Arctic Quest 2006

Artist's Profile

Painting shown donated to the Vancouver Maritime Museum's permanent collection.
Public viewing: December 14, 2006 to June 14, 2007 featuring Arctic Quest artists.

Andrew Cheddie Sookrah

Pathfinder by Request, 20" x 24" Oil on Canvas

Artist's statement

I would hope that in presenting the art created as a result of the Arctic Quest 06 trip that we would increase awareness of the Arctic and encourage people to be more receptive to the warnings being sounded about the impact of our collective actions on our environment. Especially the way we are influencing the escalation of global warming and its impact on that region of the world.

Much as the Canadian Coast Guard Ship Des Groseilliers in my painting is leading our group into Resolute, so it is that the scientists who are raising the alarm about global warming are trying to lead us on a safe passage to a secure future.

Biography

Andrew Cheddie Sookrah is an elected member of the Society of Canadian Artists, the Ontario Society of Artists and the Registered Graphic Designers of Ontario.

He was born in 1956 in Guyana, South America and attended Queen’s College where he won the school Art Prize in 1971. At age 16 he took employment as a designer/illustrator/art director at Ace Advertisers in Georgetown. On immigrating to Canada in 1974, he attended The Ontario College of Art, George Brown College and Ryerson University in their part-time continuing education programs.

An active member of the Arts and Letters Club of Toronto, Andrew Cheddie Sookrah has served several terms on their Art Committee. He is currently the convenor of the Sunday Figurative Painting Sessions at the Club.

Andrew Cheddie Sookrah has displayed his work at the Outdoor Art Show at City Hall, Distillery District Art Shows, and group shows with Arts Scarborough. He has been included in many juried group shows at the Arts And Letters Club of Toronto. In 2004 he staged his first solo show of figurative work at the Club – Interviews From The Third Floor – Various Positions. His work has been included in two juried shows put on by the SCA, the 38th Annual in Montreal and the Spring Show at the Art Gallery of Northumberland in Coburg. In 2005, his second solo show, Parallel States Of Being, was staged at The Lodge on Amherst Island. In 2006 Andrew participated in the Annual Queen West Art Crawl at the Gladstone Hotel as well as Arctic Quest 06 group shows at the Win Henstock Gallery, the Georgina Art Gallery, the Gallery on the Grand in Waterloo Ontario, and the Linkway Gallery at the TD Centre in Toronto. 2006 also included two solo exhibitions, the Lawless Gallery in Grafton and the Engine Room Creative Gallery.

He is currently the owner and creative director of Engine Room Creative, a creative and design development studio in Toronto.

His work is currently in Corporate and Private Collections in Canada and the US.