Illustrator Alanna Cavanagh Teams up With the Gardiner Museum
Carry a piece of the museum’s rich history and the artist’s playful style with this exclusive 40th-anniversary tote bag
When the Gardiner Museum’s executive director and CEO Gabrielle Peacock wanted to decorate her new office, she selected a piece by local artist and illustrator Alanna Cavanagh entitled Big Artifacts, artfully depicting various clay urns. Peacock’s daily joy in seeing that piece motivated her to invite Cavanagh to collaborate with the ceramics museum to mark its 40th anniversary with an exclusive design. Cavanagh, whose illustrations have graced countless magazine and newspaper articles, books, billboards, custom wallcoverings and more, was thrilled.
Big Artifacts. Alanna Cavanagh.
She visited the museum several times sketching clay pots and urns from around the globe. “They gave me passes to run around the collection, so I sketched and sketched. They have an incredible archive. Every single vessel is photographed, and its provenance recorded in such detail,” she says. Her final design of six vessels adorns the stylish Gardiner Museum tote. Its sketches encapsulate the artist’s signature loose and playful line drawings. “I prefer a minimal line style, 2D, I don’t like 3D as much,” says Cavanagh. Her whimsical works capture everyday life, objects and people with ease.
The Gardiner Museum Tote, cotton; 15″ x 16″ with 4″ gusset, $35.
Amphora 1. Alanna Cavanagh.
Detail of Big Artifacts. Alanna Cavanagh.
The Gardiner Museum is a gem in the city with a collection of thousands of clay and ceramic objects from the Ancient Americas, Europe, Japan and China as well as contemporary works with a focus on Canadian artists. The museum will be reopening its doors in October 2024 after a shutdown for renovations to its main level to integrate a new maker space, community learning facility and Indigenous gallery. Here, collaborations give access to known artists at a fraction of the cost.
Available on the museum’s extensive online gift shop, the Gardiner Museum tote makes a great everyday addition to your kit or a lovely gift. Silkscreen prints from Cavanagh’s fine art series are also available on the museum’s shop site and on the artist’s website.
