Inspired by growing up in the 1960's near Lowe Farm, Darlene Derksen has created a multimedia tribute to a rural lifestyle that's quickly disappearing.

'160 ACRES: The Geography of Home' tells the visual story of Derksen's great grandparents coming to Canada from Russia in the 1870's, chronicling their Mennonite culture, traditions and agricultural roots.

"I wanted to relay that story to my children," Derksen says. "We had no connection to that life anymore."

Lost too, she says, is the direct connection to the earth and to their survival. Her parents and grandparents had virtually grown all their food on the field or in the garden. 

artist Darlene Derksen.

She hopes the exhibit appeals to people familiar with farming, but also those interested in the idea of growing your own food, canning, sewing your own clothes.

"A lot of craft needs to be learned again... it gives you such satisfaction to make things, to grow things."

The artwork covers all aspects of the farm life, from water colours of the food production to a quilt detailing the nine sections of the Kronsweide school district.

She notes the rural countryside had a greater sense of community with a denser population. In nine sections there were 18 farms.

"People are too busy to talk about their stories, and I think that story comes out of my exhibit... they see mine, but they are recalling their own."

The exhibit runs until June 17 at the Mennonite Heritage Centre Gallery in Winnipeg.