Curatorial Projects
On The Waterfront (2015)
A Hamilton Winterfest exhibition featuring Lesley Loksi Chan, Fwee Twade (Becky Katz and Matt McInnes), Hopkins Duffield, Carey Jernigan and Julia Campbell-Such, and C. Wells.
To be on the waterfront is to be on the threshold of something. The waterfront is where settlers landed, and early trade took place. In the 19th Century, the area surrounding Hamilton's Pier 8 was home to some of the city's first industrial sites, including an iron works, boat works, sail loft and glass company.
In On The Waterfront, local industrial sites and history serve as points of departure for contemporary artists from around the region. Evocative outdoor installations draw on skills, materials and forms associated with early industry as well as the social history of the North End neighbourhood. This exhibition considers Hamilton's waterfront as a site of historical significance, tension and possibility, as well as a place where past stories and dreams of the future collide.
Winterlore (2014)
A Hamilton Winterfest exhibition featuring Floyd Elzinga (Beamsville), Hitoko Okada (Hamilton), Jacqui Oakley and Jamie Lawson (Hamilton), TH&B Collective (Hamilton), Thea Haines (Hamilton) and Tonya Hart (Toronto).
A hare shares visions of the Aurora Borealis with a wolf. An illuminated lotus beacons against the harbour line. A glowing wool house harkens back to the accounts of early settlers in Ontario, while a mysterious driftwood figure encased in ice recalls annual ice harvest from the Hamilton bay. Winterlore featured the work of six artists and collectives who have drawn on winter folklore, stories and symbols from close to home and around the world to create dynamic installations. Evoking tales told typically indoors, these artworks bring them to life in the winter landscape among the local community. This exhibition serves as a celebration of the diverse cultures of Hamilton.
Part of the Hamilton Winterfest Kick Off Event, this exhibition took place on February 1st, 2014 at Pier 8, 47 Discovery Drive, Hamilton.
Father Knowledge, Mother Tongue: A Interdisciplinary Publishing Project (2012-13)
Father Knowledge, Mother Tongue was my Thesis Project- presented as part of my degree requirements at OCAD University- was a collaborative research and publishing project. Taking inspiration from diverse approaches and disciplines such as oral history, critical pedagogy, community art practices and new working class studies, the project centres around two artists books I produced in collaboration with my parents that highlight their respective stories of inmigration and immigration, language, labour and adaptation. Compiling these convergent stories and elevating them through the production of both publications and works of art, Father Knowledge, Mother Tongue addresses the importance of integrating overlooked voices-- particularily those of immigrants and the working class-- into the cultural landscape.
This project resulted in two publications, Rechneek (made in collaboration with Depka Bursey) and You Can't Get That From Here (made in collaboration with Gower Bursey). At the publication launch at OCAD University on April 5th, 2013, a short Macedonian language lesson was led by Depka Bursey.
I'd like to acknowledge Jennifer Rudder and Andrea Fatona, my advisors, for their support of this project.
Love and Money (2010)
Love and Money featured local Toronto and international artists Helen Benninger, Kalpna Patel, Leah Buckareff (Berlin), Lizz Aston, Matt King, Meags Fitzgerald (Edmonton), Rachael Kess, Sandra Gregson, Stephanie Cormier, Steven Tippin and Wendy Walgate.
City of Craft, in partnership with the Ontario Craft Council, presented Love and Money, a group exhibition that will take place at the Ontario Craft Council Gallery as a part of City of Craft’s 2010 off-site programming. City of Craft is Toronto’s largest independent craft sale and weekend-long event featuring craft-based installations, free workshops, and craft-related programming.
This exhibition explored the relationship of crafting and commerce. Craft(ing) is currently a multi-billion dollar industry. From mainstream craft media personalities and the DIY Network to hipster how-to guides, mega craft fairs and fabric designers du jour, the commercial nature of the contemporary “crafting” movement often seems to starkly contrast the idea of crafting for necessity from days gone by. On the other hand, there are people who turn to craft and craft processes for a sense of transcendence and autonomy. Many would argue that there is more of a need to craft for crafts sake now than ever-- either to re-skill ourselves for an uncertain future, or simply to learn to slow down.
Are money and craft strange (or natural) bedfellows? How does craft transcend issues of commerce? How might one navigate or perceive the dichotomy of craft for love vs. craft for money? How do examples of contemporary craft and craft practices address or challenge issues of ownership, value, and exchange?
City of Craft (2009)
I was invited to program craft-based installations for City of Craft, a contemporary craft fair and event. Fourteen installations were situated in the Theatre Centre, as well as offsite in venues on Queen Street West between Ossington Avenue and Gladstone Avenue.
Artists included The Caribou Collective, Holly McClellan, Jacinta Lodge, Jen Spinner and Laurie McGregor, Lizz Aston, Meags Fitzgerald & Pamela Norrish, Megan Morgan, Marta Chudolinska, Serena McCarroll & Tyler Brett, Shanell Papp, Streetknit w. Ryan Kamstra, Susan Rowe Harrison and the Toronto Hyperbolic Crochet Reef. An group exhibition called Home and Away (and In-Between) was featured concurrently at the Theatre Centre's street level cafe space.