Past Exhibitions 2021
2021 Exhibitions
FRANCES FERDINANDS | 26
NOVEMBER 7 – JANUARY 7, 2021
The installation 26 emanated from the artists 3-month stay in 2015 in her homeland of Sri Lanka.
Under the auspices of an Ontario Arts Council Grant she studied and conducted research under two mentors who are masters in the field of traditional fine art and craft which are culturally at risk. Ferdinands’ vision became a reality through examining these old traditions and revitalising them through re-interpretation within a contemporary context.
BORDER CROSSINGS SHOWCASE
NOVEMBER 7 – JANUARY 7, 2021
Listen and view the stories that have impacted and changed the lives of Artists and our community, told through various forms of art. Come ready to experience emotions, beauty and resilience. Leave with a new understanding of the borders we all face daily and a better sense of community and connection. We all have a border crossing story to tell. The Border Crossings Project is generously funded by the Ontario Trillium Foundation ( @ontrillium) through the Grow Grant, the Ontario Arts Council ( @ontarioartscouncil ) and The City of Mississauga’s Cultural Division ( @citymississauga ).
DEBBIE MILLER - Artist Statement
November 7, 2020 – January 7, 2021
“The #IHAVENOWORDS project was born out of my commitment to be a part of a call to action. I needed to harness and channel the rage, anger, disgust and profound sadness that I was feeling as a result of the unjustified killing of George Floyd on May 25th, 2020 by a Minneapolis police officer. As a black woman, mother, daughter, sister, wife and police officer, I could no longer remain silent. I needed to stand up and be a part of this call to action. A call for the acknowledgement that “black” people are facing systemic discrimination, unconscious bias and anti-black racism every single day. Action that would result in needed and lasting change. I began to have deep conversations, particularly, with black men in the community, black police officers and mothers of black sons. During these conversations, I asked them to share their thoughts and experiences on cue cards. I sought their permission to photograph them as we spoke. The conversations were deeply emotional and introspective.
This collection of emotionally charged conversations allowed me to understand their feelings and capture images of the acute pain, suffering and profound sadness and frustrations that has beset our community.
In this tapestry of photographs and community quotes, I tell their stories. This photo-essay offers a view into the impact of inter-generational racism on black families and gives voice to their cry “… I can’t breathe…”. It is also a call to have courage; a call to pursue this shared path of resistance; a call to do the hard work to build a more equal, equitable and inclusive society.
Black people continue to be impacted by systemic racism. As a society, we need to stand together to ignite a movement against racism and discrimination. This requires all of us to continue the conversations, to listen, learn and act to invoke real and sustainable change.”
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KWESI MILLINGTON
NOVEMBER 7 – JANUARY 7, 2021
Bio
My name is Kwesi Sekou Millington. Speaking is what I do now, but it’s not where I started. I’m a Speaker and Certified Speech Coach, but my background is in Policing. It wasn’t my lifelong dream to be a Police Officer, but have you ever ended up somewhere as a result of just “going with the flow” instead of purposefully planning your life?
Story
In 2004, I left my hometown of Toronto, Canada and headed off to Regina, Saskatchewan, eventually to end up in Richmond, a city just outside of Vancouver, British Columbia. I made it! I was a Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Officer.
Speaking was still not on my radar…I had no clue then where I’d be today…but life has strange ways.
They tell you as a police officer that it is highly likely that you will see death while on the job, and that it may even happen on your watch. But you still think, “maybe I’ll be lucky enough to avoid that happening…” I wasn’t.
On October 14, 2007, I attended a 911 call with my fellow officers and we got into a physical altercation with a man that had to be arrested. Unfortunately and tragically, he died shortly after being arrested.
The saga continued…
March 2009: Although the whole incident was video recorded, I was called to testify in court (broadcasted Nationally) at a Public Inquiry as to what I did on that fateful night.
The Stop Sign
The date – May 2011: Though I have never lied in my career as a Police Officer and was cleared of any wrongdoing by 3 different independent investigations, a Special Prosecutor was hired and I was charged with Perjury (lying under oath) for what I said in 2009.
THE HIDDEN BEAST – PTSD & DEPRESSION
There’s an old saying that says “the greatest trick the devil ever played is convincing the world that he doesn’t exist.” I was lost. Facing a criminal charge and the possibility of losing my career, I finally started opening up more to my psychologist (whom I’d been seeing since 2009). I’m a tough nut to crack, but through therapy, I was able to get some answers….leading to diagnoses of PTSD and Depression. I’m not a big fan of labels, but exposing what I was struggling with and giving it a name finally started to allow me to figure out who I was.
Still figuring that out by the way!
Why do I tell you all of that? Because life is about speed bumps and stop signs. Often we confuse one with the other. Most people let speed bumps BECOME their stop signs. And between 2011 and 2013, I suffered through bouts of Depression and PTSD that left me wanting to stop permanently, many times.
JESSE LOUTTIT - Artist Statement
November 7, 2020 – January 7, 2021
I grew up in the suburbs, Brampton to be specific. I was born in Toronto before my parents decided they needed more space for our family. When I finished high school I left Brampton as fast I could. I wanted to get out and see more of the world. Since moving away, I have always felt that I could never move back to a suburb. Being recently married, I’ve thought about where I would want to live if my own family starts to grow. With the rising cost of houses in the city I have begun to question that feeling. Thinking back to growing up, I remember times of fun hanging out with my friends skateboarding, enjoying our summers and trying not to get into too much trouble. With this nostalgic and romantic mindset, I headed back to the suburb that I grew up in to re-create some of these memories with a new generation of kids who are wondering how fast they can leave.
BHAVNA BHATNAGAR | RHYTHM
NOVEMBER 7 – JANUARY 7, 2021
Rhythm is a unique collection of art pieces presented by Artist Bhavna Bhatnagar which is inspired by Nature, Philosophy, and ethnic cultural background. Her ceramic works also exhibit her artistic views developed during her Canadian journey, and thus creating a modern-western and classical Indian fusion
JAMES FOWLER | BEING ALONE TOGETHER
NOVEMBER 7 – JANUARY 7, 2021
Being Alone Together is equal parts performative painting and community engagement. I have recreated elements of my art studio and am working diligently on a new painting, Anthem, taking breaks to reach out and talk with friends who are part of the art and culture community. Using video technology and social media, I discuss diverse topics that impact various communities. Finding common ground through casual conversation, I am connecting with makers in Mississauga, across the country, and internationally, using these technologies to bridge geographic barriers.
In these strange times of isolation as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, maintaining our mental health and wellbeing is so important. Artists often already spend so much time isolated in their studios and this can create feelings of loneliness. Being tucked away from the world to create can take its toll on a person. Often our social experiences are through art openings, art talks and panel discussions. Many of these have moved online which cut out the small bits of social interrelations we can have before and after these events. By bringing an active art studio into the museum environment and broadcasting these conversations, I hope to share what happens behind the scenes for an artist, recreate the intimacy of these experiences and provide opportunity for sharing, connection and togetherness, crossing the borders between our personal and public lives.
ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE | RAHEEL PATEL
Extended:
November 7, 2020 – January 7, 2021
Patel’s art practice began in Ahmedabad, the capital city of Gujarat, India. In Gujarat, natural dyes and Lippan mud are used to decorate traditional Kutch homes. By upcycling mirrors and objects Patel’s work reflects folk art history while exploring new cultural narratives to promote environmental social change.
Here at the AGM, Patel uses his residency to inform and celebrate sustainable art practises, while transforming the space to engage visitors. Patel is an artist and cultural worker who lives in Mississauga and works at his studio in Port Credit. We are delighted to have him here at the AGM and to introduce him to visitors of all ages.
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2020
2020 Exhibitions
VAM 42
January 16 – March 14, 2020
The AGM once again partnered with Visual Arts Mississauga (VAM) to present the 42nd Annual Juried Show of Fine Arts to kick off the new year of exhibitions.
VAM42 Jurors
Anahita Azrahimi
Carlo Cesta
Fausta Facciponte
Skawennati | Teiakwanahstahsontéhrha’ | We Extend the Rafters
A children’s exhibition designed for kids aged 5 to 11.
September 21 – November 1, 2020
My name is Iotetshèn:’en, and I live on Earth—usually. Our planet is united under the Great Law of Peace. […] Earth has been attacked by more than one visitor from outerspace, and our harmonious way of life is being threatened. So for now, my home is this spaceship. We are travelling to the first meeting of the five nearest, friendliest planets in our galaxy. The goal of our mission is to create a union that will protect us from attacks and also help us share our very different knowledges. I have been invited on this historic voyage because I have a special power…
Thus begins The Peacemaker Returns, a futuristic saga set in 3025 yet firmly rooted in the ancestral Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) confederation story and featuring historical figures such as Tekanawí:ta, Jacques Cartier, and a president addicted to Twitter! This new machinima—an animation-style movie produced on the virtual reality platform Second Life—is the core of the children’s exhibition Teiakwanahstahsontéhrha’ | We Extend the Rafters, designed specifically for kids aged 5 to 11 by Skawennati. Audiences of all ages are invited to (re)discover some traditions in the artist’s “museum of the future,” an original installation. A guided tour and a collective workshop in the form of an innovative board game will encourage young and mature viewers alike to (re)learn history from an Indigenous perspective and imagine how all people can contribute to the world of tomorrow, reminding us how History, like any other narrative, is a construction defined by those who tell it.
The Teiakwanahstahsontéhrha’ tour benefits from the financial support of the Canada Council for the Arts and the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec. This exhibition was produced in 2017 by VOX, centre de l’image contemporaine in partnership with Aboriginal Territories in Cyberspace (AbTeC) and Obx Labs, with financial support from the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, the Quebec Ministry of Culture and Communications and the City of Montreal under the Agreement on the Cultural Development of Montreal, as well as the Community Fund for Canada’s 150th.
DON RUSSELL | IF THESE WOODS COULD SPEAK
In Conversation with Peter Schuler
September 21 – November 1, 2020
IF THESE WOODS COULD SPEAK features paintings by Don Russell and photographs by Peter Schuler, whose work makes use of the mirrored image as a beginning place. What is revealed through this process often seems to speak out to us in such a way as to introduce another kind of presence within the image. Faces and bodies emerge informing the viewer of their existence, which seems to be a deliberate communing between the human and non-human world.
ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE | RAHEEL PATEL
September 21 – November 1, 2020
Patel’s art practice began in Ahmedabad, the capital city of Gujarat, India. In Gujarat, natural dyes and Lippan mud are used to decorate traditional Kutch homes. By upcycling mirrors and objects Patel’s work reflects folk art history while exploring new cultural narratives to promote environmental social change.
Here at the AGM, Patel uses his residency to inform and celebrate sustainable art practises, while transforming the space to engage visitors. Patel is an artist and cultural worker who lives in Mississauga and works at his studio in Port Credit. We are delighted to have him here at the AGM and to introduce him to visitors of all ages.
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2016 - 2020
Past Exhibitions
2020
2019
2018
2017
2016
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The Art Gallery of Mississauga is a guest upon the Treaty Lands and Territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit. This ancient land is part of the Treaty Lands and Territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit and the traditional homelands of the Anishinaabe, Wendat, and Haudenosaunee nations.