Zana Wensel

June - July 2024

Zana is a multidisciplinary artist, queer ecologist, and somatic practitioner who lives and practices on Treaty 6 Land in Edmonton, Alberta. Throughout her artistic practice, she explores the body as both a site and conduit for self-realization, (re-)connection and healing, and weaves these threads into the greater landscapes of neurobiology, ecology, and spirituality. In doing so, she creates interactive and sensory installations that aim to re-embody viewers, and gives voice to the fabric of our human existence.

Zana graduated from OCAD University in 2019 with a Bachelor's degree in Design with Distinction. She has received several project grants including a grant from the Canada Council for her first solo exhibition, The Thread That Runs Through Me. She was also one of five artists to be selected for the 2020 RBC Emerging Artists Program, and has been featured in several group exhibitions between Toronto and Edmonton.

Residency Events and Projects:

Sculpture Corral - July 2024

Image: Zana Wensel

I have so much reverence and gratitude for the 6 weeks I got to spend at SAR. My experience at the residency was as much an inward journey as an outward one. During my time there I was able to deeply connect to the Earth as well as my Self—listening, responding, and co-creating with the spirit of the land. I deeply appreciate the way the residency is set up—the environment is naturally conducive for slowing down and tuning in, which allowed me to reconnect to my practice, explore new materials and processes, and commune with the creatures and elements of my surroundings.

Zana Wensel, Testimonial

Touching the Earth, Feeling Her Touch Me