Territories of Dreams, produced by the Conversation Collective, is a temporary and participatory art installation rooted in nature. Artists Patricia Lortie and Sabine Lecorre-Moore selected a crocheted tapestry made by a group of retirees in Calgary to tie together the dreams of Alberta’s Francophone, Indigenous and Anglophone communities.

Traveling from the north to the south of the province, they visited five schools where they gave fabric writing workshops, during which they collected the dreams of the students, as well as artistic workshops inspired by the works of Jean Paul Riopelle. In response to the Riopelle Foundation’s call to “go towards nature”, the members of the collective installed the completed tapestry on a structure made from tree trunks.

The work will be exhibited throughout the summer in the sculpture park at Calgary’s Kiyooka Ohe Arts Centre (KOAC), a public space that combines art and nature. In this enchanting setting, the Conversation Collective and the KOAC invite Albertans to complete the Territories of Dreams installation by adding their own dreams to it.

Information:

• The Conversation Collectivehas held 16 artistic workshops.
• More than 1,000 dreams were collected during the month of April.
• Conversation Collective members travelled 4,000 km by car and plane.
• Conversation Collective members have worked more than 500 hours since early January.
• Conversation Collective members have gathered hundreds of photographs, videos and time lapses.
• To date, 25 volunteers have helped carry out the project by donating their time to do crocheting, attach crocheted pieces, prepare ribbons for visitors to the Centre, and perform administrative and other tasks.
• The crocheted tapestry artwork is circular in shape, measuring 7 metres in diameter and 22 metres in length.

Important dates in 2023 📅

• April 4 → School visit #1: West Island College, Calgary + Launching ceremony with the participation of a First Nations Elder
• April 5 → School visit #2: La Source, Calgary – School visit #3: Kawape’no, Slave Lake
• April 6 → School visit #4: La Vérendrye, Lethbridge – School visit #5: Boréale, Fort McMurray
• May 17-18 → Fabrication of the installation/sculpture
• June 17 → Launch Celebration at KOAC – Ceremony with a First Nations Elder – Visitors add their dreams – Open to all 
• Until September 30 → Exhibition at KOAC