Take a break and check out these new and old exhibitions at the Art Gallery of Hamilton!
Midterm season can be draining and taking a break to view exhibitions at the Art Gallery of Hamilton can be a great way to destress!
This exhibition features more than 70 works created over four decades by Shelley Niro, a Mohawk artist based in Brantford, ON. The first major retrospective exhibition of her work, 500 Year Itch highlights the following themes: matriarchy, past is present, actors and family relations. Niro aims to represent Indigenous women and girls while advocating for self-representation and sovereignty using parody, feminism and spirituality. The exhibit will be available for viewing from Feb. 10-May 26, 2024.
Alex Jacobs-Blum: Living and Lost Connections
Hamilton-based artist Alex Jacobs-Blum presents her first museum solo exhibition using photos and videos to portray the themes of continuity and legacy. "As part of her artmaking process, Jacobs-Blum immerses herself in Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫʼ (Cayuga) homelands, situated around one of the Finger Lakes in present-day upstate New York. There, she embodies Hodinöhsö:ni’ women across generations, connecting deeply with Creation. By documenting her presence in the landscape, she navigates historical narratives, displacement, responsibility, and the shaping of new futures," as mentioned on the AGH website. The exhibit will be available for viewing from Feb. 10-May 20, 2024.
RBC Artist In Residence: Melissa General
Melissa General is a Mohawk artist from Six Nations of the Grand River Territory and is the 2023-2024 RBC Artist in Residence at AGH. Her exhibition involves using photography, audio, video and installation to explore the concepts of memory, language and land of the Six Nations of the Grand River, as well as her identity as a Mohawk artist. The exhibit has been around for a year and is almost over, so don't miss it!
Kim Adams is a Canadian artist who explores mobile and industrial societies through his work. "Blending humour, satire and seriousness, he builds “worlds” as a means of social critique," as mentioned on the AGH website. His exhibition portrays satirical dystopian pieces of work, as exemplified in Bruegel-Bosch Bus. His work has been showcased in both parks and museums. This exhibition will be around for a long time, but it won't be here forever.
Have fun checking these exhibitions!
The new Art Gallery of Hamilton exhibit, This is Our Space Too, celebrates the creative perspectives of artists who have experienced homelessness and substance use
Keeping Six Hamilton Harm Reduction Action League is a community-based organization that defends the rights, dignity, and humanity of people with lived experiences of homelessness and substance use. Established in 2018 as a response to the opioid epidemic, this organization provides programming to amplify the voices of those who use drugs.
This is Our Space Too is a new exhibit at the Art Gallery of Hamilton presented by members of the Keeping Six Hamilton Harm Reduction Action League and the Keeping Six Arts Collective.
The exhibit features work from artists with lived experience with substance use and homelessness. The title, This is Our Space Too, emphasizes the importance of feeling seen and welcome in creative, public, and city spaces.
This initiative aims to challenge the common perception of community and encourage visitors to build compassion for individuals with different perspectives. This is Our Space Too is a powerful reminder that artists can come from many different walks of life.
Keeping Six Arts Collective promotes harm reduction through art by hosting weekly drop-ins and workshops for writing, painting and ceramics. The collective also organizes open mic nights and contributes to the K6 Zine, Keeping Six’s quarterly magazine.
This is Our Space Too is on exhibition from Dec 9, 2023 to Mar 16, 2024 in The Jean & Ross Fischer Gallery. For those interested, Gallery Level 2 and the Jean and Ross Fischer Gallery are always free admission. In addition, admission to the entire gallery is always free for students and free to the public every Thursday.
[spacer height="20px"]The AGH BMO World Film Festival is Hamilton’s largest Festival of international, independent, and Canadian film. This year over 60 films will be screened between October 11-21, and in honour of its 10th anniversary there are some extra-special things happening throughout the 10-days.
AGH Film Curator, Ryan Ferguson, works year-round selecting an impressive program of films that not only celebrate the power and beauty of film, but also highlight different issues in our present-day society.
There are many films for the LGBTQ+ audience this year. Love, Scott is a documentary about Scott Jones, a gay musician who was the victim of a hateful attack and is now paralyzed from the waist down. Scott will be attending the screening on October 17 for a Q&A period and will talk about his journey. Other highlights include: The Miseducation of Cameron Post (October 15) , starring Chloe Grace Moretz, and Rafiki (October 19), a film banned in its home country of Kenya. The closing-night party of the Festival will feature a screening of the documentary Paris is Burning (October 20) with a drag-show hosted by Hamilton’s own queer event planners #AdamandSteve.
If you like a little fun with your films, one of the Festival’s cult-classic themed events are sure to be an excuse to get a group of friends together. On October 13, join Girl on the Wing for a romantic screening of the 90s classic Romeo and Juliet set in a church filled with candles and other atmospheric touches. For another blast from the past, grab tickets to see Spice World on October 17, featuring the Spice Girls during their peak in the 90s. To cap off the evening, join us for 90s karaoke afterwards at Toast, a local wine bar, hosted by The Eye of Faith.
A film festival that takes place in October wouldn’t be complete without some horror flicks! You can expect classics like the haunted ballet academy flick Suspiria (October 11), unexpected beauty in the offbeat November (October 21), and a don’t-mess-with-me Nicholas Cage in the action-packed Mandy (October 13). These are all sure to get your Halloween season off to a spooky start.
To find out more information about the AGH BMO World Film Festival, head to www.aghfilmfest.com for the full schedule and to buy tickets. Follow along on Instagram @at_theagh or with the hashtag #aghfilmfest. Remember the days where you had to go to a video store to pick out a movie? Check out the Film Festival Video Store Pop-Up at Redchurch Cafe & Gallery (68 King St East), an interactive experience complete with retro VHS cases for each film! Take a look – with so many options at this year’s Festival, you’re bound to find a film that speaks to you.
Screening Locations:
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