Photo description:

30042026 Artist Opeyemi Olukotun works on a painting during the art battle at the Art Gallery of southwestern Manitoba Annual Art Auction 2026 on Thursday evening at the gallery. This years theme was Minimalism X Maximalism. For the art battle, artists Olukotun, Jan Brancewicz, Marin Curtis and Weiming Zhao all created artworks within the gallery space while guests to the event looked on. The artworks were later auctioned off in a live auction alongside other donated artworks. In addition, a silent auction was held for a variety of artwork as well. The evening also included dinner. The annual event raises money for AGSM programming. (Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun)