University of Manitoba - School of Art -
UPCOMING/CURRENT EXHIBITIONS: To be announced. 

 

gallery_women

 

womenofcolour@soagallery

Curated by Noor Bhangu
Special Collections Gallery
March 15–April 13, 2018
 
As the fourth and final installment of curator Noor Bhangu's internship, womenofcolour@soagallery responds to the absence of women of colour in the permanent collection of the School of Art. The gallery will remain empty for the first week of the exhibition to publically mark this absence. This will be followed by three weeks during which work by students, faculty, staff, and community members self-identifying as QTBIPOC (Queer, Trans, Black, Indigenous, People of Colour) will enter the gallery to shift the curatorial premise from absence to one of presence and resistance.

Submission of Artworks
Artworks will be accepted by Noor Bhangu on an ongoing basis and displayed until the final day of the exhibition. For more information, please contact Noor by email.

Panel Discussion: Matters of Representation in Art Institutions: Strategizing Our Futures
Please join us at 4:00 p.m. on March 22 to attend the panel co-organized with School of Fine Art Student Association (SOFASA) around the themes of the exhibition.

The panel discussion, featuring Shimby Zegeye-Gebrehiwot as moderator and Annie Beach, Shaneela Boodoo, Lisa Desilets, and Seema Goel, will be a dialogue centered on topics of identity, representation, and inclusion as the speakers understand them, having themselves moved through art institutions, such as universities, galleries, museums, and public collections. While reflecting on their own work, speakers will contribute depth and experience to this much-needed discussion.

Open Call for Artwork Submissions
February 20–April 13

Panel Discussion
March 22, 4:00 p.m.

Closing Reception
April 12, 4:00 – 6:30 p.m.

With support from Young Canada Works - Building Careers in Heritage

Exhibition Essay

Noor Bhangu womenofcolour@soagallery [pdf]

The Panelists
Hagere Selam 'Shimby' Zegeye-Gebrehiwot is an artist who moonlights as a university student. Using 16mm and super 8mm film, they make experimental films and instillations that explore diaspora, feminism and queerness. Shimby has participated in the Foundation Mentorship Program through MAWA, Cartae open school through aceartinc. and artist residencies on Toronto Island, in Halifax and in rural Ontario. They are the 2018 inaugural recipient of the Winston W. Moxam award for best black Canadian short film and they have received grants and awards from municipal, provincial and national arts councils and arts organizations. They are based out of Winnipeg (Treaty One Territory) and between Addis Abeba, Ethiopia and Athens, Greece.
 
Annie Beach is a visual artist currently acquiring a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at the University of Manitoba’s School of Art. She was born and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba; however, Annie is also proud to say her family is from Peguis First Nation. Annie is a Cree and Saulteaux woman who has taken it upon herself to learn about her own culture and consider what being Indigenous means to her and the political topics that revolve around Indigenous people. Her current work focuses on personal and stereotyped ideas of identity, as well as oversexualization of Indigenous women and girls, varying from paintings on canvas to collage and cut paper. She also has created a number of murals with community members and youth throughout the North and West End of the city.

As well as learning about art and her culture, Annie works for Indigenous students like her and has done so as School of Fine Arts Student Association Indigenous Student Representative, th e Fine Arts Representative with theUniversity of Manitoba’s Aboriginal Student Association, as well as the Canadian Federation of Students Provincial Aboriginal Commissioner. Annie will continue with her degree in the fall.

Shaneela Boodoo is a West Indian designer that attends the University of Manitoba's School of Art. She was born and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba with parents who immigrated to Canada from Trinidad and Tobago. Shaneela's most recent works like to play with the grey area in between art and design while dealing with her identities as a West Indian woman being in western culture.

Lisa Desilets is an independent appraiser and an accredited member of the International Society of Appraisers (ISA).

Recently retired from her position as the Visual Art Consultant for the Province of Manitoba, where she managed art funding programs and a collection of over 3000 works of art, she brings over 30 years ofexperience in the field of art, education, art collection management and curatorial work to her appraisal practice.

Lisa has worked in the past as a juror for grants and programs of the Manitoba Arts Council, an advisory consultant and coordinator for governmental and not-for-profit art education programs, and has lent her expertise as a board member for a number of art organizations. She was a member of the Acquisitions Committee while serving as a Trustee of the National Gallery of Canada, and is also a past Member of the Board of the Manitoba Arts Council.

Lisa has been a member of the International Society of Appraisers since 2012, and maintains a Fine Art Specialization in appraisals. She is eager to provide her clients with the best advice for art collection management and appraisal concerns, using the best practices in appraisal reporting.

Seema Goel is a Canadian intermedia artist from Saskatchewan. Her work focuses on human-animal, human-place, and human-human relationships. Using an eclectic range of materials to explore these themes, she draws from her dual background in the arts and sciences to produce multilayered works. Often creating pieces that engage viewers in tactile and physical actions, she uses phenomenolgy, humour, and viewer experience to connect the viewer to the work through their personal relationships to the materials at hand.

Goel has exhibited in Canada, the United States, Ireland, and Spain. She recently returned to Canada after a four year stint in Dublin, Ireland.

Her educational background includes a B.Sc. from McGill, an Associate Arts diploma from the Ontario College of Art and Design, and an MFA in sculpture from the Rhode Island School of Design. She is currently completing an M.Sc. in Interdisciplinary Studies connecting environmental engineering and aesthetics and is the STEAM Programmer and Outreach Coordinator for the Faculty of Science at the University of Manitoba.