The Mann Art Gallery opens their summer exhibitions tonight. (Facebook/Mann Art Gallery)

By Rob Mahon

Mann Gallery Summer

COVID-inspired art leads off first post-pandemic summer at Mann Art Gallery

Jun 22, 2023 | 3:00 PM

Summer has officially begun and that means the opening of new exhibits at the Mann Art Gallery. There’s some renewed optimism for this season of exhibitions as well.

Beginning Thursday night with an opening reception, the gallery will start its summer season with three exhibits. The artists behind all three will be present for the reception.

“This is going to be a really good opening and I’m really excited about these shows that we have,” said Marcus Miller, Director and Curator of the Mann Art Gallery. “We have three terrific shows. Charley Ferraro, who is a legend here in Saskatchewan as a ceramic artist, and he’s going to be in attendance.”

Since 2020 when COVID-19 first hit Saskatchewan, there have been restrictions of one kind or another on the art gallery that are now no longer in place. That has Miller feeling optimistic about the season ahead.

“Things are slowly returning to normal for us and I hope for most other organizations,” said Miller. “COVID affected everybody terribly, but the art galleries and performing artists really had it very hard. So things are returning to normal and we’re so grateful for that. Everyone when they come to our events is so grateful to be normal and congregating again.”

Made in Saskatchewan

Find My Plus One: The Canadian App for Getting Out and Living Your Best Life

Mar 09, 2026

Riderville

Ask Not for Whom the Ed Hervey Tampering Window Opens!

Feb 02, 2026

Seniors Scene

New Year - New Habits

Feb 02, 2026

Perhaps fitting for the first summer without COVID looming over everything, one of the exhibits features the experience of the pandemic very prominently. Journal of the Plague Years (2020-2023) is the work of Saskatoon artists Dawna Rose and Betsy Rosenwald and chronicles their viewpoint on the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It’s all related to COVID and their responses to COVID,” said Miller. “They collaborated every day for the past three years and they’ve got hundreds, probably thousands of paintings they’ve done on recycled cardboard as responses to news and events of the day and the crazy things that happened over COVID.”

Miller added they see an increase in traffic during the summer in general. While school groups don’t come through anymore, they do get more tourists and families.

“We get a lot of traffic from people who are going up north to cottages or to camp,” said Miller. “They invariably stop at the Mann Art Gallery on their way up north.”

The third exhibit at the opening, which begins at 7:00 p.m. Thursday, came from two summer interns who curated an exhibit on Prince Albert. They painted a map of Prince Albert, with paintings following along the river of geographic locations within the city.

—-

rob.mahon@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @RobMahonPxP