Assembly Manual: Sites for Existence is a visual art exhibition that brings together work by Nate McLeod, Morgan Melenka and the artist-duo NASARIMBA, comprised of Mikhail Miller and Rachel Ziriada. Each body of work explores elements of built environments—or sites for existence—including urban / suburban, interior / exterior and private / public space. While the human figure is absent throughout the body of work, we are ever aware that these sites were built by and for humans and so are left to contemplate how we might interact with and relate to them.

McLeod’s vignettes of domestic furnishings from his newborn’s nursery were created amidst a period of intense life-changes: becoming a parent and receiving an unexpected medical diagnosis. They remind us that amidst uncertainty, making intentional choices about our interior surroundings is a valid strategy to nurture calm and comfort. Melenka’s intricate prints at once satirize and exalt the artificial, dazzling features of contemporary North American architecture. They interrogate the “why” behind elements that have become ubiquitous in urban and sub-urban environments (including shopping malls), considering darker realities—legacies of colonialism, environmental impacts, homogenization—hiding behind their shimmering veneers. NASARIMBA’s layered collage-paintings revel in the abstraction of urban spaces. The duo starts by harvesting texture, form and colour from hundreds of images of street photography. From there, they construct new compositions that could be interpreted as blueprints for imaginative, playful spaces they aspire to build and occupy. While diverse in many ways, each art piece is ultimately exploring an idea of how humans assemble space, for better or for worse, and the ensuing effects these sites for existence have on the individual and collective psyche.

Curated by Sierra Zukowski, TREX Southeast, Esplanade Arts & Heritage Centre

Partners: Alberta Foundation for the Arts

Artist Bios

Nate McLeod

Nate McLeod is an artist living and working in Calgary,Canada. He holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the AlbertaUniversity of the Arts and is represented by Herringer KissGallery. McLeod’s work is included in private, public, andcorporate collections including the Alberta Foundation forthe Arts, Encana, and Royal Bank of Canada. He has curatedseveral independent exhibitions, was the co-founder andArtistic Director of Avalanche! Institute of Contemporary Art,the former Associate Curator of Contemporary Calgary, and iscurrently the Educational Art Technician in the Drawing &Painting departments at the Alberta University of the Arts.

Morgan Malenka

Morgan Melenka is a visual artist based in Calgary whoexplores architectural forms and surfacing in her print andsculpture practice. Having grown up in the shadow of WestEdmonton Mall, she is fascinated with the narrative powerof architecture, and how superficial treatments can createan illusory sense of place. She is a current Masters ofArchitecture student at the University of Calgary and holdsan MFA from NSCAD University. In keeping with her interestwith architecture and surface, during the summer you canfind her painting sets for theatre and television as a scenicpainter. Her recent exhibitions include Honed to IrrelevantShine at Arprim in Montreal (2025) and Nonsuch at theLeighton Centre in Millarville (2024).

NASARIMBA (Mikhail Miller and Rachel Ziriada)

NASARIMBA, meaning “playful mischief”, is themultidisciplinary practice of Calgary-based artistsRachel Ziriada (BFA, UVic 2014) and Mikhail Miller (BFA,AUArts 2006). Since 2015, the duo has collaborated oncollages, paintings, screen prints, assemblage sculptures,installations, and large-scale public murals. Their vibrantmurals can be found on streets across Mexico and Canada, andhave been featured in major arts festivals, including BUMPMural Festival (Calgary, AB), Canettes de Ruelle (Montreal,QC), and the Nelson International Mural Festival (Nelson, BC). In 2021, NASARIMBA presented a solo painting exhibitionat VIVIANEART in Calgary. From 2022 to 2024, they receivedproject grants from Calgary Arts Development and CanadaCouncil for the Arts supporting the creation of large-scalepublic murals. Their work has taken them abroad, with grantfunded artist residencies in Mexico City (2023), Guadalajara(2023), and Oaxaca (2025), where they collaborated withlocal artists, painted murals, and developed new work.Rachel and Mikhail live and work in Mohkinstsis, Treaty 7Territory (Calgary, AB).