Art Exhibition
Feb 14th-April 16th, 2026
Free Admission
The 5A1L exhibit at the Art Gallery of Alberta is coming February 14th - April 16th, 2026! When it’s open, come down to see the pieces from this year’s 20 artists.
Meet The Artists
Aja Louden
@ajalouden
AJA Louden is a Jamaican-Canadian artist living and working out of amiskwaciwâskahikan (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada).
Through rigorous mark making, constructions and installations, Louden builds stories and worlds that are firmly rooted in both galleries and public spaces, infused by his experience of growing up Black in the prairies. His current work focuses on the cyclical nature of power, inspired by science-fiction and historical paintings. Louden’s recent use of textiles considers the roles of craft in Black communities, and the history of craft in rural Alberta in particular.
Louden’s work has been shown in public spaces and institutions across Western Canada, including his 2024 solo exhibition Prairie Star Deck 2 at the Manitoba Craft Council and the 2022 retrospective exhibition Black Every Day at the Art Gallery of Alberta that featured his large-scale, site specific installation Constellation. In 2022, he was awarded the Edmonton Artists’ Trust Fund, and he was selected by Faye HeavyShield, Lieutenant Governor 2021 Distinguished Artist, for a unique award from the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Arts Awards Foundation. Louden’s work is in the collections of the Alberta Foundation for the Arts and the Misericordia Community Hospital. Piney P, a spectacled, frowny pineapple living on the prairies, appears frequently in Louden’s work.
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Photo credit: Diana Duzbayeva
Asha Shumba
Ash Shumba is a self-taught visual artist from Harare, Zimbabwe, now based in Canada. Working primarily with metal, stone, and found objects, his practice reflects a deep engagement with material histories and cultural memory. His work is heavily influenced by the traditions of Shona sculpture,drawing from the expressive forms, spiritual symbolism, and tactile craftsmanship that define this
renowned Zimbabwean art movement.
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By transforming reclaimed and natural materials, Shumba explores themes of identity, migration, and ancestral connection. Each piece serves as a dialogue between past and present, homeland and diaspora—inviting viewers to contemplate the layered narratives embedded within the materials he shapes.
Through his sculpture and mixed-media work, Ash Shumba continues to honour and evolve the artistic legacy of Zimbabwe while developing a distinct contemporary voice shaped by his experiences across continents.
Blanche Thompson
Blanche enjoys the challenge of capturing specific moments in time as experienced by her predominantly female subjects. A look, a feeling or an expression is all that’s required to ignite the creative process that moves her to recreate these moments using bold strokes and vibrant colors. Painting in oils, Blanche tries to capture and transmit the unique energy of her subjects directly to the viewer. She hopes to evoke in every viewer a sense of contemplation and curiosity about the nature and circumstance of each subject depicted. Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Blanche moved to Edmonton with her family when she was ten years old and currently resides in Calgary
Braxton Garneau
Braxton Garneau is a visual artist based in amiskwaciwâskahikan (Edmonton, Canada). He holds a BFA from the University of Alberta and has had solo exhibitions at moniquemeloche, Chicago (2025), the Art Gallery of Alberta, Edmonton (2024), Efraín López, New York (2024), GAVLAK, Los Angeles (2023) and Stride Gallery, Calgary (2021). His work was featured in the exhibitions Land, Sea, Sugar, Salt: Terrestrial and Aquatic Contemplations of the Caribbean, Remai Modern (2025), Black Every Day, Art Gallery of Alberta (2021), and It's About Time: Dancing Black in Canada 1900 - 1970 and Now, Mitchell Art Gallery, Edmonton (2020).
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Photo credit: Émile Kirsch
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Raneece Buddan
Raneece Buddan is a Jamaican visual artist residing in London, England, where she is pursuing a Master's in Sculpture at The Royal College of Art. Raneece received the 2025 Eldon and Anne Foote Edmonton Visual Art Prize and has been exhibited throughout Alberta at the Art Gallery of Alberta, Southern Alberta Art Gallery, Stride Gallery and more, as well as, internationally in the USA and France. She has completed Artist Residencies in Edmonton, Alberta, Salem, New York and Mandelieu-La-Napoule, France.
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Photo Credit: Aliya Logun
Dara Ojo
@explorewithdara
Website: explorewithdara.com
Dara Ojo is a macro and wildlife photographer and videographer based in Edmonton, Alberta. His work focuses on arthropods, snowflakes, and small-scale wildlife including reptiles and amphibians, using close-up imagery to highlight overlooked forms of biodiversity. His photography and videography have been featured internationally by CNN, BBC, National Geographic, PBS, Love Nature, Sky Nature, ARTE, The Weather Network, and more. Dara has exhibited his work in galleries, science centres, and public spaces, and regularly delivers talks and workshops that connect photography, science, and conservation.
Diana Ohiozebau
@accessmystudio
Diana Ohiozebau is a mixed-media artist based in Edmonton. Her practice explores culture, identity, history, and the intersections of sociocultural narratives while thoughtfully weaving materiality and meaning to engage contemporary artistic dialogues. Her works have been exhibited in Nigeria, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and Toronto.
Faisa Omer
@faisaomer_
Faisa Omer is a Somali-Canadian portrait photographer whose work centers identity, memory, and community. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, collected by two Canadian mayors, and she has frequently collaborated with CBC. When she is not taking photos, Faisa works as a psychotherapist supporting racialized students at Carleton University.
Judy Robinson
Judy Robinson was shaped by struggle and came of age during Grenada’s cultural revolution of the 1970s, an era that continues to influence her artistic vision.
She describes her practice as “deconstructed abstract,” a visual language rooted in the exploration of human social evolution.
Through layered forms and intentional ambiguity, Robinson invites viewers into a shared journey that reflects history, questions identity, and challenges how we see ourselves and each other.
Keon
Courtney
Keon Courtney is a self-taught portrait artist born and raised in Edmonton, Alberta. Although he has always held a deep passion for art, he began drawing in his late twenties, quickly discovering a natural pull toward portraiture. Keon first developed his skills through digital art, later expanding into mediums such as spray paint, charcoal, and most recently, tattooing—his most challenging and ambitious pursuit so far.
Much of Keon’s work centers on pop culture icons and musicians, subjects that allow him to explore expression, emotion, and character in bold and dynamic ways. Across every medium, he is driven by the challenge of capturing life and emotion—bringing depth, energy, and a sense of soul to each portrait. His evolving body of work reflects a commitment to continual growth and to honoring the figures who inspire him.
Kyle Smith
Spending much of his time split between commissions or creating for himself, Kyle Smith enjoys telling a story. With more than a decade of experience in advertising, Kyle decided to change disciplines in 2016 to become a cartoonist focusing on comics and children’s storybooks. His personal work explores Afro Fantasy, Futurism, and Pop Culture in a multi-cultural setting.
Latoya
Farrell
Born to Trinidadian parents and a first-generation Canadian, Latoya’s work explores how society defines “Blackness” and how these definitions shape her sense of identity. Her practice draws on elements of Black history, personal history, and art history. By using family photographs, Latoya is compelled to engage with a distant and fragmented past. With the passing of her elders, many stories of her heritage have faded, leaving only partial glimpses into history.
While she is a beneficiary of these images, Latoya must construct visual narratives from memories that are not directly her own. By integrating personal history with historically iconic imagery, her work contextualizes an evolving understanding of heritage and legacy. In her free time, Latoya also continues to undertake commission work.
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Photo Credit: Luka Cyprian Photography
Lisa Mayes
Lisa Mayes is a project-based artist whose work is inspired by a culturally intersectional perspective. Her research centers on themes such as diasporic identity, language reclamation, visual culture, representation, and belonging. She employs various mediums, including painting, sculpture, sound installation, and digital media, to explore the intricate relationship between land and culture.
Lorelle
Whittingham
@love.lorelle
Lorelle Whittingham is a multidisciplinary visual artist. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Visual Arts from the University of Alberta, Augustana Campus, and teaches art to various communities across Edmonton. Lorelle has exhibited her work in group exhibitions internationally and throughout Alberta, and in March 2025, her mosaic was longlisted for the Eldon + Anne Foote Edmonton Visual Arts Prize. Working primarily in mixed media sculpture and painting, her practice is informed by her Mauritian and Jamaican heritage and her experience growing up as a first-generation Canadian. Lorelle’s recent work explores the weight of suffering and silence, shaping what could not be said. Turning inward, her work creates space for reflection, memory, and embodied storytelling.
Madeline
LeBlanc
@madelineleblanc
Website: madelineleblanc.com
Madeline LeBlanc began creating art during a period of homelessness. She utilized resources available at the shelter, such as: craft paint, paper, and cardboard. Her journey from homelessness to artist was widely covered by CBC News and other media outlets and this experience solidified her artistic mission of promoting arts to the general public.
Her artwork serves as a commentary on accessibility within the art world. She conveys the significance of arts affordability and access whilst examining the representation of those who are typically excluded from the art world. By using household materials as the medium for her work, LeBlanc purposely exposes the imbalances existent within the art world both within gender and socio-economic class.
Marjorie
Marshall
Marjorie Marshall has always been deeply passionate about art, particularly drawing and collage. She studied for two years at the Art Institute of Chicago and three years at the International Academy of Merchandising and Design, where she developed a strong artistic foundation that later informed her love of fashion—and eventually, millinery.
Initially aspiring to become a fashion designer, Marjorie found that her artistic training naturally carried through into her creative practice. For her, art and fashion have always been intertwined. Her artistic journey began with illustration and watercolor before evolving into collage, where she enjoyed combining found objects with drawing, treating each piece as an exploration, an experiment, and an adventure.
Millinery entered her life unexpectedly. While she had long enjoyed creating clothing, hats offered something entirely different—almost magical. Her hat-making process relies on traditional blocking techniques, hand manipulation, and flat-pattern methods to create new and unconventional silhouettes.
Marjorie’s design philosophy is rooted in the belief that fashion should be viewed as a form of art. The detail, creativity, and craftsmanship involved in shaping what we wear are ever-changing and limitless.
Recently, she has drawn inspiration from the Met Gala’s celebration of Dandyism—its style, attitude, and movement. This influence appears in her collage work through bold color and dynamic layering, while her hats reflect the clean, sharp silhouettes of the era, when attention was often focused on the clothing itself.
After 28 years in millinery, Marjorie’s creative vision continues to evolve. The fabrics she selects, the styles she designs, and the woman she envisions wearing each piece have all shifted. No longer creating for high society, she now designs for the woman down the street—someone who simply wants a beautiful sun hat to wear while tending her garden.
Her collage practice is also transforming, moving beyond the canvas and onto clothing.
Always growing. Always changing.
Reckie
LLOYD
Reckie Lloyd is a Liberian-born, Canada-based oil painter known for creating realistic portraits with strong attention to detail. He discovered his love for art as a young child during the Liberian Civil War and later continued developing his skills after moving to Edmonton. Alongside painting, he co-founded Sangea Academy with Ereni Perez. His work reflects his West African roots and his passion for both visual art and music.
Richard
Lipscombe
A resident of St. Albert since 1973, Richard Lipscombe creates evocative works that celebrate the rich history of his African Canadian heritage. Formally trained at the Kootenay School of the Arts, he utilizes fluid brushstrokes and meticulous detail to capture the emotional vitality of his subjects. His paintings are characterized by an uplifting quality, born from a deep-seated commitment to bringing the inner life of his figures to the canvas. A naturally gifted artist, Lipscombe views his ability to translate complex emotions into visual art as a lifelong calling.
Shoko
Ceasar
Web: shoko.ca
Of Rwandan-German heritage and fluent in five languages, Kanyamashokoro Cesar (Shoko) is an Edmonton-based artist, designer, and educator whose practice bridges visual art, product design, public installations, architecture, and medtech. His award-winning Hoodoo series (with John Greg Ball) is part of the Canadian Museum of History’s permanent collection, and his work has been featured at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics and in publications such as Alberta Venture, Western Living, and Canadian Interiors. A long-time lecturer in the University of Alberta’s Department of Art and Design, he approaches design as empathetic problem-solving that transforms ideas into meaningful, enduring impact.
Jabari
Broodhagen
@brood.inks
Email: broodhagenjabari@gmail.com
Tele: 780-984-1905
Jabari Broodhagen is a Canadian-born visual artist of Jamaican and Barbadian heritage, based in Edmonton, Alberta. His work explores identity and representation through bold colors and a mix of acrylic, graphite, charcoal, and aerosol.
With a passion for visual storytelling, Jabari continues to evolve his art, immersing viewers in vivid depictions of Black Canadian history and culture
About
The 5A1L exhibit at the Art Gallery of Alberta is coming February 22 - March 30/2025! When it’s open, come down to see the pieces from this year’s 5 artists, and don’t forget to celebrate with us on January 27! If you’re interested in submitting to the 5A1L exhibit, check out “The Wall”, which is a section dedicated to community pieces. This year’s theme is "The Culture!”. To submit to The Wall, have a 12 inch x 12 inch piece ready by Jan 4/2024.
The Elephant In The Room