Glenbow Museum and Afrikadey! Arts & Culture Society have joined forces to produce Story Keepers – a video series exploring personal stories relating to Black history in Alberta and across the country. We’re having conversations with innovators, creators and culture makers whose work draws on history in order to build the future.

In honour of #InternationalWomensDay 2021 we are excited to share this conversation with Simone Saunders – a Calgary artist who celebrates Black women in her large scale textile portraits.

Motola Dawodu, assistant artistic director at Afrikadey, and @simoneelizabethtextiles talk about Saunders’ use of textiles and fabric tufting to engage upon a search for belonging: studying the Black female body, personal identities and a connection to Black history.

More about Simone Saunders

Simone Saunders is a visual artist and classically-trained actor. Her art practice has a particular focus on rug-hooking, tufting and weaving, creating large, colourful textiles. The artist’s work engages upon a search for belonging: studying the Black female body, personal identities and a connection to Black history.  Saunders creates narratives through cultural mythology, history and personal landscapes. 

More about Afrikadey! Arts & Culture Society

The mission of the Afrikadey! Arts & Culture Society of Calgary, an independent not-for-profit organization, is to encourage cross-cultural communication. As a result, we bring together communities, artists, youth and all others interested in various forms of Art from Africa and its Diaspora.

Music Track by Tchakare Kanyembe is licensed under an Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License. 

We know art can provide inspiration, beauty and, most importantly, a sense of connection to the people and world around us. We’re bringing Glenbow right to you in your home — through virtual tours, online collections, educational videos, activity ideas, webinars and more.

Explore all of our #GlenbowFromHome content from wherever you are!