Explore + Create Saturday Art Program

Spring 2026 Schedule:

Explore & Create

Families with children ages 5 – 12 are invited to join us on Saturdays from 1 – 3 PM for drop-in art activities inspired by works in the Gordon Smith Gallery’s current exhibition.
Participation is free, donations are welcome. Parent or guardian supervision is required. For additional assistance or accommodation, please contact programs@smithfoundation.ca

Upcoming Explore + Create Saturdays

May 16, 2026

Please join us for a special workshop with artist, Manuel Axel Strain, a 2-Spirit artist from the xʷməθkʷəyəm (Musqueam), Simpcw, and Syilx peoples, and who has recently been long-listed for this year’s Sobey Art Award. Their work, 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘰 𝘢 𝘹ʷ𝘮əθ𝘬ʷə𝘺̓ə𝘮 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘢 𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘳𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘥𝘢𝘱𝘵, (2026), is inspired by all three referenced artists in 𝘖𝘯𝘦 𝘏𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘈𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘋𝘦𝘦𝘱; Jack Shadbolt, Gordon Smith and Bill Reid. We will be using a mixed-media collage to create artwork shaped by ideas from Reid, Smith and Shadbolt. It will be an exciting afternoon using many different materials! Open to all ages- we hope you can join us! All materials provided.

PLEASE SIGN UP FOR ONE OF THE 2 SESSION AVAILABLE HERE:

Artist Workshop with Manuel Axel Strain: Explore + Create Saturday May 16th Tickets, Saturday, May 16 | Eventbrite

Session A: 1pm – 2pm

Session B: 2:15pm – 3:15pm

Admission is free and donations are welcomed.

Photo by Khim Mata Hipol

PAST WORKSHOPS

Feb 14, 2026

Today’s Explore + Create art activity is inspired by the work of artist Anna Binta Diallo, A forecast of pastures, bluffs and bones. The artist, who was born in Senegal and lives and works in Winnipeg, explores how memory and nostalgia (think about something in the past that was a wonderful experience and no longer exists) come together to create stories about who we are or might become. We will be using a collage process to build the layers in our artwork inspired by Diallo’s piece.

We hope to see you there!

Feb 21, 2026

Our last Explore + Create Saturday will be focused on the work by artist Angela George, a səlilwətaɬ/Tsleil-Waututh master weaver. Her weaving Rivers Have Mouths, currently in the exhibition From the Ground, has us thinking of nature, specifically the mountains and rivers, and how the rivers nourish the trees and the land it sits on. We will be creating our own weaving tapestry inspired by the artist’s work, using a cardboard loom and different coloured yarn.