Above: Jeff Thomas,  Bert General, Six Nations of the Grand River , pigment print on archival paper, 34 x 26 inches (detail)



For Immediate Release: June 7, 2017


The Art Gallery of Mississauga is delighted to present two new exhibitions,  A Necessary Fiction: My Conversation with George Hunter and Edward S. Curtis  by urban-Iroquois artist and curator Jeff Thomas, and Burning Desire, from emerging artist  Nafiseh Emadmostofi,  along with the continuation of  The Family Camera: Missing Chapters.  Please join us in celebration at the opening reception. Artists Jeff Thomas and Nafiseh Emadmostofi will be in attendance.

Opening Reception: Thursday, June 29, 6 - 9 PM. Everyone Welcome!

FREE bus from The Gladstone Hotel (1214 Queen St West, Toronto), departing at 6 PM. Bus leaves the AGM at 8:30 PM for return trip to Toronto. 
RSVP  on Eventbrite!


JEFF THOMAS |  A NECESSARY FICTION: MY CONVERSATION WITH GEORGE HUNTER AND EDWARD S. CURTIS  

JUNE 29 - AUGUST 27, 2017
Curated by Laura Carusi, Curatorial and Collections Coordinator, AGM

Artist Talk: Thursday, June 29, 7 PM

A Necessary Fiction extends Jeff Thomas's engagement with image-makers who have used Indigenous people as the subjects of their work, interrogating the relevance of such work in light of today's self-determination movement. Employing the work of both George Hunter and Edward S. Curtis as a catalyst, Thomas presents an alternative to the hegemonic and static narratives they both construct and reinforce.
 
Thomas explores the role such archival images have played in the quest to define his place in the world, and aims to reshape the space of the gallery and the collections held therein into a locus for reimagining both the representation and lived experience of Indigenous peoples.

Jeff Thomas is an urban-based Iroquois, self-taught photo-based artist, writer, public speaker and curator, living in Ottawa, Ontario, who has works in major collections in Canada, the United States and Europe. His most recent solo shows were The Dancing Grounds, Wanuskewin Heritage Park, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, A Necessary Fiction: My Conversation with Nicholas de Grandmaison, University of Lethbridge Art Gallery, Lethbridge, Alberta, Ontario, and Resistance Is NOT Futile, Stephen Bulger Gallery, Toronto, Ontario.
 
Thomas has also been in many group shows, including l:ke - Toronto: Tributes + Tributaries, 1971-1989, Art Gallery of Ontario, Land/Slide: Possible Futures, Markham, Ontario, SAKAHÀN, National Gallery of Canada, UNMASKING: Arthur Renwick, Adrian Stimson, Jeff Thomas, Canadian Cultural Centre, Paris, France. In 1998, he was awarded the Canada Council's prestigious Duke and Duchess of York Award in Photography and was inducted into the Royal Canadian Academy of Art.  In 2008, he received The Karsh Award in photography, and in 2017, Thomas received a REVAL Indigenous Art Award.  


Above:   Do it Yourself Coffins I, 2016, oil on canvas, 37 x 40 inches (detail)  Courtesy of the artist.


NAFISEH EMADMOSTOFI | BURNING DESIRE | XIT-RM
JUNE 29 - AUGUST 27, 2017

Nafiseh Emadmostofi's bold figural paintings offer up representative and allegorical examinations of ideological conflict, and the power of art to inspire protest, incite censure, and yet also speak to a collective (and contested) desire to envision a better world.

Emadmostofi's work was selected from a call to graduating students from the University of Toronto, Mississauga and Sheridan College's Art and Art History Program.

Artist Talk: Thursday, June 29, 7 pm (following Jeff Thomas artist talk)

The XIT-RM is a project space showcasing emerging artists in the Mississauga, GTA and 905 regions made possible with the generous support of the RBC Foundation.


Above: Dinh Q. Lê,  Crossing the Farther Shore , (installation view) Photo: Toni Hafkenscheid


THE FAMILY CAMERA: MISSING CHAPTERS
Continues until August 27, 2017

One Exhibition. Two Locations.
Art Gallery of Mississauga: May 4 - August 27, 2017
Royal Ontario Museum: May 6 - October 29, 2017

Tour and Talk with Guest Curator Deepali Dewan: Sunday June 17, 1 PM

Discover the connections between family, photography, and migration with  The Family Camera , organized by The Royal Ontario Museum  and co-presented with the Art Gallery of Mississauga. This exhibition explores how family photos shape our sense of self, family, community, and nation. Exclusively at AGM,  Missing Chapters  considers family photos that are lost, destroyed, abandoned or never taken, featuring an installation by artist  Dinh Q. Lê.

Internationally acclaimed artist Dinh Q. Lê was born in Vietnam and immigrated to the US at the age of ten to escape the Khmer Rouge. Lê is best known for his large-scale photographic weavings and video works that question the way in which world events are perceived. Inspired by traditional Vietnamese grass mat weaving, Lê weaves images chosen from a variety of motifs including the Vietnam War and Cambodian ruins. A deeply-thoughtful artist, Lê's research focuses on people's personal memories of historical events, notably on the complex legacy of the Vietnam War and it's ongoing impact on contemporary Vietnam.

Crossing the Farther Shore is made of found photographs that were taken in Vietnam between the 1940s and 1980s. They were abandoned or lost during a time of political unrest when many families fled the country for fear of persecution. In the 1990s, the artist returned to Vietnam and collected orphaned family photographs from local shops. He used traditional weaving techniques to arrange the photos into a sculptural installation that highlights the traces of familial intimacy in the form of hand-written notes on the reverse of the photographs. The found photos remind Lê of his childhood and this installation captures his desire to find the photos his own family left behind. He describes the photos as a kind of "surrogate family photo album or collection."


To learn more about The Family Camera Network project, please visit  familycameranetwork.org.

The Family Camera is presented by the Royal Ontario Museum and the Art Gallery of Mississauga, and is being held at both institutions with the support of The Family Camera Network. It is curated by a curatorial team led by Deepali Dewan, Senior Curator at the Royal Ontario Museum, and includes Thy Phu, Julie Crooks, Sarah Bassnett, Jennifer Orpana, Sarah Parsons, and Silvia Forni.





Media Contact: Melanie Lowe, Marketing and Communications Coordinator

ABOUT THE ART GALLERY OF MISSISSAUGA
The  Art Gallery of Mississauga (AGM) is a public, not-for-profit, art gallery located in  the Mississauga Civic Centre, right on Celebration Square and across from Square One Shopping Centre. The AGM is generously supported by the City of Mississauga, the Ontario Arts Council, the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Trillium Foundation, private citizens and its members.

First. New. Next. 
The AGM provides platforms for exhibitions, collections and experimentation in contemporary culture with a recent focus on artists and cultural producers from Indigenous, newcomer and youth communities. Through a broad range of educational programs, artist projects and other forms of critical dialogue, the AGM seeks to transcend traditional disciplinary boundaries, foster community, and provide spaces where alternative modes of thought are supported and activated in tangible ways.
 
The AGM is proud to admit people free of charge, serve communities, and provide positive visual art experiences for all visitors.

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