u•n•i•t•y

On NOW at
 CONTEMPORARY CALGARY
NOV 4th - JANUARY 30th, 2022

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Four Queens, 2020. Photo by Jesse Tamayo

Simone Elizabeth Saunders (she/her) is a textile artist based in Calgary, Alberta. She holds a B.F.A. with Distinction from the Alberta University of Arts in 2020. Her textiles are hand tufted in the medium of rug-making. Saunders explores themes of the diaspora, ancestorship and Black womanhood. Her colourful
textiles highlight motifs and iconography from her Jamaican heritage and engage with socio-cultural factors reclaiming power from oppressive ideologies. Saunders has a career in the theatre arts, weaving her experiences and integrating dramatism and story-telling within her creations - uplifting narratives of Black joy and resilience.
Simone was named the National Winner for the Bank of Montreal's 1st Art Competition in 2020. Simone has been internationally featured, select media credits include: Create Magazine, Canada's House&Home Magazine, CBC Arts, CBCq, Studio Magazine, Boooooom, Uppercase Magazine, Pom-Pom Magazine (England), FairLady (South Africa), Surface Design Journal, Colossal and DesignMilk (USA). Most recent exhibitions include the Alberta Craft Council for the Arts and Art Museum University of Toronto. Simone has been collected by several international museums and her emerging series is being debuted at Contemporary Calgary until January 30th, 2022. 

Simone in her Studio, 2021. Photo by Pardeep Sooch

Hand-Tufted Textiles

Vibrant Designs

one-of-a-kind, carefully hand-crafted
with tufting machine and punch needle.