This summer, immerse yourself in a captivating artistic universe and take part in two evenings of artistic critique at the Maison des Artistes, followed by a final exhibition in the CCFM art gallery. This collaborative exhibition is specially designed for francophone artists looking for inspiration, sharing and artistic growth.

Solange Roy is a Francophone and Aboriginal ceramic artist who lives and works in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Solange received her Bachelor of Fine Arts with Distinction from the University of Manitoba in 2022. She won the People’s Choice Award at the BFA Honors exhibition with her installation Table for One, which featured several realistic ceramic dessert sculptures. The centrepiece of this installation, a three-tiered cake sculpture entitled You Want a Piece of Me? won the provincial prize in the national BMO 1st ART! competition and was exhibited at the University of Toronto during the BMO 1st ART! exhibition. Solange will be the artist-in-residence in the fall of 2023 at Casa Art Center in Lethbridge, Alberta. She will lead a two-day ceramics workshop and artist talk for the community and her work will be exhibited at the end of her residency. Solange is currently working on her next sculptural collection. Her art practice specializes in highly detailed sculptural work using hand-building methods to create intricate, colourful and unique pieces.

A self-taught French-Canadian-Manitoban artist, I’m also the person behind ArtMCreations, my business created in 2019. My interests are very varied, ranging from painting, to driftwood work, to jewellery design, to traditional Métis Manitoban beadwork, Dot painting. The artistic community that surrounds me and the skills I’m lucky enough to learn allow me to feed my artistic appetite and create works that have a story behind them. I don’t have a precise style, I don’t like to reproduce the same creations twice and nature is my primary source of inspiration. Authenticity, uniqueness, diversity and sharing are values that I cultivate. I like to learn different techniques and put them to work together to create a unique work of art.

Robert Nicolas is a Francophone multidisciplinary artist born in Winnipeg. After studying fine arts at the Université de Moncton (NB), he obtained a B.A. in literature from the Université de Saint-Boniface and an M.A. in creative writing from the University of Manitoba. In 2015, he published a collection of short stories, Nouvelles orphelines (Éditions du Blé), in which he explores the banality of everyday life.

Passionate about the extra in the ordinary, even along a well-trodden path, the photographer’s approach is inspired by movement and its effect on a subject. He is interested in experimenting with perspective, with an eye for technical consideration but also a willingness to take creative risks, giving old spaces new life. Often using geometric shapes, his images question framing and the boundaries we take for granted – helping the viewer to step outside of their usual perspective, to see things as if for the first time.

Daniela Smith-Fernandez is a Chilean-Canadian artist and writer. She started sewing and making artistic objects when she was little and never stopped. Her work is inspired by traditional crafts around the world and its heritage. Most of her projects are in textiles, but she works in a variety of media. She trained as a tailor, in cultural anthropology, and is currently studying education at the University of Saint-Boniface.

Denis R. Prieur is a Canadian visual artist from Winnipeg, Manitoba and a graduate of the University of Manitoba (BFA). He has exhibited in Winnipeg and Ottawa and his works are part of various private collections across Canada. His current photographic practice is based on Domesticity, where his role as a stay at home dad informs his opportunities for artistic creation within the confinement of the home. In stark contrast to the real life energy and chaos of family life, this collection of images suggest a transient human presence and contemplative narrative that conceals as much as it reveals. A first solo showing of his photographic work will be on display at le Studio of the MDA in October of this year. Denis R. Prieur has also worked various roles in the artistic community including that of Cultural Coordinator at l’Université de St-Boniface and Artistic Director at La Maison des artistes in St-Boniface, MB.

An art graduate in France and an artist for 25 years, I explore all the artistic mediums available to me. Most of the time I use materials related to nature, which is my main source of inspiration. Working with clay is one of them. I’ve been practising ceramics since 2020, working in community workshops. My work is based on impressions. I let the clay spontaneously take on the imprint and shape that my gesture gives it. Randomness plays a big part in my work and each of my pieces is unique.

Born in Argentina, Vanesa Harari is a Canadian visual artist, anthropologist and educator. Vanesa has worked in education for over fifteen years, developing and delivering a variety of art and identity workshops in Argentina and Canada for community, school and non-profit organizations. Throughout her multi-faceted career, she has also explored other disciplines such as dance and music. She spent several years photographing landscapes while travelling throughout Argentina. In Canada, she found painting a creative way of coping with the experience of immigration.

Passionate about exploring different media and artistic techniques, Harari creates abstract paintings full of limitless imaginative scenarios in her Winnipeg studio. She is inspired by the micro and macro elements of nature, water, the cosmos, movement and the relationship between the environment and the self. She also experiments with acrylics and digital art to create symbolic images inspired by her spiritual Kabalistic traditions. Harari brings the mystical idea of “As above, so below” to some of her paintings.

Harari has exhibited and sold her art in Winnipeg, and has been commissioned to create paintings for cities such as Buenos Aires and Madrid.

Some of Harari’s paintings have been finalists in international art competitions.

Born in Saint-Boniface, Manitoba, Monique Fillion currently works with digital photography and video, as well as acrylic paint on canvas. Her digital photos are evocative constructions of forms that suggest the vibrant and changing aspect of nature and bring out the subconscious, while her paintings are metaphorical, abstract and rather meditative. She is also a member of a collective of 9 Manitoba artists called The Winnipeg Pantsuit Collective. Her digital images and paintings have been exhibited in several galleries in Canada and a number of her paintings are in public collections. Monique exhibited her work in New York as a finalist for the Chelsea International Photography Contest.