Gallery 881 is proud to present The Tradeswomen Exhibit by Vancouver-based collaborators Carly Steiman and Millissa Martin. Bringing together portraiture and documentary photography, the exhibition celebrates the strength, skill, and artistry of women working in the trades, those whose hands and labor shape the spaces in which we live and work.
Through intimate images of faces and hands at work, The Tradeswomen Exhibit elevates stories too often overlooked. Tools become extensions of identity, gestures reveal decades of mastery, and each portrait honors not just craft, but courage and persistence in a field historically dominated by men.
Rooted in Carly’s lived experience as a Red Seal Electrician with nearly two decades in the trades, and Millissa’s photographic practice grounded in human connection, the exhibition weaves labor, identity, and artistry into a shared narrative. What began as a vision for a tradeswomen’s calendar has evolved into a cultural activation: an exhibition that challenges stereotypes, sparks conversation, and offers new possibilities for how we value work, equity, and community.
Gallery 881 is sponsored by our in-house PrintMaker Studio, a Canson Infinity Certified Print Lab and Custom Picture Framer. Visit tradeswomenexhibit.com for more information, support women in trades, and get your very own Tradeswomen Calendar.
GALLERY 881
881 East Hastings Street
Vancouver, BC
Canada V6A 3Y1
gallery881.com
@gallery881_
TRADESWOMEN
by Carly Steiman and Millissa Martin
EXHIBITION
October 18 - November 1, 2025
OPENING RECEPTION
Sunday, October 19, 2025 from 12 - 5pm
EXHIBITION STATEMENT
The Tradeswomen Exhibit is a celebration of womens’ skill, determination, and curiosity that shape the spaces we live in. Through intimate portraiture and striking images of hands at work, this exhibition brings forward the overlooked contributions of tradeswomen and challenges outdated notions of gender in construction and home services.
Each photograph reveals both strength and subtlety: weathered hands gripping tools with precision, faces radiating determination and quiet pride. These are not only portraits, but testaments to lives built through labor, artistry, and courage.
Blending Carly’s lived experience as a Red Seal Electrician with nearly two decades in the trades, and Millissa’s photographic storytelling that captures human essence, the exhibit honors and celebrates women. Together, they create a visual dialogue that connects identity, labor, and artistry - inviting viewers to recognize the power embedded in every detail.
At its core, the Tradeswomen Exhibit is more than an art installation-it is an activation of culture, sparking curiosity, conversation, and connection.
ARTIST BIO: Carly Steiman
Carly Steiman is a Red Seal electrician, entrepreneur, lighting consultant, and community builder based in Vancouver, BC. With over seventeen years in the electrical trade, she has cultivated a reputation for combining technical expertise with storytelling that elevates the voices of tradespeople working in residential construction and service industries.
Her career spans film, television, and construction sites, where she has been recognized as both a master of light and a strong advocate for inclusivity in the trades. Carly was the only Canadian woman competitor on the CBS reality series
Tough as Nails, and she continues to speak publicly about curiosity, leadership, and equity in skilled labor. Her love of storytelling stems from her connection with elders – listening to their lives and learning from their hands. Seeing gaps in resources for aging-in-place communities, Carly has carried this same instinct into her work beyond the gallery, piloting a home services agency to ensure dignity, care, and connection at home.
Both her artistic and entrepreneurial projects are bound by a desire to fix what is missing, to amplify overlooked voices, and to honor the stories of people whose hands have built and sustained our world. Her work has been featured at industry conferences, community events, and through collaborations with artists, organizations, and galleries. Through each project, Carly weaves together her values of kindness, curiosity, and empowerment-bringing light to spaces, stories, and people too often overlooked.
ARTIST BIO: Mellissa Martin
Millissa Martin is a Vancouver-based photographer whose practice blends fine art portraiture with documentary storytelling. With a keen eye for detail and a sensitivity to human connection, her work captures quiet strength and raw authenticity. Millissa has photographed a wide range of subjects, but her focus often returns to themes of identity, resilience, and belonging. Her ability to frame both the artistry and grit of her subjects makes her an ideal collaborator for projects that honor lived experience and community narratives.
Friendship & Origin Story
The Tradeswomen Exhibit is rooted in both history and friendship. Back in 2011, Carly drafted a storyboard for a project that would one day celebrate women in the trades. Life and work pulled her in other directions, and the idea was set aside.
A decade later, while launching a new business, she revisited that vision with the idea of producing a tradeswomen’s calendar. When Carly and Millissa came together-friends with a shared passion for storytelling, movement and representation-the concept quickly expanded.
What began as a calendar evolved into something larger: an exhibition that merges art and advocacy, giving tradeswomen visibility and voice. Through Millissa’s lens and Carly’s lived experience in the trades, the project grew into a cultural activation-one that not only honors craft but also challenges stereotypes and sparks conversation about the future of work, what’s possible and inviting our community inside to learn.