Art / Craft Collider Tour at Nickle Galleries

April 18, 2026, 11:00 – 1:15pm

Join Michele Hardy, for a tour of Nickle Galleries’ newest exhibitions, Yvonne Mullock: Why don’t you… and Heather Leier: Practice Pinny exploring the work of two Calgary-based women artists unafraid of blurring boundaries. Following the exhibition tour, Hardy will offer a behind-the-scenes visit to the textile vault where we will examine recent textile acquisitions that similarly bridge art and craft including works by Wendy Toogood, Pat Adams, Laura Vickerson, Mackenzie Kelly-Frère and Richard Boulet, amongst others.

Calgary-based, multidisciplinary artist, Yvonne Mullock probes the boundaries between high and low art, fine art and craft utilizing textiles, ceramics, print media, video, and, frequently, community. Yvonne Mullock: Why don't you... assembles selected works from 2013 to the present, offering a rare opportunity to experience her ongoing creative evolution. Mullock’s work challenges traditional modes of making by incorporating unconventional tools and materials and using conventional and sometimes unconventional collaborators. Born in the UK and educated at the Glasgow School of Art, Mullock is based in Moh’kinsstis. Curated by Michele Hardy and Jenelle Pasiechnik.

Heather Leier is deeply attuned to embodied knowledge—to the physical instincts and repeated actions that shape studio practice. She considers the gestures and tools involved in printing as well as the rituals and repetition that accompany her process. Primarily a printmaker, Leier has recently turned to sewing, transforming her prints into large-scale quilted ‘tapestries’ and installations that explore embodied trauma, practice, sport, and gender. Heather Leier is an Associate Professor in the Department of Art and Art History at the University of Calgary in Treaty 7 region in southern Alberta, Canada. Curated by Michele Hardy and Jenelle Pasiechnik.

Please note food and drink are not allowed on the tour and you will be asked to check bags and wash hands before entering the galleries and the vault. As there is limited seating in the vault area, participants should expect to stand for about an hour. If you have mobility concerns, or questions, please contact [email protected].

This tour is for 12+

Meet at Nickle Galleries, ground floor, Taylor Family Digital Library, University of Calgary.

Image captions

Yvonne Mullock, Harmonia, 2021. Exhibition installation photo: Blaine Campbell, courtesy Yvonne Mullock and Nickle Galleries, University of Calgary.

Heather Leier, Brace 3, 2025. Photo: Blaine Campbell, courtesy Nickle Galleries, University of Calgary.

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Host or Publisher Alberta Craft Council