The General Store is a visual arts project surveying the commodification of the natural world within outdoor recreation and tourism culture. The collaborative installation features playful reproductions of commodities that have become staples in tourist gift shops nationwide. From souvenir postcards to collectible keychains, magnets, and mugs, visitors will find themselves in a playful world of Canadiana. Through their work, the duo seeks to deconstruct cultural trends inspired by nature by exploring wilderness aesthetics and encouraging dialogue within outdoor communities and tourism economies.

We are very pleased to welcome Nahanni Mckay and Ben Evely and their exhibit The General Store

September 13- October 12, 2024

Artist Opening Reception September 13, 5:00 – 7:00 pm. Conversation and Q & A with Artist. 

Project Description:

Nahanni is a Metis-Cree artist and photographer based in Treaty 7 Territory. Born and raised in the Banff, her creative practice has focused on National Parks in Canada and the human impact on surrounding natural environments as well as the decolonization of land. She uses her art practice to bring awareness of the need to coexist with wildlife to prevent further harm to the land we reside on.

Ben Evely is a visual artist from Banff, Alberta, on Treaty 7 Territory. He primarily works with painting, collage and drawing. He often works collaboratively and on projects in public spaces.
Ben’s process often begins with collage, making digital compositions prior to physical work. Observing the transformations and distortions that happen while merging analog and digital mediums. A common thread in his work is the interplay of organic and synthetic, and human experiences within nature.

Ben currently lives and works on the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh Nations, otherwise known as Vancouver, Canada.