Home

Home emerged through a spectrum of techniques and artistic styles in this exhibition. Yet, with over 500 artworks from 223 artists across Canada, a distinct picture of Home was revealed: cherished relationships and the memories we carry within us. This exhibition illustrates this narrative in 91 of the strongest juried artworks in both the Representational and Contemporary categories.

Highlights include Neltje Green’s and Bonnie Sheckter’s entries. In Neltje Green’s Each Time I Remember (1st Awards of Distinction-Contemporary), there are no people, only seemingly empty spaces. Neltje Green explains this omission, “My work explores architectural space as a form of portraiture… a meditation on the idea that our homes can become extensions of ourselves, carrying our histories long after we have left them.” Juror Victoria Pearce emphasises this scene’s effect on the viewer, “I was struck by the strong composition of this piece that drew you into a more intimate space . The use of simple strong shapes, angles and colours against a more muted and detailed interior was intriguing and brought me in for a closer look.”

Bonnie Sheckter’s Songs From My Homeland (1st Awards of Distinction-Representational ) does not feature architecture at all but a single musician and his memories. She describes the scene, “…with his heartfelt expression, I could well imagine him thinking of playing songs back in Italy with his accordion that had been handed down through generations. I ‘restored’ his battered accordion in my drawing, and placed an ocean behind him, to enhance the idea of him traveling back in his memories, to another time, another home.”

Further, Juror Emily Copeland says of Songs From My Homeland, “This work stood out for the way it explored the idea of home as something carried within memory rather than tied to a physical place. The subject’s quiet expression, paired with the restored accordion and the ocean backdrop, created a moving visual narrative of heritage, longing, and belonging. Beyond its strong technical execution, the piece invited viewers to imagine the stories behind the musician, making the theme feel both deeply personal and universally relatable.”

Joycelyn Bellemare’s Echoes of Memory (2nd Award of Distinction-Contemporary) represents one’s transformation when meaningful connections meet memories. And, through MAX and His Best Friends, Wanning Liao (2nd Award of Distinction-Representational), gently guides us into the introspective world of her young subject with elegance and grace.

Also, raw, earthy materials featured prominently in this exhibition, as conduits of connection and objects of memory. Cloth fibres, wood, seashells and stone were harnessed to tell their maker’s story. The rise in the number of submissions with these materials, gives pause. For some, it is the grounding they bring in a break-neck pace world. For others, it is the quiet assuredness inherent in them that harken back to nature, our first home.

When the SCA and United Steelworkers Union gathered almost 70 years ago, it was to forge connections that would become the bedrock for artists in Canada to thrive. The memory of our organization’s rich past and our vital partnerships today strengthen our resolve to build and grow the SCA, as this is our Home. From this 58th Juried Exhibition, we look ahead to CELEBRATE 70 years of accomplishments through our artists and their spectacular creations.