Emerging artists being showcased at Omineca Arts Centre

Jonuk explained they were drawn to music specifically because of the physical nature of it, as they say it helps release their energy and is a great way to express yourself.

“I love to sing and be physical. I’m neurodivergent so I need to stim and do lots of stuff, get the energy out of my body. So I like to sing, after I’d get off the school bus every day, I would walk off home singing and just continue,” they said.

Beyond the personal nature of Jonuk’s work, they added connecting with the community is also a big reason why they continue to pursue music.

“I hope that people can feel heard through my music because it is very relatable. I write songs about mental issues and the struggles with that, and I’ve had many people listen and tell me thank you, and they really appreciate it because a lot of people don’t talk about the the dirty, gross stuff in our brain and how hard it is. So I just want everyone to know they’re not alone,” they said.

Another artist being featured is Jude Mills, and she says it’s great to be featured in an exhibit like this to showcase the local emerging talent.

“This is the first time I’ve done anything like this. I am super, super excited about it, and I’m so happy to have this opportunity, and I want to continue to do stuff like this,” Mills said.

Mills’s work features bright, contrasting colours, as she says pop art is a big inspiration for her. In several of her pieces a common character of “The Spaceman” is featured, as Mills explained this is a recurring character that serves as both an inspiration and staple of her style.

“It’s something that I use to sort of mark my progress as an artist. As I continue on in the years, I get to see how he changes, how my style changes, how I can paint the same subject matter, but it continually looks totally different every year,” Mills said.

The Spaceman character on the right is a common figure found in Mills’s work

“As sort of like a self-insert character, it is almost like … a lot of artists will do self-portraits every year or something like that. So it’s like that, but more in like a kooky psychedelic vein with like, an alien self insert,” she continued.

Similar to Jonuk, Mills also said art to her has been an incredible form of self-expression and offered her a different way to connect with the community around her.

“It was just something that I used to pass the time when I was younger. And then it turned into something way more important, like self-expression. Something that I can’t really live without,” Mills said.

Mills added she hopes her art inspires people and that the audience enjoys her aesthetic, and says she hopes people simply enjoy art for arts sake.

“It’s definitely a strange style in comparison to some of the other pieces that are here, and just to show art can be anything. Art can be in weird little chains and like aliens and stuff like that. It doesn’t have to be like hyper realism or whatever.”

You can visit the Omineca Arts Centre this month to view many of the pieces, and the official reception wil take place on July 19 from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.

Local news. Delivered. Free. Subscribe to our daily news wrap and get our top local stories delivered to your inbox every evening.

by Tommy Osborne

Emerging artists being showcased at Omineca Arts Centre

What's Trending