The Artist

Angela Hall, Aski ka na kwa ha mo wa tam (She Who Sings With The Earth) is a member of the Métis Nation of Alberta. She was born in Edmonton, Alberta and spent most of her youth as a foster child. She experienced the heart aches from abandonment and loss while in care. From a young age, Angela loved to create. This is what gave her hope. After high school, Angela attended the University of Alberta and graduated with a Bachelor Degree in Education. Her passion was to help other Indigenous children with similar experiences. She has spent the last 30 years specializing in First Nation, Métis and Inuit education. In 2009, Angela was recognized for utilizing fine arts to strengthen learning and understanding of Indigenous cultures and was awarded the Alberta Teachers Association Outstanding Aboriginal Educator Award. In 2010, Angela saw an art therapist for support as her unresolved childhood grief began to resurface and she came to understand the power of creativity in healing grief and trauma. In 2013, Angela began her studies in art therapy with Kutenai Art Therapy Institute, British Columbia and continued her graduate courses at St. Stephen’s College, Edmonton. As a course elective Angela received training in Trauma Recovery with Dr. Jane Simington, which included 150 hours of internship with residential school survivors. In 2019, she received a Graduate Certificate in Spiritually Informed Creative Arts, St. Stephen’s College. Angela is a self-taught artist, who signs all her artwork and poetry with the name, Aguenus. She paints with acrylics and mixed media, and writes poetry to compliment her art. Angela received an honourable mention from the Writers’ Guild of Alberta, Kemosa Scholarship-First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Mothers Who Write for her poetry. Angela has been commissioned for her artwork by Edmonton Public Schools, Edmonton Catholic Schools, Kitaskinaw School of Enoch Cree Nation, Grant MacEwan College, Ruptertsland Institute, The Town of Stony Plain, and Parkland County. In 2015, Angela won the Treaty Six Art Contest under the theme of reconciliation and her entry was gifted to Grand Chief Tony Alexis by Edmonton’s Mayor Don Iveson. In 2021, Angela won first place in the 38th annual Peace Hills Trust Art Contest. Angela has participated in a number of exhibitions and art events including United Way Art Fundraiser with Alberta Education, Peace Hills Trust Art Contests, Parkland County Municipal Art Collection Exhibition, Bear Claw Gallery Annual Christmas Exhibition, Our Many Paths Collective Exhibition Celebrating our Cultural Differences in conjunction with Edmonton Heritage Days, and Alberta Foundation for the Arts Travelling Exhibition Program by Art Gallery of Alberta, titled “Turtle Island” traveling from December, 2020- December, 2023. The artwork Star Horse reflects the freedom that comes with knowing we are Star People. The horse is a symbol of great expansion as it helped humans cover farther distances across the Earth. The rainbow-coloured horses, painted on the circumference of the artwork, speaks to the properties of light (Sun & Stars), its many colours, solar power, and healing abilities. The star designs on the horse, symbolizes the common knowledge among Indigenous people around the world that we are Star People. We come from the Stars to learn, and Mother Earth is our school. Understanding where we come from gives us a broader perspective about life. The Eagle Feathers symbolizes this broader perspective as the Eagle flies high and sees far. The artwork highlights geometric designs demonstrating the structure of nature and its repeating patterns. The Earth’s animals and its patterns become our teachers as we learn repeated lessons on Love and Freedom.