In the past year, The British Museum and other European institutions have come under scrutiny for continuing to display artifacts that have been acquired through colonial violence and military intervention. In response to this global controversy, French President Emmanuel Macron commissioned a national report calling for the restitution of the[Read More…]
Art
MUPSS 2019: A tour de force of student art
On March 21, the McGill University Photography Student Society (MUPSS) hosted its 2019 Annual Exhibit at Gallery Parfois. MUPSS’s exhibition aimed to encourage an exploration of art and expression by highlighting a diverse selection of student works. The photographs on display varied in subject matter and tone, ranging from ethereal[Read More…]
Feminist bookstores and social change: A discussion
On Mar. 15, Kristen Hogan, author of The Feminist Bookstore Movement: Lesbian Antiracism and Feminist Accountability, visited McGill to discuss her work as a writer and feminist activist. Part of the Feminist and Accessible Publishing / Communications Technologies Series, Hogan’s discussion focused on the importance of intersectionality, the history of[Read More…]
Thierry Mugler’s couture makes its world debut at the MMFA
Continuing the trend of haute-couture exhibitions like Balenciaga, Master of Couture at the McCord Museum, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) debuted Thierry Mugler: Couturissime, a landmark exhibition which features 150 of the designer’s designs. Though he began as a professional dancer, Mugler entered the world of fashion in the[Read More…]
Concordia Art History Undergraduate Journal hosts conference on art in a mobile age
On Feb. 16 and 17, Concordia’s Art History Undergraduate Journal (CUJAH) hosted their eighth annual conference, Dislocation: Art in a Mobile Age. The discussions focused on locality in art, drawing on issues of representation and mobility. The conference explored how artists claim spaces for production and exhibition. Guest speakers included Concordia[Read More…]
Kent Monkman’s latest exhibit inspires resilience
Canadian artist Kent Monkman’s solo exhibition, Shame and Prejudice: a Story of Resilience, on display at the McCord Museum until May 5, offers a selection of the artist’s re-appropriated paintings and sculptural works focusing on indigenous experience, including well known pieces such as The Scream. Monkman is one of Canada’s prevailing[Read More…]
Community art and social justice: A conversation
On Feb. 5, University of the Streets Café hosted an inclusive discussion about visual art as a tool for community building and its contributions to social justice. The talk was broad in scope and touched on subjects such as art’s commodification, subsequent impacts on gentrification, and the limits of art’s[Read More…]
A look back on art’s historical past in ‘Manifesto’
Manifesto, one of German artist Julian Rosefeldt’s most internationally renowned video works, ran at the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal (MAC) from Oct. 20 to Jan. 20. The work is comprised of 13 videos—each showcasing Australian actress Cate Blanchett assuming different roles, including that of a teacher, a homeless man,[Read More…]
Dance takes center stage at the MAC
On Jan. 11, the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal (MAC) held a series of events as part of their current Françoise Sullivan retrospective, including a panel and a separate exhibition. Aptly titled the Dance and Visual Arts Study Day, the MAC invited a host of educators, artists, and theorists to share[Read More…]
‘Hyper Real’ thoughtfully reflects race relations
Hyper Real, which showed at Concordia University’s student art gallery, VAV (Visual Arts Visuels,) until Nov. 30, showcased the work of nine black artists, juxtaposing themes like masculinity and femininity and isolation and connection, in a series of video art works, graphic prints and eerily arranged baby-doll sculptures. The exhibition functioned as a mirror, reflecting the identities and personal narratives of the artists, but also provided viewers with a space to examine their own perceptions of black identity and race relations. While the works varied in form, each deconstructed stereotypical beliefs in an exhibition that was at once introspective and expressive.
