The Stories of Immigrant Women by artist Madhu Kumar is on now at the Humboldt and District Gallery. It’s a combination of large-scale paintings with text, audio, and augmented reality. The subjects run the gamut of women from across the social and economic spectrum and from around the world. The travelling show, supported by the Organization of Saskatchewan Arts Councils, will be at the Gallery until April 23. 

Director of the Gallery Jennifer Fitzpatrick talks about Madhu’s expressed intent for the show.

“She says that it’s her intention to promote a dialogue about being new in Canada through her paintings. She wants people, as you leave the room, to carry each woman’s story out into the world. There are nine very large pieces in the space, and they really do draw you in.” 

Madhu Kumar came to Canada from India, and she currently lives in Regina where many of the subjects of her paintings come from. Eschewing the convention of posing each subject in traditional garb from their respective countries, she tries to capture her subjects in a “naturalistic moment,” capturing them mid-sentence or in the act of listening or working. She tries to capture the essence of being in their homes, as if taking a quick picture. 

“She starts with a dialogue to get to know the women,” explains Fitzpatrick, “And from that dialogue come the paintings.”

The oil paintings, with their rich layering and warm tones, lend themselves to a large-scale, grand-style portrait in the fashion of grand portraits of royalty. The style lends importance to the stories of the women captured in the portraits. In Madhu Kumar’s words, “the portraits are narratives that bear witness to struggle, but they also address us with messages of advice, good humour, accomplishment, and hope.” 

The travelling exhibition is brought to the Gallery through the efforts of the Humboldt and Area Arts Council.