Hello! My name is Hannah Gelderman, my pronouns are she/her, and I am an artist, educator and arts-based community organizer. I am a settler of Dutch descent living on Treaty 6 Territory in Amiskwaciwâskahikan, a region also known as Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
I graduated with my Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Alberta in 2012 and in 2020 I completed a Master of Education in Adult Education and Community Engagement from the University of Victoria. In my masters I focussed my research on the role of participatory visual arts in seeking climate justice.
I have worked in the arts sector for over a decade, as a programmer, researcher, educator and visual artist. I have worked with a variety of organizations to develop and facilitate art programs and classes for children, youth and adults. Currently I work as a visual arts instructor at the King’s University and for the City of Edmonton. I also organize with Climate Justice Edmonton and I bring extra enthusiasm for arts-based organizing.
The work I create for my personal art practice centers around climate, the environment and nature. Exploring different facets of this, I make work that engages with climate justice, mental health, climate action, nature appreciation, and human connections to the natural world and the ecosystems we live in. I find the state of the world (capitalism, colonialism, patriarchy etc) hard to live within, and for me my art creation is a tool that I use to navigate the pain and disruption of this moment, share meaning and connections that motivate me, and envision what change is possible. As such, my work is an invitation for the viewers to reflect their own connections, emotions and actions in the face of the world we live in. I work in 2D media, primarily with collage, drawing, block printing and some silk screen printing!
I am excited about artistic activism, illustration work, community engaged art projects, art education and programming, arts-based curriculum development and arts-based research. Don’t hesitate to get in touch with me at hannahgelderman@gmail.com or on Instagram @hannahgelderman if you want to chat about any of these things, or with any other questions, collaborations or projects!
Curriculum Vitae
EDUCATION
2020 - Master of Education in Leadership Studies, University of Victoria
2012 - Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art and Design, University of Alberta
RESIDENCIES & EXCHANGES
2025 (upcoming) - Artist in Residence, Wachiay Studio, Courtenay, British Columbia
2022 - Energy Futures Collaborative Print Portfolio Exchange, Energy Futures Lab, Alberta
2020 - FUTURES/forward Artist in Residence, International Centre for Art and Social Change
2013 - Building a Collective Residency, Agora Collective, Berlin, Germany
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2024 - The Energy Futures Portfolio Project, Harcourt House, Edmonton, AB
2021 - 'Visualising the feminist imaginary' Virtual exhibition, Gender Justice, Creative Pedagogies and Arts-Based Research Group, University of Victoria
2020 - Learning and Teaching: Artful Narratives of Transformation, CJSAE, Virtual Exhibition
2019 - Resist and (Re)Build, Wasteland, a Climate Anxiety Haunted House, Victoria, BC
2017 - Kaleido-scape, (w/ Ninety Bears Arts Collective) Kaleido Arts Festival, Edmonton, AB
2016 - These Friends of Ours, The Sugarbowl Cafe, Edmonton, AB (solo)
2015 - InSight, Out of Sight, (w/ Ninety Bears Arts Collective) Nuit Blanche, Edmonton, AB
2015 - These Friends of Ours, King’s University, Edmonton, AB (solo)
2013 - Book Release, (in collaboration with Jim Grilli) Agora Collective, Berlin, Germany
GRANTS
2021 - Explore and Create: Research and Creation Grant, Canada Council for the Arts
2021 - Exploration and Experimentation Grant, Edmonton Arts Council
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
2022 - present - Program Specialist – Visual Arts, The City of Edmonton, Edmonton, AB
2021 - present - Sessional Instructor, Arts 210 and 211, The King’s University, Edmonton, AB
2020 - Family Sunday Coordinator, Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, Victoria, BC
2018-2020 - Instructor – Visual Arts, District of Saanich, Victoria, BC
2016-2018 - e4c ArtStart Program Assistant and Art Instructor e4c ArtStart, Edmonton, AB
WORKSHOPS AND PRESENTATIONS
2023 - Art and Activism, Climate Justice Edmonton Climate Camp, Edmonton, AB
2022 - Inclement Weather: Using Visual Arts and Poetry to Engage With the Climate Crisis, with Alice Major and Kim Mannix, The Edmonton Poetry Festival
2021 - Collective Arts for Climate Justice, Climate Justice and Related Struggles: Aesthetic, Creative and Disruptive Strategies, CASAE
2020 - 11 years and beyond: A visual exploration of collective arts for climate justice presentation, Organized Abandonment, Canadian Association of Cultural Studies, Simon Fraser University ( accepted to present, but event cancelled due to Covid-19)
2020 - Collective arts for climate justice poster presentation, AGES Conference, University of Victoria
2019 - Printmaking 101: Art as Connection & Response to Crisis, Just Transition Arts, Victoria
PUBLICATIONS
2023 - Reimagining Fire: Artists and Writers on the Future of Energy, UpRoute, Ed. Eveline Kolijn
2021 - Original artwork for feature article in The Monitor, May/June 2021, CCPA
2020 - Participatory visual art practices as a response to climate change in A Feminist Adult Educator Guide, Gender Justice, Creative Pedagogies & Arts-Based Research, UVIC
2020 - 11 Years and Beyond: A Visual Exploration of Collective Arts for Climate Justice, Master of Education Project, University of Victoria