Dawn Marchand is the force behind the just-opened Blue Horse Gallery in Smoky Lake. She provides Maker Space at no cost for Indigenous visual artists to sell their work on consignment and, being that this small-town location has the advantage of low overhead, she’s able to do so while taking a much smaller commission than the industry norm.
In concluding an interesting Twitter thread about her story, the gallery, and its philosophy, she writes: “Within 30 minutes of Smoky Lake, there are 3 First Nations and 1 Metis Settlement. Within one hour; 5 First Nations and 2 Metis Settlements. Within 2 hours 9 First Nations and 3 Metis Settlements…and no place for them to see the excellence of current Indigenous Artists…no safe place to launch their exhibits.”
CKUA’s Alexis Reid brought us a story about Smoky Lake’s Blue Horse Gallery and this remarkable community initiative on Traffic Jams on Thursday, July 22, 2021.
