Saskatoon-based artist and USask alumna Hailey Weber discusses her artistic evolution, challenges, and the inspiration behind her latest work.

Hailey Weber invites viewers to explore personal themes of belonging and place through vibrant textures and immersive works. A Saskatoon-based artist and recent graduate from the University of Saskatchewan, Weber continues to captivate audiences and evolve artistically.

In an interview conducted within her latest exhibition, Germinate, Weber provides insight into her artistic journey.

Weber grew up in Saskatchewan, on Treaty 6 territory, and spent much of her early years in rural and remote areas. She credits her surroundings with inspiring much of her art.

“Natural spaces nourished me in those early and foundational years,” Weber says. “I’m constantly looking for opportunities to go back to those places that helped shape me into who I am.”

Weber has been painting since childhood and has always had ambitions to pursue art professionally. She sold her art in her first market at 16 and started showcasing her work online just a couple of years later. 

She decided to continue her artistic journey at the University of Saskatchewan, where she pursued a Bachelor of Fine Arts Honors Degree, graduating in the spring of 2023. During her time here, Weber also showcased another side of herself, playing five years of U Sports soccer with the Huskies.

Weber’s hard work and dedication have been recognized with several awards, including the prestigious Judy Poole Award, granted to the most distinguished USask Department of Art and Art History graduate.

She attributes her education at the University of Saskatchewan as a huge proponent of her success.

“I can’t say enough good things about the Department of Art and Art History. While it’s a small program, I think there are so many incredible benefits to that. It’s really community-based and I created a bunch of foundational relationships that have helped propel me forward in the first year or two after graduation. It’s a wonderful, wonderful community. There’s a lot of really excellent faculty that are incredibly helpful and knowledgeable.”

Since graduating, Weber has continued to push her boundaries as an artist. 

Most of her two-dimensional works revolve around themes of belonging and place. She constantly changes media and works on different surfaces, challenging herself to explore ideas more deeply. She uses a variety of materials, including oil and acrylic paints, graphite, inks, and pastels.

“I think that the different types of media come together to create a really interesting relationship. I’m constantly looking for meaning and belonging within a lot of contexts.”

Beyond that, Weber also employs cyanotype techniques, and this summer she ventured into filmmaking, debuting her first artistic film at Nuit Blanche YXE, a city-wide outdoor art festival.

Her unique artistic processes are apparent in her newest exhibition, Germinate.

For Weber, germination represents “the beginning of growth, where small shifts lead to meaningful transformation.” Through her work, she seeks to honor the concept of roots and simultaneously cultivate spaces for new possibilities to emerge.

The exhibition features three large-scale immersive pieces that intentionally incorporate empty spaces and unrendered areas. 

Weber explains, “They’re meant to feel a little bit incomplete… [and] perhaps a little bit incoherent. I’m trying to push the viewer to sit with the work as a reflective space so that they can fill in the gaps based on their own memories and lived experiences.” She adds, “The bigger picture is still kind of in the process of growing into itself.”

Despite her success, Weber acknowledges that being a full-time professional artist comes with its share of daily challenges, which can accumulate into larger obstacles over time.

“I’m constantly dealing with logistics, planning, setting things up or taking things down, or making ideas or preparing a grant.” She adds, “There’s an opportunity for things to go awry or for things to not pan out exactly how you would imagine.”

Additionally, she explains how an artist’s career can be ambiguous in terms of how you want to shape your path forward. Being afforded so much creative freedom can bring up challenges in terms of planning.

To combat this, she believes that, “It’s just constantly about being aware of what’s going on in your life and in your career, and just taking everything in stride because not everything works out perfectly.”

Moving forward, Weber wants to continue to experiment and evolve, pushing into new media or revisiting ones of the past more deeply. She sees her artwork as a constant evolution.

“One body of work doesn’t necessarily inform what you’ll see from me next. I would say [that Weber’s art is] something that is constantly shifting and growing into itself, much like the name of this exhibition, Germinate.”

Weber encourages USask students to engage with the thriving local art scene. “The art community here is absolutely bustling,” she says. “There are so many incredible places to see work in Saskatoon, even in unexpected places. I would encourage USask students to explore where they can find work, where they can sit with work, [and] where they can enjoy work.”

She suggests a variety of exhibitions that can be enjoyed year-round. The College Art Galleries in the Peter Mackinnon Building, the Kenderdine Art Gallery in the Agriculture Building, and the Gordon Snelgrove Gallery attached to Place Riel are all free to view.  

Weber adds, “The art community [in Saskatoon] is also incredibly kind, wonderful, and supportive. So, if you want to be a part of the community, you can either reach out to me or you can also reach out to other artists. It’s a great place to exist and to be.”
Germinate is viewable at the Frances Morrison Central Library Gallery until December 10. To learn more about Hailey Weber’s work, visit her Instagram @artbyhaileyweber or her website www.artbyhailey.net.