Thank you Matthew Ryan Smith

 Great article by Matthew Ryan Smith on "This SeemsPersonal" which was held at the Confederation Centre of the Arts in lovely Charlottetown, PEI.

"Power disparities became more pronounced after the exhibition opened to the public, as Kenney’s rug-hookings seemed to foreshadow President Trump’s escalating threats of tariffs on Canada’s industries and natural resources. The now-prophetic rug Friends (2024), which features the submissive text “WE HAVE TO BE FRIENDS OTHERWISE YOU’LL BEAT US UP,” anticipated Trump’s bullying tactics toward his northern neighbour, the United States’ closest military ally and trading partner. Ironically, this “friend” is now instigating a future economic recession. And this says nothing of his warnings to annex Canada as the “fifty-first state” or to make Prime Minister Trudeau a “Governor”—both unprecedented threats against the sovereignty of a fellow G7 nation. In this new light, Kenney’s US-themed rugs have become a site of protest and an urgent rallying cry for collective resistance against American imperialism."

 

https://visualartsnews.ca/2025/07/this-seems-personal-autobiography-in-search-of-community/

 

 

Craft and Craftivsm

 I am feeling fortunate to have been included in this publication highlighting craft people across Canada. 

Abstract

Contemporary work in ceramics, fibres and glass is commanding unprecedented attention in the visual arts world. Many Canadian artists have gained recognition for their aesthetic proficiency, conceptual relevance, and skill-based expertise in provincial, national, and international public institutions using these materials. The visual arts community in Canada and elsewhere seeks information concerning the historical importance and significance to contemporary Canadian craft artists of these materials and skills. Craft and Craftivism, edited by Loren Lerner, Janice Anderson, Shannon Stride, and Karine Antaki, is a biographical dictionary of artists working in these media, created as a free e-publication to fill this need. The material is readily available for both pedagogical purposes and the general public’s use. It aims to encourage scholarly interest while acknowledging the artists’ contributions to Canadian visual arts, a path currently encouraged in many Canadian post-secondary art education institutions. -- Introduction.

https://spectrum.library.concordia.ca/id/eprint/995653/1/VOLUME%20TWO%20CRAFT%20%26%20CRAFTIVISM-FIBRES.2.pdf

Review of "Seems Personal " by Jon Claytor

 https://billiemag.ca/this-seems-personal/

 

"One of the first works I noticed was a folksy rug-hooked amalgamation of Canadian and American flags by Laura Kenney, with the words “We have to be friends otherwise you’ll beat me up,” spelled out in soft hues of green, teal, and navy blue fabric. Each day the show was up, these words became more poignant as the political situation with our southern neighbors teetered between surreal and absurdly terrifying. The work and the title seem to be shouting out that famous refrain of second-wave feminism and activism: “The personal is political.” It certainly makes the case that now, more than ever, this phrase is accurate and vital."

 

 

Canada vs USA

I was asked to say a few words about my piece "Friends".

https://confederationcentre.com/behind-the-art-talking-politics-with-laura-kenney/ 

A good way to start 2025

 I've always wanted to be in a exhibition that is included as a must-see show..and it happened!

Happy New Year!

https://www.aci-iac.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Newsletter-Winter-Exhibitions-2025_V5.pdf

Confederation Centre Art Gallery

If you happen to be in Charlottetown, PEI...I'm in a group show at the Confederation Centre Art Gallery. Dec 14-April 13

Curator: Brandt Eisner

Artists: Andrew Quon, Miya Turnbull, Curtis Botham, Laura Kenney, Shauna MacLeod, Lux Gow-Habrich, Monique Silver

 

https://confederationcentre.com/exhibition/this-seems-personal/

 

 

Fog Forest Gallery 40 years

A few years back Janet Crawford, owner of Fog Forest Gallery in lovely Sackville NB got in touch with me and asked if I would like to be an artist with her gallery. Heck yah, I answered.

Happy to be a part of this group show...40 years in the art business is something to celebrate.

To preview this new exhibition, "40 Years In The Forest" click here. 

NS FOLK ART FESTIVAL

 The festival was a hoot as it always is.

Sold a bunch.

Had cool conversations.

A good time.

xoxox

Judy is back home.

 

The “Judy” show is back home.

Thanks so much to Greg Davies Laurie Dalton Andrea Terry Olinda Casimiro and the gallery assistants at CBU Art Gallery, Acadia University Art Gallery StFX Art Gallery and Art Gallery of Northumberland.

Big thanks to owners of rugs for letting me borrow for two years.

And what’s next?

MAKE MORE JUDYS!

Xoxox

 

 

NS Folk Art by Ray Cronin

 I am pleased as punch to be one of the artists in included in this book. Like any art form things evolve and it was so interesting to me to see the three waves of artists..I understand my place better now.

So many folk artists I admire are here: Maud Lewis, Barry Colpitts and William Roach to name a few.

Order it!

https://nimbus.ca/store/nova-scotia-folk-art.html

Judy’s origins-Talk at Art Gallery of Northumberland..thank you Jennifer Wiber for filming and editing.

Video of Chat at Art Gallery of Northumberland.

 

Jennifer Wiber of Northumberland Rug Hookers was super sweet and took a video of the talk I gave at Art Gallery of Northumberland with Olinda Casimiro a couple of weeks ago.

 

I chat about Judy..of course...and Maud and Folk Art and read from an excerpt of the Vernacular Art article in the latest edition of Border Crossings Magazine

 

 

 

https://youtu.be/gARGHIxVQYw?feature=shared

Art Gallery of Northumberland

 Nice write up by Olinda Casimiro, Executive Director of AGN.

https://www.artgalleryofnorthumberland.ca/exhibition/laura-kenney-judy/

 

“Subversive Judy” emerges as more than just a character in Laura Kenney’s artistic repertoire; she embodies a rebellion against societal norms and expectations. For over five years, Kenney has woven the tale of Judy, a figure both fantastical and deeply relatable, into her art. Judy is not merely a whimsical creation; she serves as a conduit for Kenney’s voice and a mirror reflecting the desires and frustrations of individuals navigating the constraints of social order.

Dressed in black with vibrant red boots, Judy epitomizes freedom, eschewing traditional domestic duties for moments of carefree abandon. Kenney’s personal connection to Judy is palpable, rooted in memories of her mother’s disdain for ironing, a chore dreaded by many. Through Judy, Kenney explores themes of domesticity, gender roles, labour, and liberation, challenging conventional narratives surrounding female identity.

Kenney’s choice of medium, fiber art, adds layers of significance to her exploration. By utilizing materials traditionally associated with women’s domestic labour, such as cloth, wool, and thread, Kenney pays homage to those who have historically been relegated to the margins of art history. In doing so, she aligns herself with a lineage of artists who have transformed fiber art from a dismissed craft into a powerful tool of resistance.

Through Judy, Kenney breathes life into this subversive spirit, reclaiming the art of fiber work as a means of empowerment and expression in the contemporary landscape.

Olinda Casimiro
Executive Director