Artist Talk with Négar Devine-Tajgardan

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About

Artist Talk + Closing Reception

Sat, Oct 4, 1-4pm

Artist Talk @ 2pm

"This body of work emerges from a hidden family photograph: an image of the artist’s uncle holding her infant sister, concealed for decades to spare her father’s grief.

Using this photograph, taken just years before his death, Négar Devine-Tajgardan weaves fragmented images of her uncle’s face into textile and paper pieces, evoking traditional rugs. These everyday objects become metaphors for the stolen normalcy and belonging experienced not only by Négar’s family, but by all who carry the trauma of state violence, silenced histories, and forced displacement.

This project speaks to universal wounds: the erasure of memory, the weight of unspoken grief, and the resilience of those who rebuild lives far from home. Through the act of weaving, Devine-Tajgardan reclaims fragments of loss into patterns of remembrance, honoring one life among thousands, and the enduring search for healing.

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GDAG gratefully acknowledges the support of our funders: Canada Council for the Arts, SK Arts, the City of Yorkton, Sask Culture, Sask Lotteries, Painted Hand Development Corp., Sasktel, Yorkton and District Community Foundation, and Heritage Canada."

Organizer

Godfrey Dean Art Gallery

We are located in Yorkton, Saskatchewan, on Treaty 4, land of the Cree, Ojibwe, Saulteaux, Dakota, Nakota, and Lakota, and homeland of the Métis Nation.

Through art exhibitions, workshops, education, performance, and other public programming, we aim to provide meaningful artistic experiences for everyone, reflecting the creative diversity of our community. As the only professional public art gallery in our area, we focus on curating and promoting the work of artists here as well as artists based elsewhere in Saskatchewan and from across Canada.

The Godfrey Dean Art Gallery was established following decades of work by the Yorkton Arts Council, who as far back as the 1960s organized visual art exhibitions at various locations in Yorkton. With the construction of the Godfrey Dean Cultural Centre in 1981, two galleries and office space were built on the second floor, adjacent to the historic Land Titles Building. Through the 1990s the galleries were managed by the Yorkton Arts Council, its volunteer board, visual arts committee, and part-time staff. In 2003 the newly-incorporated Godfrey Dean Art Gallery assumed responsibility for exhibition and education programming.