Home
A Multicultural Art Exhibit held at the Lieutenant Governor’s House, Fredericton New Brunswick from November 8, 2023 – February 29, 2024.
What do you think of when you think of home? Whether it is the home you left in a previous country, or your new home in New Brunswick, we want to see what home means to you. Home can be a place, a community, a person, an idea…
Flowers
The children were presented with stamp images of flowers from around the world. A “varied garden” in images, where they were able to choose their favorite one to create a floral arrangement.
Flowers of the world that represent nature in its splendor. Flowers from Sudan, Ukraine, Brazil, Sri Lanka, Canada…. Arranged in a singular vase. The simplicity, harmony and enjoyment of the tiny details that liven up a home.
Collage.
The house is not only a refuge, but also a state of being. A nice floral arrangement gives our home a touch of joy, hope and color.
Imagine a Winter day, all white out and you place these beautiful flowers at home. What would you feel? Tiny details cheer up your family and home.
“I see trees of green, red roses too
I see them bloom for me and you
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world.”
What a Wonderful World, by Louis Armstrong
Sayumi Sahanya Rajakulathunga (age 12) Sri Lanka
Goud Elmitwalli (age 12) Egypt
Anaya Afzal Ayub, Dubai
Aalaa Badawy (age 13) Egypt
Nayyar Rizui Mir (age 14) India
Nafees Fathima Mir (age 10) India
Danil Kravets (age 13) Ukraine
Yasmin Pinheiro (age 13) Brazil
Vasylyna Stotska (age 12), Ukraine
Alisha Afzal Ayub, Dubai
Amena Abdawy (age 11) Egypt
Home
Why did you come here? An answer I hear very often is “safety for my family”. Two doves represent the old and new homes. Olives represent peace. This is a “community painting” created by a large group of mostly untrained artists. The process of collaborative stenciling and painting is friendly, peaceful, fun, personal and connective.
Acrylic on canvas.
Tree Houses
Have you ever dreamt of having a tree house?
They say in our lives, we must plant at least a tree. This is the story of José Luis Cornejo, who went even beyond, becoming the guardian of an incredibly special tree. Like many children, he dreamt of building a house on top of a tree, and he realized it.
José Luis Cornejo, from Quito, became the owner of this property 25 years ago and had the fantastic idea of building a house on the tree in 1990 as a gift to his children. The house is in the Galapagos’ Islands, in Ecuador, on top of a Ceiba tree, more than 300 years old. The house is about 15 meters tall and has a basement 3 meters deep in the ground.
One curious fact is that José Cornejo used recyclable materials for the construction, like plastic cases to make the step ways that lead to the tree, he also used them as walls. This story was the inspiration for some adults and children to represent their own tree houses. Collage.
Rahila Sediq, Afghanistan
Fariha Salehi, Afghanistan
Katarina Sindic, Serbia
Mayas Alabbas, Syria
Olga Vega, Colombia
Natalya Beztalanna, Ukraine
Nataliia Kanivets, Ukraine
Nadiia Horobets, Ukraine
Malika Ali (age 4) Egypt
Sergey Balandin, Russia
Leticia Barunguza, Tanzania
Carlos R. Dueñas (age 5) Cuba
Kseniia Shevchenko (age 5) Ukraine
Yeva Zima (age 4) Ukraine
Mosaic
“In a little box of matches, many things can be kept. A ray of the sun, for example (but you need to close it very fast, otherwise it gets eaten by shadows). A bit of snow, perhaps a moon coin, buttons from the dress of the wind, and more, much more.”
– Maria Elena Walsh
This beautiful poem served as the motivation to develop children’s imagination and emotional intelligence. Using little match boxes, we created a personal corner. In that box of treasures, they drew and painted part of their world, their home, their emotions and feelings. Family will always be the biggest and most precious treasure for all!
Collage.
Candice Onyiriuka (age 7, Nigeria), Briannah Onyyiriuka (age 10, Nigeria), Amir Mehrparwan (age 7, Afghanistan), Zainab Mehrparwan (age 7, Afghanistan), Asma Sala (age 6, Afghanistan)
Memories of my Home
A place of hope or loss, a territory to be defended or from which it is necessary to escape; ideal or nightmarish environment. The house and the associated idea of home is seen as an artistic theme in an exhibit. How the idea of home, be it a stable dwelling or a temporary lodging, always defines who we are, where we come from, how we feel and what we want for our future.
Taken from life, from the memory, from the imagination or external sources like books, stories, personal accounts, famous paintings, the exhibit tries to represent home artistically as a junction point of memories, life experiences and emotions. Collage.
Memories: Heidi Jian, China
Memories: Ali Othman, Syria
Memories: Abdullah Hussain, Syria
Sky and Home
The houses are made of shapes and color, but also of emotions and sensations. Design your house, paint with your colours, and explore with varied materials. Acrylic on canvas.
Arad Zamanpur (age 5) Iran.
Ryan Onyiriukq (age 4), Nigeria
Asma Salak (age 5), Afghanistan
Darii Sadlovskyi (age 6), Ukraine
The Snow in the Forbidden City
My family moved to Fredericton from China since 2021 and cannot go back to Beijing due to COVID-19. We all miss our hometown. Of course, the most famous “HOME” in Beijing is the Forbidden City. The Forbidden City was built over 600 years and 24 emperors lived here. I like the Forbidden City in winter, the white snow sets on the red walls and yellow roofs of the Forbidden City particularly beautifully.
Home is You
Home is you. You create it yourself. It does not come from nowhere. This is your inner state. It’s how cozy and comfortable you feel. If you are well, then you are well everywhere, and you broadcast this well-being to those around you, and everything around you becomes brighter.
Kateryna Sadlovska, Ukraine. Acrylic on canvas.
Collaboration on Arthur Shilling’s Ojibway Dreams
A collaborative work made in class in October 2019. The original painting (Arthur Shilling’s Ojibway Dreams) was printed in black and white and cut into squares. Each student in charge of one square, not knowing what the full image would be. They were told to choose any colors.
This painting is representative of Indigenous peoples, on whose land our homes are built; and cooperation between people of many cultures – a foundation of our peaceful home in Fredericton.
Acrylic on board.
Iryna Hunchyk (Ukraine), Farhad Afzal (Iran), Mahnaz Nassaji (Iran), Kimia Ebrahim Nazari (Iran), Hamed Abdou (Egypt), Uladzimir Hadun (Belarus), Shunxin Yang (China), Lex Fu (China), Igor Tretiakov (Russia), Tran Van Nguyen (Vietnam), Cinthia Romallho (Brazil), Hong Ngoc Pham (Vietnam), Ying Xue Zhao (China), Lei Sang (China), Tan Minh Tam (Vietman)
Yanina Kripak, Ukraine. Oil on canvas.
Happiness in the Simple
My home is planet Earth.
Yanina Kripak, Ukraine. Oil on canvas.
Sunshine in the House
My home is where you are.
Viktoriia Kyrychuk, Ukraine. Acrylic on paper.
Wave
These waves remind me of the Black Sea, a long trip, the first swimming lessons. It was our little family trip, almost every summer we went to the Black Sea. This picture represents one of my favorite memories.
Vanessa Nkwambi, Cameroon
Denim and wax fabric
Vanessa Wax (backpack)
Vanessa Nkwambi, Cameroon
Fabric on steel armature
Vanessa Wax (dolls)
Paper poetry
Paper, fragility – Rock, strength
My home is an emotion, a nostalgia, a memory.
What I am, my essence is the base where I construct my home temple.
Sometimes, when the wind and rain come, or the snowstorms, my nostalgia and memories make me feel like paper, fragile and vulnerable, then I hold on to the rock (roots, strengths) and everything returns to calm. Paper sculptures on rock.
Miguelina Izaguirre, Cuba
Miguelina Izaguirre, Cuba
Anaya Afzal Ayub, Dubai
Sayumi Sahanya Rajakulathunga (age 12), Sri Lanka
Danil Kravets (age 13) Ukraine
Vasylyna Stotska (age 12) Ukraine
Alisha Afzal Ayub, Dubai
Liberation of Syria
I imagined Syria’s historical cities and searching for liberation from the regime’s prison.
Faisal Hussein, Syria. Woodburning and watercolor on board.
Colourful Houses
The houses are made of shapes and colour, but also of emotions and sensations.
Design your house, paint with your colours and explore with varied materials.
Artem Sadlovskyi (age 4)
Ukraine
Hayhb Semare (age 4)
Eritrea
Eto Yoshua (age 4)
Republic of Congo
Asra Sediq (age 4)
Afghanistan
Malika Ali (age 4)
Egypt
On My Way Home
I always think of home as a place where we could rest. The butterfly symbolizes us coming home from our tired lives, and flowers symbolize our home.
Haejoo Park, Korea. Color pencil on paper.
Doll Wearing Traditional Syrian Folk Dress
The doll wears a popular traditional dress that represents Al-Swidaa, the city I come from. Doll-making is something I learned from my mother, who is my homeland and represents everything to me.
Wallada Radwan, Syria. Linen and assorted fabrics.
Native Land
The flag of Ukraine is represented by the background.
Volodymyr Kripak, Ukraine. Oil on canvas.
The Dreams of the Women of Afghanistan
I showed the achievements of Afghan women through the light in the hands. The things Afghan women earn by hard work, hope and wishes is lost. They move to other countries. They have to start from zero. Those who stay in Afghanistan don’t have a chance to flee. They live like a prisoner in darkness and don’t even have the chance to start.
Roya Samim, Afghanistan. Acrylic on canvas.
Propaganda: The Beginning
Alina Karmadanova, Russia. Acrylic on canvas.
Since the Russian invasion in Ukraine all my feelings towards my motherland and my country are very poignant and complicated. This diptych attempts to shed light on the process of propaganda and the individuals involved in this process. My home was destroyed, and I can’t keep warm memories of it when the war is progressing. This is the face of my home country now.
Propaganda: The End
Alina Karmadanova, Russia. Acrylic on canvas.
Lalit Sharma, India. Oil on canvas
Peace
Home is a safe and secure place to live and grow, like a fetus in the womb of mother.
Lalit Sharma, India. Oil on canvas
A New Life
Home is a place where a lady can be independent and think freely. The rising sun gives a hope of new life and quality of living in Canada.
Glimpse of a Garden City
Bangalore, the city I’m from, was known as the garden city.
Lokeshwari Karkada, India. Acrylic on canvas.
Margaret Dalisay, Philippines. Acrylic on canvas.
Harmony in Home
Two fish, entwined like yin-yang, swim in the tranquil depths, embodying the essence of home where balance and serenity meet.
Margaret Dalisay, Philippines. Acrylic on canvas.
In the Quiet Sanctuary of Home
In the quiet sanctuary of home where words flow like wine, stories unfurl in the pages of a book and the simplicity of a pomegranate meets the elegance of pearls where every item tells a tale of warmth and belonging.
Justice
Home is where I find freedom, justice and equality.
Viktoriia Motspan, Ukraine. Ink on paper.
Bald Eagles Visiting Osprey’s Home
This couple of eagles were in the Osprey’s nest (home) for 3 or 4 days, at the end they left and the Ospreys arrived for nest season.
Germán García Arias, Mexico. Pigment print.
Miriam Torres Lopez, Mexico. Photograph
Together: Apapacho (Cuddle)
Miriam Torres Lopez, Mexico. Photograph.
Together: Tea Time
A few days before my partner and I took a flight to Canada, we had no place to call home. We had sold everything, and we were taking a big gamble on this adventure. We were moving to a completely new place with no home waiting for us. It was impossible for us to rent a house in Fredericton while still in Mexico, which made me feel very anxious and sad.
However, after listening to the song “Home” by the Korean band BTS, I realized where my true home was. I looked into my partner’s eyes and told him that my home is wherever we both are together. We both agreed on that statement, and it has kept us strong during the hardest moments of being newcomers in a country far away from our families.
Sree Ananthasayanam, India. Mixed media on recycled wood.
Kadambam (Collection)
Every house in my neighbourhood in Chennai, would witness the incredible art of designs being free handed with white sand at the front door, welcoming dawn. The designs showcase that nothing is permanent, and the ups and downs of life equip you to create beauty with what you have. Later I realised that India had unity in diversity in this art form. I have unified and immortalised the lippan, mehandi, rangoli and kolam art forms in a mandala that depicts the cultural diversity that reflects the joy of creation every day.
Sree Ananthasayanam, India. Mixed media on canvas.
Kannottam (Perspective)
When I hear about the Art Exhibit “Home” I was immediately transferred to my ancestral home and an epiphany in my childhood- happiness is a state of mind. My friend Anjali lived there, pretty much everything she owned was recycled in one way or the other and I felt sad for her, for even the water she consumed was carried home, and she bathed in a pond. Until she told me she felt sorry for me not experiencing the freedom she had swimming in the pond and brought me the lotus flowers as a treat to compensate for the “dull” clothes I wore. What do you see in the tiny mirror pieces that frame this tribute to her?
Adiba Samim, Afghanistan. Acrylic on canvas.
Dream
Adiba Samim, Afghanistan. Acrylic on canvas.
Afghan Culture
Eereen Shevchenko, Ukraine. Acrylic on board.
Petrykivka
A home, like a bird, can fly from place to place without losing its identity. Bird in the style of Ukrainian folk art “Petrykivka”.
Eereen Shevchenko, Ukraine. Paper cutout.
Vytynanka
Home is like a tree: roots – wisdom and traditions, strong trunk – support and direction, thick crown – love and protection. Ukrainian paper cutout folk art style “Vytynanka”.
Olka Art Collective, Iran. Acrylic on canvas.
Series: The Trace of Life Left Behind
When an immigrant reaches their destination, culture and art are the most important things they carry. Carpet-weaving is an ancient art that has an important role in Iran’s culture. The paintings feature portions of ancient rug designs. The fish represents the haftseen table, a symbol of Persian New Year.
Olka Art Collective, Iran. Resin and acrylic.
Social Hope
This beautiful sculpture received the second public vote at the second online international sculpture symposium. The big ball represents all the figure’s hopes and dreams which she has lost because of the pandemic. She is trying to define a new home upon herself that is shown as a small gold ball on her hands.
Misha Milchenko, Ukraine / Israel. Collage on board.
We Come from Water
Water is the origin of all life. I take every chance I can to swim. It brings a great sense of peace and makes me feel at home.
Misha Milchenko, Ukraine / Israel. Acrylic and clay on board.
Cosmic Love
“Home is where there’s one to love. Home is where there’s one to love us.”
– Charles Swain
Misha Milchenko, Ukraine / Israel. Collage on canvas.
Chilling with a Sloppy Style
The warmth, comfort, and playfulness of home embodied by my cats.
Home, Spaces and Memory
Photographs give support to memories and experiences from the recent and distant past. They are a thin slice of time and space. Here they are used to build structures: homes built of memories. These photographs were selected for their meaningful depiction of people, places, and things that are important to each photographer in representing aspects of ‘home’. These young photographers worked with local artist and educator Christina Thomson to explore this theme through photo assemblage.
Phanuel Komi (age 16, Sudan), Chalvi Kwizera (age 16, D.R. Congo), Ariel Nshimiye (age 18, D.R. Congo), Ashref Idris (age 16, Sudan), Wail Adam (age 15, Sudan). Photography.
Theyyam
Theyyam is a ritual art form performed in religious places of worship in my hometown in the South Indian state of Kerala. It is during this event that our community comes together and celebrates in unity. We meet people near and far and look forward to this celebration every time we visit our hometown.
Thushara Premarajan, India. Acrylic on canvas
Cardboard Box Mural
What a blessing to be in this province with so much green!
With rivers and wonderful landscapes.
Playing, we can learn more about New Brunswick. By learning more we can know how to best care for our new home environment!
Mural on Cardboard Boxes
Sofie Beztalanna (age 14, Ukraine), Danil Kravets (age 13, Ukraine), Nafees Fathima (age 10, India), Sayumi Sahanya Rajakulathunga (age 12, Sri Lanka), Nayyar Rizui Mir (age 14, India), Vasylyna Stotska (age 12, Ukraine)
James Street Woodstove
I took painting up when I became a substitute teacher and needed something productive to do while sticking close to home and the phone. It is the only painting I have that shows part of the house we lived in for many years in Douglas. That house was incredibly special because all my children were born and grew up while we were in that house. Selling it was a hard lesson in detachment. The painting shows the blue woodstove in the basement and several vintage bowls that are still with me.
Clare Tahershamsi, Canada. Acrylic on canvas.
Runu Kumari, India. Photo collage.
Mother Nature’s Lap
Home for me is Mother Nature’s Lap. No matter when and where! She tells me that Family makes us whole. She educates me on resilience being key. She reminds me that I may have fallen but am not broken. She inspires me to stand tall and look up. She provokes me to be forceful with poise. She will ALWAYS LOVE me back!
Diversity Mural
Miguelina Izaguirre (Cuba), Katharine Cerrato (Honduras), Suzy Mouhawej (Lebanon), Joanna Zhang (China), Olga Tepfer (Israel), Karine Lugo (Columbia), Katya Naiman (Ukraine). Olka Art Collective: Parisa Partovi, Ismaeil Rezaei, Layla Partovi, Tania Sedighi (Iran). Print on canvas.