Down on the Farm - Art Gallery of Alberta

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The Alberta Foundation for the Arts Travelling Exhibition ProgramArtist Biographies/StatementsDawn Saunders DahlDawn Saunders Dahl attended Red Deer College (1993-96) and the Alberta College of Art andDesign in Calgary where she received her BFA in painting in 1998, and in ceramics in 1999.Dahl has volunteered extensively in the artist-run community as a Gallery Coordinator duringher schooling at Red Deer College, and at Untitled Art Society in Calgary until 2006, and as acurator of various group exhibitions within public exhibition spaces. Dahl has exhibited her worknationally and internationally since 1996, has participated in the National Portrait Competition,and was the recipient of the Royal Bank sponsored farm photography award. In 2010 sheexhibited her project “Alberta Farm Women” at the Red Deer and District Museum - a portraitexhibit honoring today’s Farm Women of Central Alberta, and has recently been invited toparticipate in The Farm Show in the summer of 2011 at the Red Deer Museum. Dahl currentlyholds the position of Director of Programs and Marketing with The Works Art & Design Festivalin Edmonton.Dawn Saunders Dahl - Artist Statement re: Alberta Farm WomenA recurring image of rural Alberta today cropping up between perfectly successful farmsteads, isdeserted barns and crumbling farm buildings - an image that Grant MacEwan likened to‘neglected headstones in a cemetery...trying to tell something of the glories of other years whchare so quickly forgotten.’Geo TakashI hope there’s an Alberta for the next generation.Doris Daley, cowboy poetI recognize that agriculture is a vital industry to Alberta and rural women have beenindispensable to its development. These women meet opportunity with passion, face theirchallenges with initiative and the unwavering desire to build something better for their familiesand community. My concerns about farm life have been intensified as I realized how important ajob it is to be a farmer, and how incredibly unpredictable it is. Alberta Farm Womencommemorates the present time by documenting Alberta’s determined women and examinesthe uncertain future of our rural culture. Focusing on Alberta’s rural women by acknowledgingtheir influence on my own experiences, I strive to create an awareness of their courage andstrength. Recording current, critical moments in rural life through paint, sound, video andphotography, an extraordinary intimacy and rich reference to Alberta’s rural and agriculturalhistory is portrayed.This project would not exist without the influence of my great grandmothers, Agnes Saunders(Carnwood, Alberta) and Florence Dahl (Camrose, Alberta). Agnes emigrated from England in1927 to meet my great-grandfather, who immigrated to Canada 7 years earlier, to begin a newlife farming in the wilds of Alberta. Florence was one of the first women to own and operate herown business, Camrose Draperies, until her retirement in 1976. Although they have passed on,I have often thought about their challenges, their joys, if they would have chosen different pathsand ultimatley how would they feel about farming and life today. Photographs are precious,besides our memories and the re-telling of stories, photographs link us to family and history.AFA Travelling Exhibition Program, Edmonton, AB. Ph: 780.428.3830 Fax: 780.421.0479youraga.ca
The Alberta Foundation for the Arts Travelling Exhibition ProgramArtist Biographies/StatementsThere are very few photos of my great grandmothers and little documentation about their lives.The lost opportunity to document their stories led me to the realization that I should record thelives of rural women in the province I was born and raised in.As this project progressed I recognized that agriculture is a vital industry to Alberta and ruralwomen have been indispensable to its development. My concerns about farm life have alsobeen intensified with the realization of how important a job it is to be a farmer, and howincredibly unpredictable it is. What will the future hold for farming and for all these women andtheir families? No longer can the farmer alone sustain a family as husbands and wives mustfind work elsewhere to supplement the farm. In the future what kind of farming will there be andhow will it be regulated? How will these changes affect the cost of food and how it is obtained?Are farmers looking towards sustainable farming and are they thinking about how to implementalternative farming practices to keep their farms?Farmers and rural towns face many challenges to remain prosperous, which is reflected in theincredibly fast development of box stores that have invaded the picturesque, rural landscapesacross the province. Can Alberta’s identity be refined? Is there a future for Alberta’s farms andranches? Will Alberta’s unwavering Pioneering Spirit continue? Growing up in the farmingcommunities of Camrose and Stettler, I was surrounded by independent women with strongwork ethics. Rural Albertan women continue to face various hardships and challenges due to theisolation, the wildlife, the harsh climate, unpredictable weather and vast landscape, elementsthat are crucial in showcasing all aspects of Alberta rural life. My dialogues with these womeninquire how they feel about the changes in their community and how they would like to seethemselves portrayed in place and appearance. “These are not famous women, but womenwhose daily work and sacrifice have contributed to the well being of our lives.” (Rogers, p.10)To these women of foresight, determination and action we all owe a debt of gratitude andrecognition. It is my sincere hope that through the exploration and documentation of farmingculture today via portraiture and sound recordings, that a moment can be taken to reflect uponthe future of farming, the changing landscape, and discover what makes us unique as Albertansand as Canadians. By unearthing these stories we are reminded of how easily the erasure ofhistory can occur, how important it is to record these pieces of Canadian history, and how historycan influence the future.Takach, Geo. Will the Real Alberta Please Stand Up? (2010) University of Alberta Press,Edmonton, Alberta, p. 353Rogers, Susan. Alberta’s Unsung Heroines (2005), Artiza Ltd., Edmonton, Alberta, pg. 10AFA Travelling Exhibition Program, Edmonton, AB. Ph: 780.428.3830 Fax: 780.421.0479youraga.ca
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Down on the Farm - Art Gallery of Alberta

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