Exhibition Dates: July 10 to August 3, 2018
Opening Reception: Thursday July 12, 6 to 8 p.m.
Juried by: Marilyn Fernandes and Julius Poncelet Manapul; Exhibiting artists: Shabnam Afrand Zoraida Anaya, Sarah (Fatameh) Arasteh, Edd Baptista, Carlina Chen, Linda Chen, Adam Cohoon, Adam Czech, Darrell Decaire, Patrick Decoste, Pamela Dodds, Michel Dumont, Andrew Harwood, Chaewon Kim, Hyun Ryoung Kim, Shannon Lewis, Sue Lloyd, Judith Mason, Alex Murphy, Phuong Nguyen, Robert Quance, Samy Sabani, Gretchen Sankey, Louise Spiritcougar Lefebvre, Stuart Blower, Asma Sultana, Kathleen Troy, Steven Volpe, Magda Wojtyra and Janice Ykema.
Juror statement: Marilyn Fernandez
Intersections: My World – My Community
I want to thank Carla Garnet and the John B. Aird Gallery for inviting me to jury the group show Intersections: My World – My Community, I would also like to thank Julius Poncelet Manapul, my co juror. The submissions presented an abundance of riches for me to view. There were so many strong works of art that narrowing our choice to 38 pieces was a difficult task.
I asked of each piece “how successfully does the work address the issue of Intersectionality?” and without an artist’s statement, I was forced to judge only the visual. Artists who take intersectionality as their focus are interested in the way that different types of oppression — such as racism, classism, xenophobia, misogyny, mental health or homophobia/transphobia —can converge and impact individuals and groups, and their work explores these complex interactions.
Congratulations to all of the artists, who submitted work for this exhibition, and a special shout out to the 30 artists that were selected. I hope the audience enjoys the show as much as I enjoyed looking at the images and selecting the exhibition. I was deeply moved by some of the work, and intellectually challenged by several pieces.
Juror statement: Julius Poncelet Manapul
Intersections: My World – My Community
First I must apologize for my absence at the opening reception! I will be celebrating the opening exhibition for all of you from Mexico City, rest assured! I would also like to say thanks to my co-juror Marilyn Fernandez and to the Director/Curator of John B. Aird Gallery, Carla Garnet. It has been an honor to be part of the jury. The John B. Aird Gallery has always opened its doors to the diverse and critical issues that contemporary artists tackle in the now global, diasporic, understandings of what constructs a community and its landscape. This show talks about important issues on marginalized bodies, and as such we were very careful with the artists selected for the show. The selected artists come from diverse backgrounds of struggles, age groups, gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, cultural identity, class, abilities and other dimensions of discrimination, marginalization and stigma. I would like to congratulate the 30 artists chosen to be part of this show as they employ the diverse range of practices of visual language to critically reflect the issue of Intersections and question the idea of belonging. These selected artists are an amalgamation of both up and coming artists and mid-career artists that have explored the topics of diversity and identity. Together they are molding the Canadian art landscape today. It’s been exciting to see these groupings of work and how they all communicate with each other and pass beyond diverse personal experience. Reflecting on these selected works of art, I believe this has truly become these artists’ World and Community, lending us a glimpse within the Intersections of their World – Their Community. Once again I would like to take the time to congratulate these chosen artists and their work that builds up this diverse critical show.
