About ThaBloc

ThaBLOC is a newly created collective. This is their first project together and introduction to the community. Artists will be exhibiting works as well as creating new work during open studio time.  The collective is excited to receive inspiration through engagement with the community.

Featuring a month of open studios, events, and artist talks.

Creativity, community building, collaboration, change! These… resonate greatly with me. And this gets even more beautiful when we can do this together as a people. I hope my city, Calgary, continues to grow in it’s diversity, appreciate our differences and embrace each other’s vulnerability. I strongly believe the arts are the driver for this. – Samuel Obadero

Above left to right: Samuel Obadero, Winner Brave, Santosh Kumar Korthiwada. Far left, Samuel Obadero.

ThaBloc

Patty Peixoto is a visual artist with an excellent background in storytelling. Meeting Patty was divine as Patty reflects everything that I believe in as an artist. I met Patty through the ICAI and I was her mentor for a year. Patty has been looking to find her voice in the arts scene in the city of Calgary and it has been a struggle for Patty. As a collective our main objective is to create platforms for artists like Patty to find their voices, explore their art form, and tell the.  ir stories. Patty fits perfectly into our vision and our objective. Patty moved to Calgary with her family about 5 years ago, and since then she has been collecting and sharing stories she came with from her home, Brazil. The exhibition for the month of february is a chance for Patty to continue exploring her art form and to continue to share her story through the space provided by CSpace.

Winner Brave Do not let the looks deceive you, Winner is as crazy as they come. Winner is a visual artist and a very strong storyteller also. Winner is a student of the arts currently studying photography at the Alberta University of the Arts. Winner fits perfectly into our objective as she continues to learn her art form, experience herself, and tell her stories through her art. Winner is unique to the collective as she lives with a condition called albinism meaning Winner has no melanin on her skin and in her eyes. It is intriguing and interesting to see Winner do her work and create art, because her eyes do not see like most of us do. Winner does not see this as an inhibition but she strongly strives to create compelling work and to tell compelling stories through her visual art form. Winner is also a comedian and a professional dancer and it’s the collectives’ pleasure to continue to see Winner shine through her diverse art forms.

Santosh Kumar Korthiwada Is a visual artist whose life journey I got to know about through ICIA and Patty. Santosh, an immigrant to Calgary from India, has completed multiple art projects internationally and is looking to make Calgary home for himself and his art.  Speaking to and meeting Santosh for the first time was a tearful moment as Santosh expressed his journey to find his voice and find a home for his art form. I remember Santosh saying when we met that he had promised himself that this will be the last time he will ever try again to reach out for help on any platform to share his story. This for me typifies the exact vision and objective of the collective. Since meeting Santosh and discussing our exhibition, there is nothing like seeing the burning passion in Santosh’s eyes as he looks forward to the month of February 2023 where we get to have our first exhibition together as a collective. As a human being, Santosh is just a joy to connect with.

Maysoon Hisma  is the latest member of The Bloc family, we met Maysoon a few weeks ago which was yet another tearful moment as she shared her story, journey and struggles in finding her way and voice in the art community in the city of Calgary. Maysoon is a visual artist with an incredible collection of work and so far has been sharing it through social media. Getting the chance to exhibit and continue to share her work on her story through the platform of The Bloc is a blessing for the collective and the city as we strongly believe that her story and voice has a home in Calgary. Maysoon is an immigrant from Syria and her story is as compelling as every other artist in the collective.

Sam is a visual storyteller and a multidisciplinary artist who also immigrated to Canada and is living in Calgary. And has also been exploring diverse ways as a person, a community member and a leader to continue to share his story and stories of others.

All of us are broken people looking for ways to continue to explore our art form, to learn our art discipline, and to share stories about ourselves and that of others. As a collective, exhibiting in the month of february through the platform provided by CSpace is a huge benefit for our art education and our assimilation into the city and the country. And we want to continue to welcome artists whom are looking for their voices, whom are looking to amplify their voices, and to share their stories

We are raising an army of broken but beautiful souls. This is our first, but there will be many to come!
We are grateful to you as you have allowed for our birthing. Our story can never be told without you! 

Artist Talks featuring:

• Cody Baxter
• Ken Lima-Coelho
• George Webber (Pending)
• Malcolm Nair ( Mirror Talk -soul healing)
• Khatereh Ramouzi ( Art-Preneur )

Dance

Presentation 25th

STORIES.
WHY?

The Soul of existence is passed on in Stories.

Title: Community for all. 

Ken will be sharing stories about what community means as a Calgarian, how it affects all of us and some of his many personal community connecting moments with us. We hope that this will help Studio residents and all guests alike to begin to find their own connecting point and feel more at home here as artists.

Ken Lima-Coelho: President & Chief Executive Officer, Big Brothers Big Sisters Calgary and Area.

Title: Alone Together; A pandemic photo essay.

Leah will be sharing stories about her Covid existence as she told it in her award winning essay as we the Residents and community will get to engage with her work, explore her why and learn more about one of the darkest times in our home, Calgary.

Leah Hennel: Award winning photojournalist.

Title: Is Visual Arts Dying? Technology and  Racial Bias.

Cody Baxter will help us explore the interesting situation visual artists find themselves in these days with the interruption of AI in arts. We will also explore Racial Bias as it is perpetuated by Tech in the arts.

See the events calendar page for details on all events.

Title: Questions From Home.

Tala Abuhayyeh performs her thoughts as a Poem.

Title: Soul Session

Malcolm Nair