where I’m from from is an exhibition and residency that centres around Alanna Irene Edwards’ exploration of central ideas and questions in her practice, including what home means having been raised on the West Coast, her experiences in Indigenous arts education, and the access to generational and cultural knowledge. 

Throughout June and July, Alanna will be adding to and growing works in the Deer Lake Gallery and invites visitors to contribute to specific collaborative pieces. 

Central to where I’m from from includes an installation created with her father Clayton, composed of hand-formed clay beads on sinew strung throughout the Gallery. The piece is inspired by her grandmother Irene’s last remaining beadworks.

About the artist

Alanna Irene Edwards is an artist, curator, and educator of Mi’gmaq (Listuguj) and settler descent currently occupying unceded Coast Salish territory home to the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, and səlilwətaɁɬ nations. Through the use of humor, she explores themes of belonging, authenticity, and the everyday. She’s interested in what makes us laugh, why, and how humor is used as a tool for resistance. Much of her work responds to how Indigenous people are looked at and consumed through pop culture, politics, and art.

Alanna has a BA in Political Science and Women’s Studies from SFU, a diploma in Fine Arts from Langara College, and a BFA with distinction from KPU. She currently works in education at Surrey Art Gallery.