A Port Alberni wildlife artist will open a solo show in Victoria later this month.
Artist Mike Semkiw opens the solo exhibition "Up Close with Nature" on Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. The show runs until Feb. 12, 2025 at the Cedar Hill Art Centre.
Semkiw's work has been compared to Robert Bateman's, but with a contemporary realism style that stems from close encounters with wildlife.
“I’ve had over 500 black bear interactions in my life so far,” says Semkiw. “My art isn’t just about what I see — it’s about what I’ve felt in these places. I want viewers to experience that same sense of awe and respect for these creatures.”
This exhibition marks Semkiw's first show in Victoria, and offers an intimate look into his 50-year artistic journey of respect and appreciation for the natural world on Vancouver Island.
“Vancouver Island is teeming with undiscovered artists like Mike,” says show organizer Jenny Farkas. “Kudos to Saanich’s Arts and Culture Department for recognizing the value of showcasing talent from a different part of the Island.”
A self-taught artist who was mentored in his youth by renowned Port Alberni naturalist Fred Rollin, Semkiw said he has made it his life’s work to be a close observer of the world around him.
“I basically got paid to study local plants and animals,” Semkiw laughs. “I worked for years on fish farms and throughout B.C.’s coastal waters with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans."
The 40 works on display are geotagged to Semkiw's favourite places for hiking, camping and fishing.
"When you spend as much time in the wilderness as I have, you start to feel like you're part of the land,” said Semkiw. “Every encounter with an animal teaches you something new about respect, patience and connection.”
Farkas met Semkiw eight or nine years ago while working to connect the arts ecosystem on Vancouver Island. Through Creative Coast — a collaboration of the Island’s arts, tourism and economic development organizations — Farkas and her colleagues have been conducting research to measure the value of the
arts sector to local economies and communities and piloting projects that fill gaps in supports for creative entrepreneurs.
“We now know Vancouver Island has an incredibly high density of creative talent that is largely underleveraged,” said Farkas. “One key way to tap into these strengths is to support Island artists to get exposure to the larger audiences in the South Island area.”
Semkiw's art show is being sponsored by Farkas’ next ecosystem-building initiative: MakeSpace North Park, a new creativity hub opening this spring in Victoria’s North Park neighborhood. For more information, visit makespacefor.art.
The show will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. Opening night will take place on Saturday, Feb. 1 from 3-7 p.m. Members of the Aunty Collective Indigenous Creative Practice Hub will start the show off in a good way with a welcome and song, and visitors will have the opportunity to hear Semkiw's personal stories behind his works.