First-ever winner of the Canadian War Museum’s Artist Residency Program

Launched last fall on the War Museum’s website, the Program was open to emerging artists from all over the country. Some 60 applications were submitted from across Canada, but it was Elise Lavallee Findlay who caught the jury’s eye and will have the opportunity to present her work in the upcoming special exhibition, Outside the Lines. This new exhibition from the War Museum, offering a fresh and engaging look at conflict through the eyes of women, will open on May 24, 2024.

Graduating with distinction in 2023 and honoured with the prestigious Board of Governor’s Award at the Alberta University of the Arts, Lavallee Findlay distinguished herself through her work that delves into the exploration of community, place, identity, and the intricacies of human interaction with the world. She aspires to further her artistic journey by pursuing a master’s degree in fine art, while also establishing a studio in her hometown of Banff. Her works have been shown at notable galleries including the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies (Banff) and the Leighton Arts Centre (Calgary).

The Museum’s exhibition, Outside the Lines, will explore how women artists have depicted themes of war and conflict in a Canadian context from the 19th century to the present day. The exhibition examines theses artists’ perspectives of conflict, linking their personal stories to the works of art they created. It features a broad range of historical and contemporary works by women artists including Molly Lamb Bobak, Paraskeva Clark, Joyce Wieland, Gertrude Kearns, Daphne Odjig, and Rosalie Favell, to name a few.

Working with the exhibition team, Lavallee Findlay will reflect upon exhibition themes, as well as the Museum’s world-renowned war art and military collections, to conceive and execute a finished work that will be displayed in the final zone of the exhibition. This zone will invite visitors to reflect upon the exhibition’s themes and to consider how the voices of women war artists have evolved over time.

The Artist Residency Program is supported by the Friends of the Canadian War Museum.

More information is available at warmuseum.ca or by calling 819-776-7000 or  1-800-555-5621.

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