Montreal-based Photographer Rita Leistner spent a decade as a tree planter herself, putting over half a million trees in the ground before going on to a career as a photojournalist, and eventually returning to the forest with her camera. The result is The Tree Planters: a series of large-scale, painterly portraits that document the people behind one of Canada’s most essential and overlooked forms of environmental labour.

Join us for First Friday on June 5 from 5–8pm at the Red Deer Museum + Art Gallery with snacks and refreshments as we celebrate the opening of The Tree Planters with Rita Leistner and the MAG!

Planting trees and making memories! 🌳

We’re marking the opening of a new exhibit, The Tree Planters created by Rita Leistner, by planting some trees in the park! Good walking shoes, bug spray, and work gloves are recommended. Light refreshments will be provided. Lifelong memory of that time you planted a tree in Barrett Park is included!

Free to attend, and everyone welcome!

You can't plant a tree without believing in the future. Free film screening at the MAG of Forest For The Trees by Rita Leistner! 🎞️

Produced in complement with The Tree Planters exhibition and the book Forest for the Trees – The Tree Planters, this visually and artistically unique documentary explores the physical and emotional aspects of a community of West Coast tree planters. Deftly weaving together still photos and film footage, Rita Leistner, an award-winning photographer, photojournalist, filmmaker and erstwhile tree planter, depicts the contradictions in the experiences of the tree planters—the hardship and the healing; the solitude and the joy of belonging—creating an eloquent cinematic metaphor for the human condition.

Join us at the MAG on June 6 at 12:30pm! Free to attend, and everyone welcome. Stay after for the artist's talk and tour on the same day (June 6) starting at 2pm!

Thanks to the support of the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, the artist and photographer behind the exhibit The Tree Planters, Rita Leistner, will be in-house speaking to her exhibition, her process, and the other interesting parts of this multi-media project!

Free to attend, and everyone welcome!

✨ Learn the basics of linocut to be able to create your own prints! ✨

DIY, upcycling, and getting creative with what you have on hand is in! Have a shirt with a stain? Covering it up with a Lino Print = instant beautification! Feel good about extending the life of your already loved textiles. Not sure what Lino Print is? Chris Wutzke will be helping folks figure out the basics of linocut to create personalized printed images and patterns on paper and textile.

You’re welcome to bring your own paper, clothing, and other textiles to upcycle if you want to experiment beyond the provided materials. There will be a selection of pre-carved designs to have fun with for customizing your textiles and tetris’ing your prints to your heart’s content; so, get ready to get inky and Lino Print everything!

Program runs 6-8pm on June 17 at the MAG and is suitable for ages 16+. Registration is required in advance.

$25/non-member | $20/member

Red Deer is a city in a forest!

On Wednesday, June 24 starting at 6pm, Ken Lehman, a Parks Community & Program Facilitator, will be in-house talking about forests vs. food forests, local food initiatives, and the plants that make up our beautiful park system. Come and learn about the many health benefits of living among trees. 🌳

Drop in. Free to attend. Everyone welcome!

Visit Rita Leistner’s The Tree Planters exhibit, then join us for some tree stamping on Friday, June 26. Drop by at any time between 5-8pm to make a tree stamp to add to our community mural and stamp a forest with us! 🌳

Free to attend! All supplies are included.