kAREN MCDIARMID, M.SC., IS A PHOTOGRAPHER, artist AND PSYCHOTHERAPIST WITH AN AFFINITY FOR THE HIMALAYAS and remote places. she directed A SMALL EDUCATIONAL/music NGO IN TIBET for 11 years and directed/produced the DOCUMENTARY, “SHINING SPIRIT: THE MUSICAL JOURNEY OF JAMYANG YESHI,” filmed in tibet, india and canada; it SCREENED AT the banff mountain film festival, MOUNTAINFILM IN TELLURIDE, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC’S ALL ROADS FILM FESTIVAL in washington, d.c., the rubin museum in new york, AND INTERNATIONALLY. it took third prize at the kathmandu mountain film festival, along with other awards.
KAREN HAS RETURNED MANY TIMES TO DHARAMSALA, INDIA, WORKING AS A PHOTOGRAPHER AND MENTAL HEALTH THERAPIST IN THE TIBETAN REFUGEE COMMUNITY, as well as counselling in remote communities - on baffin island in 2019 and in bhutan in 2012 and 2015/16. she also SPENT SEVERAL YEARS IN THE MIDDLE EAST PHOTOGRAPHING ON ARCHEOLOGICAL DIGS. karen spent two years in the photography program at the banff centre for arts & creativity and also completed a degree in art history at uvic, followed by graduate psychology studies at u. of calgary.
exhibits include a solo show at the whyte museum of the canadian rockies (2015) and a two person exhibit at elevation gallery (canmore, alberta. 2016). KAREN'S solo exhibit, "the grammar of emptiness," Was FEATURED AT THE BANFF MOUNTAIN FILm FESTIVAL IN 2016/17 and She exhibited at gallery merrick in nanaimo in 2019, she contributed paintings to the journal of the “dark island collective” on cortes island and a piece from the “salish sea swimmers” series was the cover image for “the new quarterly” literary journal (2022). Karen participated in a group show at the whyte museum of the canadian rockies in spring of 2022, an exhibit by the thursday afternoon art collective at the old schoolhouse gallery on cortes island, “between heaven and earth” in june, 2023, and in 2024, a group show on cortes island entitled, “paths of beauty.” Karen is working on painting/collage series entitled “Cortes in a time of plague” and “days of fire & rain.'‘
karen lives on cortes island, b.c., painting, cold water swimming and working on a book of essays
To order unframed prints (matted or unmatted) or to make other enquiries regarding exhibitions, collaborative projects or commissions, please contact me at the email address below. Thank you!
karen_mcdiarmid@yahoo.ca
Documentary: Shining spirit: the musical journey of jamyang yeshi. copy and paste this link to your browser to view: https://www.cultureunplugged.com/documentary/watch-online/play/50989/Shining-Spirit--The-Musical-Journey-of-Jamyang-Yeshi
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