ICAI Exhibitions & Performances

In collaboration with local arts and community organizations, ICAI hosts multiple exhibitions and performances. These events serve as platforms for immigrant  and newcomer arts professionals to showcase their artwork, foster connections within a new community, and captivate fresh audiences. Such initiatives empower immigrant and newcomer arts professionals, enabling them to establish enduring ties within Alberta's vibrant arts landscape. 

The realization of these exhibitions and performances owes much to the invaluable support of our partners and the local arts community in Alberta. Through the facilitation of equitable and accessible showcases, ICAI cultivates an environment where arts professionals can not only express their talent but also refine their skills. This collective effort enriches the diversity and vitality of both the arts scene and the broader cultural fabric of Alberta.

Current & Upcoming
ICAI Exhibitions

Past ICAI Exhibitions

I Speak Art III

  • Exhibition Duration
    January 22 - May 5, 2024

    Exhibition Reception
    Thursday May 2, 2024

    Location
    +15 Galleries, Arts Commons

  • The Immigrant Council for Arts Innovation (ICAI) is proud to introduce seven visual artists that are newcomers to both the arts community and Canada. This exhibition features the artists and members of The Immigrant Council for Arts Innovation (ICAI) from all over the world, and share their perspectives as immigrants and their self expressions as artists in this powerful new exhibition.

    Exhibiting Artists: Liss Febrero, Alex Hurman, Bijila Nishanth, Yiyo Partida, Mitra Samavaki, Saloni Sharma, Sara Sibrián

Hope and Love for Humanity

  • Exhibition Duration
    April 6-31, 2024

    Exhibition Opening
    April 6, 2024, 3-5pm (Doors at 2:30pm)

    Location
    Calgary Central Library, Level 0

  • Fadi Alkhouri is a seasoned artist with over three decades of experience in Fine Arts. As a member of the Syrian Plastic Artists Union, his contributions to the world of art are both profound and prolific. With a portfolio boasting over 400 artworks, including sculptures and paintings, Fadi's creative journey has been nothing short of remarkable. From Syria to Lebanon, his works have captivated audiences and garnered awards, with many sculptures now gracing public spaces in Syria. Fadi's artistry, now rooted in Calgary, Alberta, continues to evolve, drawing inspiration from the intricate relationship between humanity and the natural world.

Dream

  • Exhibition Duration
    April 1-30, 2023

    Location
    Calgary Central Library, Level 0

  • Sahar Hakimi is a visual artist with a remarkable proficiency and powerful intuitive approach to creativity, utilizing the female form and routine life. Sahar was one of the mentees in the first cohort of the Immigrant Arts Mentorship Program in Calgary, and was mentored by Mark Vasquez.

    She originates from Tehran, Iran and currently resides in Calgary, Alberta. Her artworks are inspired by the femininity of women through emotional combination of realism and surrealism. She achieves a myriad of palpable textures and moods with every confident brush stroke. By using various different tonality of greyish colours as well as intense, vibrant colours and noticeable brushstroke, she is attempting to illustrate her emotions such as anger, loss, grief and fear.

Natural Beauty of Alberta

  • Exhibition Duration
    October 5-31, 2023

    Exhibition Opening
    October 5, 2023, 6:30pm

    Location
    Calgary Central Library, Level 0

  • Zahra Entezari is a painter, photographer, and art instructor based in Calgary, originally from Shiraz, Iran. She moved to Calgary, Canada in 2018. Zahra is also an alumna of ICAI’s first Immigrant Arts Mentorship Program, further showcasing her dedication to the arts community!

    With a wealth of over 25 years of experience, Zahra has worked with various mediums, and oil and pastel are her favourites. The focal point of much of her artworks revolve around landscape. Nature profoundly influences her and remains a constant source of inspiration. Within her creations, light and color are playing essential roles in shaping her artistic expression.

    Zahra’s art works were exhibited across Iran in many provincial and national exhibitions. Presently, she is building her audience in Calgary, Alberta. Notably, some of her artworks were displayed at ‘Arts Commons’, Calgary in 2022, and at ‘Three Sister Gallery’, Canmore in 2023. Zahra received the prestigious ‘Immigrant Distinction Award’ in the realm of ‘Art & Culture’ in Calgary, Canada, in the year 2022.

I Speak Art II

  • Exhibition Duration
    February 4 - May 14 2023

    Location
    Arts Commons

  • The I SPEAK ART II exhibition was awarded to graduates of the IAMP Cohort 2, Diane Din Ebongue, Hanieh Jalali, Hesam Ohadi, Kyung Eun Heo, Lia Pereira, Margarita Rebetskaya, Patricia Peixoto, Wahed Al Khatib Obeid, Yu Chen and  Zarifa Rajha. Ten newcomer artists in Calgary were connected with local established arts professionals for mentorship. This exhibition featured ten very different stories and journeys, showcasing the perspectives and self-expression of ten artists from all over the world as immigrants.

Bodhi, Passion & Sunlight

  • Exhibition Duration
    August 3-31, 2023

    Exhibition Opening
    August 3, 2023, 6:30pm

    Location
    Calgary Central Library, Level 1

  • Petra Schovánková was born in the Czech Republic into a family of teachers. Her path led first to the faculty of education, where she received a bachelor's degree. But she fell in love with acting much sooner. Petra graduated as an actress at JAMU - Janacek Academy of Music and Performing Arts in Brno.

    Sara Sibrian, BFA, is based in Calgary and is from the city of San Salvador, El Salvador. Sibrian likes to portray the contrast and vitality that characterises her tropical culture - daring, direct and friendly. Sara confronts her vision of adversity and finds ways to represent it through the art.

    Bijila Puliyathadathil is a self taught visual artist and fashion designer from Kerala, India. She expresses her attachment and admiration for age-old Indian culture, traditions and Indian classical arts and performances through her paintings, mixed media art and crafts. It is her way of sharing about her native, childhood and stories she excitedly listened to from her beloved granny.

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