College Amenities

Dear Friends of the One on One Gallery,

Greetings from the gallery, where we are busy installing our next exhibition, Extracurricular: MHC Creates. This show brings together creative works by MHC
faculty and staff from all across campus. Submissions are coming in from areas as
distinct as Criminal Justice, IT Services, Advancement, and more — and I am thrilled to
discover how many creative makers are in our midst!

The idea for the show came to me last fall while wandering through the exhibition Life
Cycles: New Works by the Hat Art Club and Medicine Hat Potters Association at the
Esplanade. I was admiring a lovely felted wool landscape when the name of the artist,
Colleen Copland, rang a bell. Was this the Scheduling Administrator from MHC, the
person who juggles rooms, timetables, and the countless moving pieces that keep our
academic days running smoothly? I had no idea she was an artist. How many other
“secret” artists are working at MHC? I sent out some feeler emails to gauge interest,
and soon Extracurricular was born. The energy grew quickly, and in the process I was
reminded of why creative practice matters so deeply to so many of us: making
something with your hands is one of the best ways to shift your perspective and tune
out the stresses of the world.

At the same time, creating something — whether a painting, a ceramic bowl, or a
hand-stitched textile — can help you feel connected in a new way: to your own
imagination, to the materials in front of you, and to a community of people who are also exploring what they can make.

There are so many ways to bring creativity into our lives, and this exhibition is a
celebration of that spirit. We invite you to join us in recognizing the talents that lurk
beyond the roles we see every day — the makers, tinkerers, and artists who help shape our campus community in ways both seen and unseen.

We look forward to welcoming you to the gallery and sharing these extraordinary
“extracurricular” creations with you. The show runs from December 1, 2025 to January
22, 2026 with a reception on Thursday, December 4 at 7:00pm. The reception is free
and open to the public — hope to see you there!

Cheers,

Jessica Plattner
Coordinator, Art and Design Program

PS. If you’re curious about what Art and Design Faculty have been up to, we will be
exhibiting our recent work in a Faculty Exhibition at the Esplanade Art Gallery from
December 16 - April 18, 2026. Keep an eye out for information about the reception
scheduled for Friday, January 16, 2026!

Download Calendar (pdf)

The MHC Art and Design Faculty Exhibition is up now at the Esplanade
Arts & Heritage Centre Art Gallery. Alongside the faculty exhibition, MHC Education
Instructor and local artist Deborah Forbes has an immersive interactive video
installation titled Sea Jellies: Next Generation in the gallery. Both shows run from
December 16, 2025 to April 18, 2026, with a public reception on Friday, January 16th
at 7pm. Read more about the exhibitions at the Esplanade here.

These exhibitions highlight not only the professional art and design work created by our faculty, but also the ongoing collaborative relationship between the MHC Art and Design program and the City of Medicine Hat. They say it takes a village to raise a child, and the same can be said for an art student — education doesn’t happen in a vacuum! We are so grateful for the support of the local arts community and the Esplanade, offering diverse perspectives and first-hand experiences with a variety of approaches to art.

The reception on January 16 will also celebrate three other exhibitions: the TREX travelling exhibition Chimerical Alchemical by Calgary artist Sadia Fakih; Pudlo Pudlat: Art is Life, celebrating the artist’s importance to the early development of Inuit art and storytelling, and Kimberly Sibbald Celestial Visions: A Journey Through the Cosmos, on now in the esplanade foyer. The gallery is located at 401 1st Street SE in downtown Medicine Hat, Tuesday - Saturday Noon - 5pm except on statutory holidays, and you can also visit the gallery exhibitions during evening performances in the theatre.

From all of us in the MHC Art and Design program, wishing you a warm, peaceful, and creative holiday season!

Sincerely,
Jessica Plattner
Coordinator, Art and Design Program

PS. Extracurricular: MHC Creates (creative works by MHC faculty and staff from all
across campus) remains on view in the One on One Gallery through January 22, 2026.
Don’t miss it!