Bio

Kathy Allen trained as a theatre artist and spent many years working in the theatre while maintaining a small visual arts practice. Her work has been exhibited at galleries and craft shows throughout Saskatchewan. In the late 80’s she became enamoured with making encaustic paintings and regularly participated in the Sundog Handcraft Faire. Kathy was a founding member of 25th St. Theatre’s Women’s Festival where she presented sculptural work and created the 2004 Art Bra Project. She then took a detour into arts funding administration – putting her artistic work on hold for almost ten years. Since reviving her practice, Kathy’s sculptures have been exhibited at Nuit Blanche Saskatoon (2014 & 2015); the Sask Playa Odditorium Cabinet of Curiosities (2015 Burning Man Festival), Remix Show and Sale (2015/16/17), and in two solo exhibits: Infinite Places (SCYAP Gallery 2016) and Currents (Gallery on the Greens 2020). Digital images of Kathy’s work were included in the Wendy Gallery (UK) Key of Keys exhibition and the BAM & DTNYXE Poster Show & Sale in 2021. She participated in the 2022 SK Wearable Art Show and was awarded First Prize in the Open Category for her Metal Cape.

Highlights of her theatrical career include Directing the Canadian Premier of The Beauty Queen of Leenane (New Theatre Co-op); Stage Manager of Z (25th St Theatre); ASM for The Hobbit (Globe Theatre); ASM/Props/Rosaline for the acclaimed bilingual production of Romeo et Juliet (Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan Festival), and teaching theatre and art workshops to thousands of students. Kathy was fortunate to direct Bushman for the first annual Short Cuts (Hardly Art’s ten-minute play festival) and had the privilege of directing her daughter Lauren in two musical theatre cabarets: Women of Broadway and It’s Complicated: A Stephen Sondheim Cabaret. She created the backyard Wee Festival with the help of her nephew, daughter, and husband to keep art alive during the pandemic. Kathy coordinated the first SK Theatre Design Festival (2021) – a design festival that provides opportunities for emerging and established theatre designers to explore the environment of stories on stage.