Visual arts & new media

About the artist

Elsa Robinson is a Jamaican-Canadian multidisciplinary artist and instructor based in Edmonton, where she has lived since 1984. In addition to her years of study as a self-taught artist, she has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Alberta and a Master of Fine Arts degree from Vermont College of Fine Art. 

Her work combines concepts from her cultural heritage as a Jamaican and as a Canadian. With careful attention to colour, shape, texture intuition, and the power of cultural symbols, she is able to express notions of love, friendship, inner strength, equality, and ancestral connections that most powerfully guide her own life.

About the artwork

Masquerade (2021) by Elsa Robinson is a mixed media collage comprised of glass beads, sequins, upcycled fabric, metallic thread, cotton thread, trim, and osnaburg fabric. It is one of our newest acquisitions to the AFA Art Collection.

It draws upon the cultural traditions and histories of people of African heritage, taking inspiration from traditional West African masks and the carnival traditions of Trinidad and Tobago, while honouring the experiences of her Jamaican and African ancestors who were enslaved, through use of selected materials.

Where to see it

Masquerade is so new, it's not even uploaded to our Virtual Museum yet! You can see it in person at the AFA art house in Calgary. It is displayed on our New Acquisitions Feature Wall just as you enter the gallery. 

Don't miss Elsa's After Hours artist talk, "Between the Spaces," on August 27 at 7 pm (doors open at 6:30). Learn about her approach and how heritage and cultural influences inform her work. 

The AFA art house and all our events are free to attend and dedicated to Alberta art and artists. 

Jim Logan is an artist of Métis descent who began painting at a young age and later trained as a graphic designer at David Thompson University. Over time, he developed a distinctive approach to landscape painting, drawing inspiration from the expressionistic techniques of Edvard Munch and Vincent van Gogh, and Indigenous artists such as Norval Morriseau, Allap Sapp, and Jackson Beardy.

The most comprehensive survey of Jim Logan’s work is currently on display at Ottawa’s SAW Centre for the exhibition, Requiems: Jim Logan, available for the public to enjoy until August 15, 2026. Requiems brings together major works spanning more than four decades of engaged artistic practice.

In recognition of this exhibit, we are pleased to feature Away with His Dogs (1992), which is part of the AFA Art Collection. This artwork is one of four acrylic paintings by Jim Logan in the AFA Art Collection and is currently on loan to the SAW Centre. The work embodies a sense of freedom and appreciation for life, an attitude Logan elsewhere stated he often observed in community members, which deeply inspired him.

Credit line:

Jim Logan
Away with His Dogs, 1992
acrylic on on canvas
Collection of the Alberta Foundation for the Arts