June 26 – 28th, 2026 | 
artswellsfestival@imarts.com | 
1 250 994 3466
Brigitte Jardin enchants with bilingual compositions inspired by everyday poetry.
Paying tribute to the classic country sound and to gender equality, this multi-instrumentalist makes her mark with finely crafted lyrics set to the tone of a smooth Honky Tonk night.
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@brigittejardin6288
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brigitte.jardin/?hl=en
Bandcamp: https://brigittejardin.bandcamp.com/track/lonely-time-brigitte-jardin
Website: https://www.brigittejardin.com/
Mercedes Minck is a Prince George-based multidisciplinary artist and designer driven by curiosity and a passion for creativity.
With a diverse skill set that encompasses painting, illustration, textiles, and design, Mercedes embraces a hands-on approach to her craft, finding joy in the process of manual labor and the exploration of traditional techniques. Her work celebrates the flora and fauna she encounters, which she harvests for creative material and inspiration.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mercedesminck/
Website: https://www.merkminck.com/
Ella is a self-taught visual artist with settler heritage, living and working on the unceded territories of the Squamish, Musqueam, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations.
Her practices span watercolour painting and drawing, street and mural art, textile arts, and paper marionette-making. Ella has worked extensively in community art-making spaces, including roles as facilitator of art groups with seniors, kids, and people who use drugs. Ella loves to find the play in art-making, and recognizes the powerful role of community art in mental health and self-care.
Ella has exhibited in solo and group exhibitions in Victoria, Vancouver, and Salt Spring Island. She participated in the ‘Tools for Change’ residency in Spring 2024 at Makerlabs in East Vancouver, along with a two-person residency at the Point Gallery (Salt Spring Island) in 2022.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ella.so_moves/
Website: https://www.ellamacqueen-denz.com/
Patrick M’Gonigle grew up in Victoria BC. After spending the last fifteen years in the United States, (2009-2021 in Boston, 2022-present in Nashville, TN) he’s long overdue for a return to Artswells for his fourth time – and first since 2012.
Since his last time in Wells (as a party animal with the Tequila Mockingbird Orchestra), Patrick completed his doctorate in Contemporary Improvisation at Boston’s New England Conservatory, founded and toured with award winning Boston-based bluegrass band, the Lonely Heartstring Band, produced and toured with songstress Bella White, among many other projects. Though he calls Nashville home and has toured the world for nearly twenty years, BC will always be home – and nothing inspires more than a small BC town summer festy. His set will be a mixture of free improv, ambient music, and late-stage-stringband sounds surrounded by goodtime buddies.