Sarah Ciurysek is a Canadian artist working mainly in photography, video, and installation to examine our relationship to the ground. The artwork typically consists of large-scale colour photographs of soil, grass, fields, and floors; these works reference graves, death, life, nourishment, history, archeology, and rural sensibilities and concerns.
Sarah was raised in northern Alberta and continues to make much of her work there. She trained at Emily Carr University of Art + Design (BFA 2003), Parsons The New School for Design, and Concordia University (MFA 2007). Her work has been exhibited across Canada and in the US, in the UK and Austria, and in South Africa. She has participated in national and international residencies and has been the recipient of Canada Council, Manitoba Arts Council, and Alberta Foundation for the Arts grants. She is an Assistant Professor at the School of Art, University of Manitoba.
Sarah Ciurysek is a Canadian artist working mainly in photography, video, and installation to examine our relationship to the ground. The artwork typically consists of large-scale colour photographs of soil, grass, fields, and floors; these works reference graves, death, life, nourishment, history, archeology, and rural sensibilities and concerns.
Sarah was raised in northern Alberta and continues to make much of her work there. She trained at Emily Carr University of Art + Design (BFA 2003), Parsons The New School for Design, and Concordia University (MFA 2007). Her work has been exhibited across Canada and in the US, in the UK and Austria, and in South Africa. She has participated in national and international residencies and has been the recipient of Canada Council, Manitoba Arts Council, and Alberta Foundation for the Arts grants. She is an Assistant Professor at the School of Art, University of Manitoba.
Sarah Ciurysek is a Canadian artist working mainly in photography, video, and installation to examine our relationship to the ground. The artwork typically consists of large-scale colour photographs of soil, grass, fields, and floors; these works reference graves, death, life, nourishment, history, archeology, and rural sensibilities and concerns.
Sarah was raised in northern Alberta and continues to make much of her work there. She trained at Emily Carr University of Art + Design (BFA 2003), Parsons The New School for Design, and Concordia University (MFA 2007). Her work has been exhibited across Canada and in the US, in the UK and Austria, and in South Africa. She has participated in national and international residencies and has been the recipient of Canada Council, Manitoba Arts Council, and Alberta Foundation for the Arts grants. She is an Assistant Professor at the School of Art, University of Manitoba.
Sarah Ciurysek is a Canadian artist working mainly in photography, video, and installation to examine our relationship to the ground. The artwork typically consists of large-scale colour photographs of soil, grass, fields, and floors; these works reference graves, death, life, nourishment, history, archeology, and rural sensibilities and concerns.
Sarah was raised in northern Alberta and continues to make much of her work there. She trained at Emily Carr University of Art + Design (BFA 2003), Parsons The New School for Design, and Concordia University (MFA 2007). Her work has been exhibited across Canada and in the US, in the UK and Austria, and in South Africa. She has participated in national and international residencies and has been the recipient of Canada Council, Manitoba Arts Council, and Alberta Foundation for the Arts grants. She is an Assistant Professor at the School of Art, University of Manitoba.
Sarah Ciurysek is a Canadian artist working mainly in photography, video, and installation to examine our relationship to the ground. The artwork typically consists of large-scale colour photographs of soil, grass, fields, and floors; these works reference graves, death, life, nourishment, history, archeology, and rural sensibilities and concerns.
Sarah was raised in northern Alberta and continues to make much of her work there. She trained at Emily Carr University of Art + Design (BFA 2003), Parsons The New School for Design, and Concordia University (MFA 2007). Her work has been exhibited across Canada and in the US, in the UK and Austria, and in South Africa. She has participated in national and international residencies and has been the recipient of Canada Council, Manitoba Arts Council, and Alberta Foundation for the Arts grants. She is an Assistant Professor at the School of Art, University of Manitoba.
A word after a word after a word
A word after a word after a word
Screenprints on newsprint, series of 10
28” x 40”
2015
A word after a word after a word is a series of text-based posters and a participatory event that highlight the importance of increasing women’s and girls’ voices in the public sphere. It is a collaborative project made with girls and women in Winnipeg in 2015.
The project title references Margaret Atwood’s statement that “A word after a word after a word is power.” My belief that more (and more confident) women’s and girls’ voices are needed in the public sphere, as well as in everyday interactions, drives this project. With funding from the Canada Council, I hired a public speaking coach and counselor, who lead a series of free workshops on developing a more confident speaking voice. We advertised the workshops in diverse settings across the city (non-profit organizations, libraries, schools) in order to reach a cross-section of people who felt they would benefit from the workshops. Ten girls and women with different ages, ethnicities, and abilities engaged in this participatory event. I then conducted interviews with the participants, and portions of the interview texts were selected to make posters.
The 10 posters of A word after a word after a word function as individual text-portraits. They are large (50”x 60”) and screen-printed on to a sturdy newsprint; they are intended for outdoor public installation, thereby increasing the presence of girls’ and women’s voices in public space.
The posters were made while I was an artist-in-residence at Frans Masereel Centrum (Kasterlee, Belgium). Heartfelt thanks to my research assistant Danielle Fenn for her assistance in screenprinting and throughout the entire project, and many thanks to Shannon Gander for her expertise and caring while leading the workshops. Thank you to the Canada Council for the Arts for supporting this project.