In her talk, Davies will discuss Sveva’s personal and artistic journey and re-appraise the Recapitulation series in order to give this dynamic artist the recognition that she deserves.

“While interest in Sveva’s  life has eclipsed her art in the public domain, thirty years after her death, it is time to bring her work front and centre and place it in the context of Canadian and international art,” says Davies, adding:

“Sveva was out-of-sync with the art scene in the 1980s and was rejected by BC institutions when she offered to gift the Recapitulation series in 1985.

“Happily, through political influence, they found a home with the Alberta Art Foundation in Edmonton. The AAF not only cared for them physically, they began to build her reputation as an artist through exhibits.”

In 2021, The Caetani Cultural Centre Society repatriated the full series and the paintings are now accessible to not only art historians but also to the general public.

Davies is an Order of Canada and Cavaliere d’Italia recipient. She was born in Italy and grew up in Canada and has BA and MA degrees from the University of Alberta, and a doctorate from the University of London, England.

She has worked as a writer, editor, curator, fine and decorative arts specialist, and cultural executive director. She was science editor of The Canadian Encyclopedia and also created the Alberta Online Encyclopedia (albertasource.ca), comprising 84 multimedia websites (33 with Indigenous content).

Davies was involved in the Canadian Museums Association and Assembly of First Nations Task Force on Museums and First Peoples; implemented three Alberta Museums Association symposia on the same subject the last being, “Re-inventing the Museum on Native Terms”; and created three internships to engage Indigenous young people in content creation for the Alberta Online Encyclopedia.