Elliptical Lineages Exhibition Opens at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity's Walter Phillips Gallery
By
Banff Centre Communications
Posted on
June 16, 2025
Hali Heavy Shield, Naaahsa is an Artist!, 2023, revised 2025. Digital image. Courtesy of the artist.
A multigenerational exploration of kinship and artistic exchange, Elliptical Lineages will run from June 7 to September 7, 2025.
BANFF, AB, June 13, 2025 – Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity is proud to announce the opening of Elliptical Lineages, a new group exhibition curated by Jacqueline Bell, Director, Walter Phillips Gallery and Collections at Banff Centre. Elliptical Lineages is on view from June 7 to September 7, 2025, with a public reception on Friday, June 27, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Featuring works by Hangama Amiri, Badrin x Blackburn, seth cardinal dodginghorse, Letitia Fraser, John de Haan and Jason de Haan, Hali Heavy Shield, Norma Houle, Sarah Houle, Frank McKeough, Rita McKeough, Aaron McIntosh, Anne Ngan, Gailan Ngan, Wayne Ngan, Jamie Ross and David Ross, Kirsten Ryder, and tīná gúyáńí, Elliptical Lineages presents the work of artists that engage the creative practices of a family member or those whom they consider kin. A compelling investigation into conventional ideas of artistic lineage, the exhibition embraces the complexity of creative exchange and transmission of knowledge between generations as well as among chosen family.
“Elliptical Lineages features works that reflect the ways in which artists honour the creative practices of family members of those whom they consider kin, that are the result of direct collaboration between different generations, or where the individual work of kin is shared alongside one another. There is an emotional weight to Elliptical Lineages that is indicative of the connections to family, kinship, or creative lineage present in many of the exhibited works. Relationships – be it to land or place, heritage, cultural traditions, or to one another, are often foregrounded, contributing to a depth of meaning in the works both for many of the artists and for those experiencing Elliptical Lineages as visitors.”
Curator Jacqueline Bell, Director, Walter Phillips Gallery and Collections at Banff Centre
The exhibition spans an extensive range of media. A number of works reference craft traditions, with artists employing forms of making with a history in their families such as crochet or quilt-making that are transposed into new form. Beading as an art form and cultural practice taught from one generation to another as well as across lines of kinship is also central to the exhibition. Other works are reflective of creative means of living and making within the context of daily life, and are produced using found objects, or through processes such as recycling fabric from worn clothing into functional quilts. Garment-making is variously the subject or form of works that use textiles, beadwork or embroidery. Works in animation, video, sound, ceramics, painting, and sculpture are presented alongside performing objects and a children’s book reimagined as a mural.
Elliptical Lineages invites viewers to consider relationships between kinship, creative practice, and its exchange.
Elliptical Lineages
Walter Phillips Gallery at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity
107 Tunnel Mtn Drive, Banff
June 7 to September 7, 2025
FREE
Hours: Wednesday to Sunday, 12:30 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Join us for two upcoming events celebrating Elliptical Lineages:
Public Reception
Walter Phillips Gallery at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity
June 27, 2025, 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Public Reception followed by performance at CLVB ’33 by Ghostkeeper at 9 p.m.
Artist Discussion
Max Bell Auditorium at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity
June 28, 2025, 3 p.m.
Elliptical Lineages is made possible through the generous support of the Canada Council for the Arts, Alberta Foundation for the Arts, Government of Canada and Government of Alberta.
To find out more about Walter Phillips Gallery exhibitions and events, please visit banffcentre.ca/walter-phillips-gallery. For more information on Banff Centre’s Visual Arts training and development opportunities, visit banffcentre.ca/visual-arts.
Interviews are available with:
- Jacqueline Bell - Director, Walter Phillips Gallery and Collections at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity
- Josephine Ridge - Executive Director, Arts at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity
- Interviews with artists may be available upon request
For photos, information or interview requests, please contact:
Carly Maga
Director, Communications
Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity
tel: +1.403.763.6210
cell: +1.403.431.3423
carly_maga@banffcentre.ca
About Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity
Founded in 1933, Banff Centre is a post-secondary institution built upon an extraordinary legacy of excellence in artistic and leadership development. What started as a single course in drama has grown to become a global organization leading in arts, culture, and creative decision-making across dozens of disciplines, from the fine arts to Indigenous Wise Practices. From our home in the stunning Canadian Rocky Mountains, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity aims to move everyone who attends our campus - artists, leaders, thinkers, and audiences - to unleash their creative potential and realize their unique contribution to build an innovative, inspiring future through education, performances, convenings, and public outreach. banffcentre.ca
About Walter Phillips Gallery
Walter Phillips Gallery is exclusively committed to the production, presentation, collection and analysis of contemporary art and curatorial practice. For contemporary artists, particularly those engaged in alternative forms of practice, Walter Phillips Gallery remains an essential and principal site where art is presented to an audience for critical reception. banffcentre.ca/walter-phillips-gallery