What's Happening in Regina, SK…

Regina’s MacKenzie Art Gallery (MAG) has launched a new series of artist residencies in an unusual medium – the video game Minecraft.

A series of four artists will be invited to bring their own unique vision to the digital world. The project is the brainchild of digital artist Sarah Friend and MAG digital coordinators Jonathan Carroll and Cat Bluemke. Despite its blocky, pixelated art style, Minecraft has become not only one of the most popular games in the world, but also a popular space for creativity. The game’s crafting and building systems have allowed users to create all manner of constructions and share them with others.

The gallery has created its own Minecraft server, called The Ender Gallery, and it features a variety of artworks that make both use of both graphic design and the three-dimensional digital space. Curators opened up a call for artists in January, and they received submissions from creators around the world of all ages.

Carroll and Bluemke have said that they were looking for artists who would push the online space to its limits and explore the intersection of fine art and digital culture. The past year has seen the MAG, like galleries everywhere, search for inventive programming to help maintain a connection with the public while physical gallery visits have been restricted.

The four selected artists will each have a two-month “residency” at The Ender Gallery throughout the year, with more details to be announced soon.