What happens to an artist’s unsold artwork after they die? In this feature I spoke with Manitoba artists, family members, lawyers and art experts about the dilemmas of selling, donating and, in some extreme cases, destroying artwork in order to settle an estate.
This series, which I pitched and helped develop, saw Free Press arts and life reporters hit the road to explore little-known communities in rural Manitoba. My focus was on Elma, a sleepy Eastman village with 100 or so residents and storied past of midwifery, mass murder and secret tunnels.
Jordan Stranger is an Anishnaabe visual artist from Peguis First Nation. This profile, published in the Winnipeg Free Press, highlights his artistic rise locally and his campaign against corporate “orange-washing,” which sees businesses and corporations engaged in half-hearted reconciliation with Indigenous communities.
This feature was selected as a National Newspaper Awards finalist in the arts and entertainment category in 2023.
Homemade: Recipes and Stories from Winnipeg and Beyond is a 200-page community cookbook I wrote, compiled and edited for the Winnipeg Free Press’s 150th anniversary. This bestselling cookbook includes 150 recipes submitted by readers across the province, as well as contemporary and historic food stories. Copies sold out locally in less than two months.
The cookbook launched in fall 2022 with a reader engagement event and fundraising dinner, entitled the Free Press Fall Supper. The four-course menu was created by a local chef and inspired by more than a dozen recipes included in the book. I helped organize the event and acted as the evening’s emcee.
The project continues as a semi-regular feature highlighting submitted recipes and local home cooking stories.
I write and edit a bi-weekly newsletter, titled Dish, with Free Press colleague Ben Sigurdson about Winnipeg’s dynamic food and drink scene. We cover culinary trends, restaurant news, home cooking and local dining events in a casual, engaging package.
Eva Wasney 