ADMISSION TO THE ELSIE SCHERLE GALLERIES IS ALWAYS FREE

Our annual South Shore Art Guild show and sale is up and running at the Centre. Come see work by local painters and photographers from the OG RB guild, that started it all for us here at the Centre. 

Current members include Carolyn McKay, Darlene Bryden, Donna Grandson, Glenda Seal & James Misfeldt. 

Tahnee Oakes

Clarissa Rabbitskin 

Kelsea Robertson

Nynpha Starr-Kaiswatum

Photographic storytelling is an art form which acts as a medium for empowerment. Often people experience the world without the cognitive or emotional awareness of that particular event. When we are provided the opportunity to use photography as a storytelling device, the result can be a natural process of self-exploration, of self-awareness, and introspective development. In turn, this can progress to forms of self-witnessing and reflective validation. Photographic storytelling, paired with text, has the ability to communicate through thoughts, feelings, perceptions, and relationships. 

This exhibition is the result of two cycles of development and workshop with photographer/facilitator Jaime Woytiuk and the four women featured in this exhibition: Tahnee Oakes, Clarissa Rabbitskin, Kelsea Robertson and Nynpha Starr-Kaiswatum. At the time of the workshops, these four women were residents at Shayil Home, a six-bed residential addiction program for women and their children in Regina, SK.
 

Shayil Home operates under the umbrella of Souls Harbour Rescue Mission. as a year-long program with the option of a "second-stage" additional year. The first year's focus is inward and on recovery: cognitive-behavioral therapy, equine & art therapy, trauma-informed yoga, addictions and PTSD classes, parenting classes, etc. The goal is to heal from the pain that lead them to substance-use and addiction in the first place.
 

The second year focuses outward on stability, skill-building and reintegration into the community: resume writing, educational opportunities, job opportunities, personality/giftings surveys, etc. Usually, sometimes during the program (around 6 months), the women are also reunited with their children. This is a major factor and motivator in their sobriety and recovery. At Shayil Home, the idea is that families reconnected and heal together, providing long-term, wrap around care. The project responded to needs and challenges within this community. 

First, storytelling is an important part of healing. Many women in this program have had traumatic pasts full of abuse, shame, and guilt that have led them to a life of addiction. This gets compounded further by a society that often misunderstands and stigmatizes those who struggle with addiction. Through storytelling, these challenges and barriers begin to break down, to humanize. To portray a person's story is to honor them and show them value, dignity, and worth. Through photography and text, each student can be fully seen and heard, possibly for the first time. Their stories matter. They matter. Stigma often creates shame and further isolates people from each other; stories connect us and promote empathy and acceptance.
 

Second, the women developed a valuable skill. This is an important step in building confidence and self-worth. Utilizing skills, being productive, and contributing to the world are important parts of being substance-free and aid in a successful recovery. These new skills can be carried forward to help cultivate long-term leadership and capacity long after they leave Shayil Home.
 

Third, this newfound confidence and ability will empower the women and give them hope for a different future. The goal of recovery is not to kick an addiction but to become a healthy, whole, and thriving human being. Building confidence and resilience, engaging with your feelings and past, and gleaning new skills are crucial to this process. By focusing on the positive outcomes of this project, the women can begin to rebuild their lives and cast a vision of the future that is substance-free. And one changed life can impact a family, a community and an entire culture if the seeds of hope and change take root.

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Jaime Woytiuk is a Buena Vista based documentary photographer and multimedia artist. Her career path originated in social work, but her transition into documentary and legacy photography was a result of her mother’s journey with PPMS. Woytiuk is an Associate with Photographers Without Borders, an organization that supports and educates storytelling geared towards ethical, global narratives by way of granting, teaching, and capacity-building programs.

Thank you to Niki Hoyer from Shayil Home for her support during and around this exhibition.

Sarah Cummings Truszkowski is an artist, teacher, community activist, and mother of three children. She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Honours) from Queen's University in 2001 and has received two Independent Artist grants from SKArts. She has taught workshops at the Regina Public Library, The Art Gallery of Regina as well as led outdoor art experiences for those experiencing homelessness through Camp Hope. Truszkowski is the Visual Arts Coordinator with the Cathedral Village Arts Festival, providing opportunities for the community to paint and make art together. She was first elected as a Regina Public School Board Trustee in 2020 and has recently been re-elected for another four-year term. Resent solo exhibitions include at the Weyburn Art Gallery, The Lobby Gallery in Regina and the Estevan Art Gallery. She works and lives in Regina, Saskatchewan.

Truszkowski's work focuses on complicating societal understandings of motherhood, feminism, personal agency, time, love, the environment, social issues, and the cultural histories of women. In More than butter and sugar, she creates paintings of baked desserts that celebrate the significance of baking to her family.