Erin Suliak: Vinok – Gathered in the North
Start Date: 2026 Thu, Jun 18
End Date: 2026 Sat, Sep 26
Opening Reception
Thursday, June 18 @ 7 PM
Admission
By donation, everyone welcome
Sponsors
This exhibition brings together twelve contemporary vinky—traditional Ukrainian floral wreaths—reimagined using materials gathered in and around Yellowknife,
Northwest Territories.
Created by Erin Suliak, who lives in Yellowknife, the works draw on Ukrainian cultural traditions while responding to the specific conditions of the North. Each wreath is rooted in a particular site, incorporating materials collected there: lichen, bark, feathers, and increasingly, plastic, metal, and other industrial debris.
The exhibition also includes photographs of the artist wearing the vinky in the landscapes where their materials were gathered, connecting the works back to place.
Traditionally associated with beauty, celebration, and identity, the vinok is adapted here as a record of place. The exhibition invites visitors to consider how landscapes change over time—and what it means to carry cultural traditions forward on lands long shaped by Indigenous use, settler occupation, and resource extraction.
