Art exhibition pays tribute to Calgary artist Jenifer Darbellay who died in Lapu Lapu Day festival tragedy

One of the victims of the car attack on a Filipino festival in Vancouver last Saturday was Jenifer Darbellay, a former Calgarian who made a lasting mark on the city’s theatre community.

An art exhibition opening next Friday will showcase the work of a Calgary artist who was killed in the Lapu Lapu Day Festival last April.

Gaze and Connect will honour the late Jenifer Darbellay, featuring work by Darbellay, as well as painters Nadine Kelln and Heather Edelmeier.

In a release, the South Delta Artist’s Guild said “the exhibition concentrates on artistic connection, friendship and the power of art to unite diverse audiences.”

The exhibition was due in large part to the determination of Kelln, Darbellay’s friend and artistic collaborator, to follow through on plans to do a show together--something they had first done in 2018.

“It was even more important to shine a light on Jen’s beautiful art and fulfil both of our dreams,” Kelln said in a release.

Darbellay was killed at a cultural festival when a man drove into it and killed 11 people.

She was there with her husband Noel Johansen and the couple’s two children.

“She was extraordinary,” said Noel Johansen, her husband, in a May 2025 interview with CTV News. “And I think what made her extraordinary was that she affected more people than she had any idea that she could.”

Darbellay went to St. Francis High School and the Alberta University of the Arts in Calgary before starting her artistic career as a painter and costume designer.

“She created not just art and paintings, but she created community,” Johansen said.

Darbellay’s death stunned members of Calgary’s theatre community, who celebrated her work as a designer for a variety of companies in the city.

“She lit up the room when she walked in,” said Alberta Theatre Projects artistic director Haysam Kadri. “She became the fabric of this community.

“Her loss is absolutely heartbreaking.”

Darbellay and Alanna Uhrich worked on Shakespeare in the Park productions together. She fondly remembers Darbellay’s ability to create something out of nothing.

“Everything about her was feminine,” said Uhrich. “She was soft, sweet. kind, nurturing. She was a very special person and I’ve never met anyone like Jen.”

“A glorious soul,” said actor Trevor Leigh on Facebook back in April. “I’m at a loss for words.”

The exhibition will showcase her evolving body of work, from her early “umbrellas and weather” series to her “angels” paintings, which celebrate mothers as protectors -- to her “lake series” celebrating family and summers spent in northern Saskatchewan.

There is also a series of portraits that comment on selfie culture.

“Losing Jen has been devastating for all who knew her,” Kelln said. “She was such a bright light—it felt literally magical to be in her presence.”

“Kindness, motherhood, and art were at the heart of her life. I still feel her bright, loving soul with us. Jen wanted everyone to feel beautiful, heard and seen.”

Original work by Kelln and Edelmeier will be for sale, as well as prints of cards of Darbellay’s art, with proceeds donated to the Vancouver Foundation.

The exhibition opens Feb 13., with a reception from 1-3 p.m. on Feb. 14. at Gallery 1710, 1710 56th Street, Tsawwassen, BC, V4L2B2. It

With files from CTV’s Jacqueline Wilson, Camilla Di Giuseppe and Damien Wood