniversary celebration on saturday dec 01, 2012 enjoy an evening featuring works of local and international artists, refreshments, and one night only in-store promotions dec 01, 2012 | 7:00 pm 1327 9 avenue SE, Calgary, AB rsvp to info@dadegallery.com 
reclamation landscapes by: C.T. Didier In support of Gian-Carlo Carra's continuing advocacy for Great Neighbourhoods DaDe ART & DESIGN LAB wednesday november 21, 2012 6:00 - 8:00 pm for tickets or more information call 403 620 4030 or email events@carra4ward9.ca tickets 150.00 
Process: Reclamation Landscapes CLAYTON DIDIER continually exploring the juxtaposition between the self and the authentic self; or to explore the relationship between the subjective and objective perspectives of self. Clayton is an artist, optical illustrator, conceptual photographer, designer, and is the founder and creative director at the Didier Creative Group. he has been a practicing artist for over twenty years, working primarily in the photographic medium for the last ten. Clayton only started specializing in “optical illustration”, which now is his primary focus, after completing the bachelor of design in photography program at Alberta College of Art + Design in 2005. friday november 9, 2012 7:00pm for an eye opening journey of reclamation. 8:00pm the artist talk. |
