A new art exhibit at the Saskatchewan legislative building is celebrating immigrant women to Canada through both art and technology.
Mariana Brito immigrated to Canada from Mexico, and is one of the subjects painted in the exhibit. She says it was a difficult decision to leave her home country nearly a decade ago.
“I really knew that I needed to find a way to accomplish my dreams, perhaps not there but somewhere else,” Brito told CTV News at the exhibition’s official opening on International Women's Day.
The display, opened Friday at the Cumberland Gallery, is dedicated to immigrant women in Canada and showcases their struggles and triumphs.
Brito says the depiction of her shows a stressful time that lead to success.
“When I got to see the picture, it was a very emotional moment because it really reflects a lot of feelings I was going through,” Brito said.
The artist behind the exhibit, Madhu Kumar, is an immigrant herself and says she wants visitors to walk away with a view of the world from each woman’s perspective.
“I want the community to slow down and see they’re immigrant women, how to treat them, be in their shoes, just for a moment and see how difficult it is,” Kumar said.
Each painting also contains the story of the subject through an augmented reality app called “Artivive”. All it requires is opening the app on a smart device and pointing the camera at the painting to load a video of the subject.
“I wanted you to listen to their story through their own words,” Kumar said. “Augmented reality gave me the opportunity to not only listen to the story …but you can see them sitting there, so I think I’m very happy to put my augmented reality on it and now the show is complete for me.”
The exhibit will be on display at the Cumberland Gallery until May 9.
