“My family were independent rule breakers, and they taught me to question authority- something odd for a girl growing up in the 1950s. I named myself as an artist in the 1960s but all around me I saw a deeply sexist, male-dominated art world. At this time, during the 60s and early 70s, art could not be psychologically vulnerable, personal, diaristic, fragile, tender, self-revealing, small, colourful, eccentric, or handmade. Yet- this was the art I wanted to make.”

Through soothing, poetic words laid over passing images of her unique and awe-inspiring art, Shawn tells us about her journey growing into the artist that she is today. Tune in to the YouTube premier of “eventually, I forgot the rules”, at 7:15 pm NL time. This will be followed by a Q&A session with Shawn on Zoom at 7:30, where we will share comments and questions about her practice.  

To receive links to the video premier and the Zoom meeting, please register your email below.

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Shawn O'Hagan was born in Toronto and moved to Newfoundland in 1975. She lives and works on the west coast of the island, dividing her time between her house in Corner Brook and her cabin in the Bay of Islands. She has a BFA from the University of Guelph, a B.Ed in Art from the University of Toronto and a MFA  from the University of Waterloo.  She has worked with many processes and materials and for the past 15 years has concentrated mostly on textiles. She has exhibited her work in solo and group shows, mostly in the Maritimes, and her work can be found in many collections including the Canada Council Art Bank.

[Visual accessibility: The image here contains clips of three photos of Shawn’s work, each of which is a colourful textile collage. There is a translucent pink banner laid over the images with text that reads: Shawn O’Hagan, “eventually, I forgot the rules”, September 17th, Premier on youtube at 7:15 pm NDT, Q&A with the artist on Zoom at 7:30 pm NDT]