FREDERICTON, NB – August 12, 2024

The Fredericton Region Museum is pleased to announce two new artists-in-residence who will be present in the museum during the month of August: Mariel Reyes (August 7-17) and Kristal KC Cormier (August 19 – 31).

Mariel Reyes is a Mexican-Canadian who is a linocut printmaker and designer based in Fredericton. She is currently studying at the New Brunswick College of Craft and Design. Through their artwork, Reyes depicts various cultural experiences and how they adapt in response to a changing environment. A lot of her work varies between personal memories and
the natural world, which she depicts by using strong curves, organic forms, and varying nonuniform lines that come together to create the unpredictable journey that shapes an identity.

Growing up, Mariel Reyes was inspired by the prints produced by José Guadalupe Posada, and began carving her own lino blocks for printing as a child. Using her Mexican culture and the natural beauty of New Brunswick, Reyes uses her skills in printmaking to depict themes of resonance and the evolution of identity, but also to display her life experiences and how it will continue to resonate with their evolving sense of self. While at the museum, Mariel intends to explore these themes and how they connect with community identity.

Kristal KC Cormier  is a painter, portrait artist, and poet, who is originally from Victoria BC. Prior to obtaining her BFA with distinction at Concordia University in Montréal, Kristal attended Vancouver’s Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design and studied privately in both Canada as well as in Germany.

Passionate about art from a young age, Kristal’s interest in portraiture took off after meeting and corresponding with the talented artist Myfanwy Pavelic. Since then, Kristal has spent many years working as a portrait artist while growing and exhibiting an independent body of work. With subjects imagined in states ranging from euphoria to despair, her paintings seek to portray the beauty – and at times, humour – in existence in a world that is simultaneously troubled and wondrous. Kristal’s work can be found internationally, with pieces in private collections across Europe, Canada, and the United States.

Stop by the museum to meet these two very talented artists. While there, you can also order a picnic lunch on the balcony and listen to some fantastic live music every Wednesday (at 1pm) and Friday (at 12 noon)!

For more information, please contact:
Alena Krasnikova, Executive Director
Fredericton Region Museum www.frederictonregionmuseum.com
Email: frederictonregionmuseum@gmail.com or phone 506-455-6041

The Fredericton Region Museum acknowledges the unceded and unconquered territory of Wəlastəkokewiyik / Wolastoqiyik. The Fredericton Museum, located in Ekwpahak | Fredericton, sits on lands designated by the Peace and Friendship Treaties of 1725-1779. These treaties did not deal in the transfer of land, rather they laid a foundation for what was to be an ongoing nation-to-nation relationship between the British Crown and Indigenous Peoples.