Several weeks ago, CFN put out a call for an Indigenous artist & an immigrant or refugee artist to work together to create a wall sized mural for the lobby of our new location. The winning proposal & the artist team were Mexican artist Christianne Olguin & Kalum Teke Dan of the Blackfoot Confederation.
CFN is incredibly happy to have these two amazing artists on board and we can’t wait to see what they create. In this post allow us to introduce you to Christianne Olguin.
Christianne is a self-taught Mexican visual artist living in Calgary, Canada. Her work includes murals, mixed media art, professional body painting, workshop facilitator and more. Her inspiration comes from nature, other visionary artists, folk art, the colourful Mexican culture where she was raised and her lucid dreams. In 2002 she started her personal journey exploring the visual arts, as a way of communication and self-discovery. The connection she built with her intuitive guidance helped her translate her dreams and imagination into form and colour.
That discovery led Christianne to realize how it’s possible to represent the invisible world into the visible to represent how we experience visions that unites us, feelings that we share and the vast world of imagination through art. It developed further in 2005 by exploring different mediums and styles like realistic and abstract art to support her desire to share her dreams to depict and create a better world where our dreams can not only be dreamed, but felt, shared and lived.
She loves to travel and learn about archeology that is usually not documented in books often called hidden archeology / social archeology. At a young age she started traveling to many archeological sites and pyramids in Mexico trying to imagine how it was like to be there centuries ago, looking for the stories that were lost. She believes that by learning about our history we can remember who we are and art can help us paint visions that are possible for a better world where we can write a new story together in harmony and collaboration.
With her studies at the University of Communications in Mexico City, Christianne was inspired to help create an impact in our society through art and culture by changing the dialogue, thoughts and paradigms that are ready to be transformed into something better for all.
As a muralist/artist, Christianne Olguin helps communities and organizations share their vision and culture by visually stating it in a meaningful way. While these murals inspire viewers to see themselves as a part of that bigger picture, they also help create a sense of belonging and identity by seeing the role they play in the community they’re part of. As we create public art, it not only beautifies spaces, but it brings communities together in harmony and collaboration.
Christiane has previously collaborated with her parter Kalam and she looks forward to seeing what the two of them can create together this time around.
As a visual artist her purpose is to connect to the vision/mission of communities and organizations to make a visual representation of the culture they want to create and visually state it in a meaningful way.