Art Gallery of Southwestern Manitoba Winter 2020 Exhibitions and Programs

Brandon, MB – On Thursday, January 16 at 7:30 pm, the Art Gallery of Southwestern Manitoba will host a public reception for the launch of three exhibitions, Flags of Unsung Countries, This Too Shall Pass, and Déterré/Unearthed.

Flags of Unsung Countries: Liz Ikiriko

Opening Reception: Thursday, January 16, 7:30 pm

Lunch & Look Artist Talk: Friday, January 17, 12 noon

Flags of Unsung Countries is a photographic installation exploring new ceremonies, migration and embodied archives. Photographed in Canada and Nigeria, the work functions as a rite of passage. The exhibition charts the process of understanding a father’s struggles as an African immigrant challenged with mental illness living in the Canadian prairies. The layered images intersect geography and memory in a search for a location of belonging. The work asks the questions: How do we reconcile displacement with a sense of rootedness on adopted homelands? What is required of a home – is it a geography, a structure, a memory? Do we choose to belong or does it choose us? Flags of Unsung Countries uses photography as a language and an archive to map a path of the African diaspora. Using the medium of photography, for this exhibition, Liz Ikiriko documents a personal journey to learn more about her father, returning to meet family in Nigeria and places in Canada where she has lived. Her deeply personal and moving work explores memory, family and identity, and reimagines boundaries between past and present.

Originating at Dunlop Art Gallery, Regina Public Library

This exhibition is supported by New System Store

Flags of Unsung Countries

This Too Shall Pass: Gloria C. Swain

Opening Reception: Thursday, January 16, 7:30 pm

Lunch & Look Artist Talk: Friday, January 17, 12 pm

This Too Shall Pass is a series of textured and abstract paintings on canvas by multimedia artist, mental health and ageism advocate, Gloria C. Swain. Swain’s canvases embody her experiences as an aging Black woman moving through hostile spaces, particularly mental healthcare institutions; and the labour involved with “cutting through and getting cut by” the system. The geometric patterns in Swain’s work illustrate the range of movement associated with the process—sharp edges colliding, shattering and realigning— and allude to the ways that oppressed groups might eventually break through. The project offers space to reflect on the hope, perseverance, and unapologetic reclaiming of place as Swain, a mother, grandmother, community leader, elder and artist, strives to be seen and heard.

This exhibition is supported by New System Store

Déterré/Unearthed: Candace Lipischak

Opening Reception: Thursday, January 16, 7:30 pm

 “I’ve always had an affinity for bygone objects. Walking my property, which dates back to the early 1900’s, I discovered many discarded items along the embankment of the Rat River. Each brought forth the inevitable questions; ‘Who used them? What was their purpose? Why were they cast away and when?’ Although I was disheartened to see all this antiquated debris, I realized that Mother Nature still thrived and together they coexisted. Integrating the past and the present, Déterré/Unearthed speaks of our environment’s adaptation to evolution and the issues impacting our society.” – Candace Lipischak, multidisciplinary artist

Déterré/Unearthed is presented in partnership with La Maison des artistes visuels francophones. Supported by Canadian Heritage.

Blue Monday Café

Monday, January 20, 5 – 9 pm

Step into the gallery and out of the cold for a mug of hot chocolate, refreshments, music and free tours of the exhibitions Flags of Unsung Countries and This Too Shall Pass.

The AGSM is supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, Manitoba Arts Council and City of Brandon

The Art Gallery of Southwestern Manitoba is located at 710 Rosser Avenue, and can be accessed either from the Town Centre parkade, or from the first floor of the Town Centre Mall through the elevators near the library. Parking in the Town Centre is free for AGSM visitors. Gallery hours are: Monday 4:00PM – 9:00PM, Tuesday to Friday 10:00AM-5:00PM; Thursday 10AM – 9PM; and Saturday 12:00-5:00PM.

(Submitted)