Saskatoon artist Monique Martin’s Context is Everything series blossomed at The Ladies Room, with support from Creative Saskatchewan’s Market Travel grant.
The Ladies Room is a juried, pop-up gallery in San Francisco exhibiting the work of 18 women-identifying artists. Curated by Danielle Krysa, The Ladies Room gives women artists access to a market platform outside of the male-dominated art market. Here Monique connected with Topher Delaney, a San Franciscan artist and landscape architect, who purchased three pieces and enlisted Monique to work on a project with her design firm.
“If I had not had the support of Creative Saskatchewan I may not have attended. It was a huge risk financially to attend the event and I am a bit of a risk averse person when it comes to finances. I was able to let the financials take a less important role and focus on the art, which was vital to me being successful at the event.” explains Monique.
She engaged 200 guests and curators with work-in-progress demonstrations, normally not an option in a public gallery setting. This enabled the sales of over two dozen pieces during the event, with more being sold since returning home.
“In the past few years I have been looking at my work not only as used in public galleries but also as a commercial product, and this second event supported by Creative Saskatchewan funding has given me a great deal of confidence in my work in both venues.”
More images of Context is Everything are available on Monique’s website, moniqueart.com.