Bunkhouse Studios
Bunkhouse Studios
The Bunkhouse Studios is an artist-in-residence program sponsored by the City of Saskatoon. Through the generosity and vision of the Saskatoon Forestry Farm Park & Zoo staff, the historic Bunkhouse was renovated and reimagined as artist studio space. This furthers one of the key directions of the City’s Culture Plan Refresh to Foster Creative Placemaking by providing a platform for a Saskatoon civic facility to host artists and engage the community through public art projects.
PROGRAM GOALS:
• to provide opportunities for artistic expression in a civic facility
• to provide opportunities for artists to connect and learn from each other
• to inspire artists through the nature, animals, and people at the SFFP&Z and connect the SFFP&Z to a larger community
Learn about the artists taking part in the January 15, 2024 to March 31, 2025 residency:
Alexa Hainsworth has a Masters of Fine Arts from the University of Saskatchewan. She produces fiber sculpture and installation environments that offer unique experiences and surprises. Hainsworth enjoys playing with materials, finding ways to manipulate and stretch them to behave in new and unexpected ways. Her works have animated qualities that give the sensation that they are living creatures. She has shown her works in Nuit Blanche Toronto and in Saskatoon. She has won multiple prizes in the Saskatoon Wearable Art Gala for the Jack Millikin Center. She has also shown work at the Anna Leonowen's Gallery in Nova Scotia, the Mendel Art Gallery and participated in numerous residencies locally and abroad. Alexa Hainsworth works for the Saskatchewan Craft Council. She is a member of Bridges Art Movement and in a board member of AKA Artist Run Centre.
Kevin Wesaquate Kevin is also remotely working from his home studio as a ‘Virtual Artist Teacher’ for Northern communities for the Taking IT Global, Connected North Program. And previously worked as a Multi-Disciplinary Arts Leader for SCYAP Kevin is the founder of the Indigenous Poetry Society. Kevin has represented Saskatoon at the Canadian Individual Slam in Vancouver. He also participated for the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word (CFSW). He is from Piapot First Nation where he learned the value of a community. Sahkihitok (love one another) Kevin ‘POETIK’ Wesaquate
Qiming “Sezava” Sun(he/him) is a queer Canadian visual artist and a practicing witch based in Saskatoon on Treaty 6 territory. He specializes in oil paintings and sculptural works inspired by nature, symbolism, and animalistic paganism. Other areas of his artistic practice include land art installation, drawing, printmaking, jewelry making, and, most recently, performance art in a shamanistic ceremonial context. Sun received his MFA and High Honours BFA from the University of Saskatchewan. His works have been widely exhibited, many of which are included in the permanent collection of several Canadian institutions and galleries. Sun uses Visual art as his vehicle for navigating his spirituality and the intimate connection between humans and nature as a practicing witch. He also uses visual language to explore his heritage. As a proud member of the 2SLGBTQ+ community, Sun strives to represent the marginalized and underrepresented and tell those untold stories through his artistry.
Tetiana Hrytsenko As a Ukrainian artist who immigrated to Canada 16 years ago, my creative journey is a diverse tapestry of experiences. Graduating from art school, I initially ventured into design in Ukraine, fostering a penchant for unconventional creativity. The demands of raising four children and managing a full-time job temporarily shelved my artistic ambitions. However, in 2015, I rekindled my passion for painting, offering private lessons alongside my own artistic exploration. Exhibiting in Canada, the USA, and Ukraine, my works showcase a dynamic fusion of landscapes, abstraction, and beyond. Notably, I participated in the 2016 Snow Sculpture Festival in Banff, marking a distinctive chapter in my artistic narrative. While versed in various mediums like oil, acrylic, and epoxy, my current focus lies in the fluidity of watercolor, adding vibrancy to my evolving artistic vision. In essence, my journey is a continual exploration, an ever-changing celebration of creativity's boundless possibilities.
Tyler McCaig Born and raised in Saskatchewan, Tyler McCaig draws inspiration from his extensive travels across Canada. His artistic journey is deeply woven into the fabric of the diverse landscapes and culture he has encountered. Specializing in analog and digital photography, he crafts captivating still and moving images that reflect the essence of his experiences. Beyond photography, he showcases his creative versatility through clothing and accessory design, collages, poetry, and music composition. In his rare moments of leisure, Tyler spends time with his rescue dog, Halo, while indulging in crafting art with resin, wax, and producing plant-based soaps and candles.
Xiao Han is a Saskatoon-based artist and curator originally from Wuhan, China. Her creative practice focuses on narrative photography, visualizing emotion, affect sense, and community-based art practice. Han's research explores diaspora identity, contemporary gender issues, and decolonial practice. She has produced numerous projects investigating the Chinese one-child policy, Chinese Canadian immigrants' identity, and the aesthetics of community relationships through visual art and curatorial practice.
Watch this short video by 2022-23 Bunkhouse artist Kei Tanaka for a look at a day in her life at the studio:
Artists in Place: The Bunkhouse Project 2019 - 2023
Artists in Place: The Bunkhouse Project began in the spring of 2019 and ran until the fall of 2023. The initial pilot for this program was made possible with a grant from SK Art’s Artists in Communities program.
Read more about the artists and activities at the Bunkhouse during those first five years of the program:
Artists In Place: The Bunkhouse Project 2019 - 2023
About the Bunkhouse
Located on Treaty Six Territory and the traditional homeland of the Métis, the Sutherland Forest Nursery Station opened in 1913 as a tree nursery station and model farm with landscaped grounds, a Superintendent’s residence, operational buildings, propagation fields, trial shelterbelts, and experimental plots. The Bunkhouse was built in 1916 and used as a residence for workers. The nursery closed in 1965 and a portion of the site was reopened as the Forestry Farm Park by the City of Saskatoon in 1966. The Zoo opened in 1972. Since that time, the Bunkhouse has been used as administrative offices, a veterinarian office, and more recently a storage facility. In 1990, the Saskatoon Forestry Farm Park & Zoo was designated a national historic site in recognition of its role as a Forest Nursery Station.