Dwayne Martineau
What does it mean to you to be an artist working in Edmonton?
For me, being an artist working in Edmonton means having easy access to nature, while still living in the city.
I'll poke around the woods until I get inspired by something— weird light or miniature landscapes. I'll sit there for hours and experiment, trying to remove context and perspective, and play in that liminal space between familiar and surreal.
That process can happen anywhere I feel isolated enough to freely daydream and explore. The river valley and ravines have enough secret spots to accommodate that.
What is the Edmonton art scene to you?
The Edmonton scene has always felt like a collaborative community of DIY outsiders— pop-up exhibits, artist-run venues, self-taught experimenters.
I think the scene itself is still emerging, so it's a place where a motivated organizer can connect people and make a real impact. I am not at all good at that, but fortunately plenty of folks here have that kind of energy, and they sometimes ask me to do things... and give me deadlines.
Be sure to catch Dwayne Martineau in The Scene at your AGA in 2021 (stay tuned for our re-opening announcement).
