Refiguring
June 3 - 29, 2023
Opening Reception: June 3, 1 to 3 p.m.
Ali Sheikh, Sierra da Silva-Canadien, Tizzi Tan, and Zim Yu
Curated by Anqi Li
Location: Clark Centre for the Arts, 191 Guildwood Pkwy, Scarborough
RSVP: https://bit.ly/RefiguringOpeningReception
"In the world through which I travel, I am endlessly creating myself."–– Frantz Fanon
The newly renovated Clark Centre for the Arts, situated on Scarborough bluffs, boasts not only stunning contemporary architecture accompanied by historical relics, but also a serene forest teeming with wildlife. Carrying on the Guild's rich heritage of supporting local artists, the Clark Centre continues to serve as a dynamic cultural hub for local communities.
Our current exhibition Refiguring is rooted in the Clark Centre's community-oriented approach, paying tribute to its creative legacy. By proposing a communal space that celebrates difference and encourages change, it refigures the site as a “contingent ‘in-between’ space, that innovates and interrupts the performance of the present.” (Homi K. Bhabha) To achieve this, we invited four emerging artists, Ali Sheikh, Sierra da Silva-Canadien, Tizzi Tan and Zim Yu, to create works that connect the past and the present. Although their practice ranges from photography to painting, they share a common interest in figures. On display in Gallery 191, these figures highlight presence and absence, the seen and the unseen, and the body and its surroundings. Through this collaborative project, we envision a future at the Clark Centre for the Arts that welcomes all kinds of figures.
This exhibition is presented in partnership between OCAD University’s Career Launcher program and the Clark Centre for the Arts.
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Anqi Li (she/her) is an independent curator interested in cross-cultural art exchange. Influenced by her recent immigration experience, her practice examines the recurring local-global irreconcilability within the increasingly homogenized contemporary art scene. Anqi graduated from OCAD U’s Criticism & Curatorial Practice program and curated Flowing Still at the Xpace Cultural Centre.
Ali Sheikh (he/him) is a multidisciplinary artist from Mississauga, Ontario, studying at OCAD University. Through illustration, painting, digital design and textiles, his current work explores memory, documentation and self-perception, and seeks to blur the line between comic and solemn.
Sierra da Silva-Canadien (she/her) is a Mohawk-Portuguese visual artist and a full-time undergrad student at OCAD University residing in Toronto, Ontario. Her work - both in photography and drawing/painting - takes inspiration from her interest in the human form, and incorporates it in her portraiture, abstracted and figurative work.
Tizzi Tan (she/her) was born in Yunnan, China. She studied visual art at Sheridan and was the 2022 Photography medalist at the 2022 OCAD GradEx. Her lens-based work focuses on subtle perceptions and meanings of existence under current social conditions.
Zim Yu (he/him) is a Toronto-based painter who recently graduated from OCAD University. With rigorous training in analogue and digital practice, his work accurately captures the ambiguous atmosphere and stories with symbolic and surrealistic elements.
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Located inside Guild Park and Gardens, the Clark Centre for the Arts is a stunning new cultural facility that houses specialized art studios and gallery spaces. Guild Park and Gardens is a unique 88-acre site on the Scarborough Bluffs that includes forests, shoreline and a collection of architectural fragments, sculptures and buildings. The Clark Centre for the Arts is interested in working with artists and projects that are responsive to the site and location of Centre’s surrounding neighbourhood, and artists who have an existing relationship to the community.
Established in 2013, the RBC Centre for Emerging Artists & Designers (CEAD) sits alongside the other student-focused departments in the portfolio of the Vice-Provost, Students & International at OCAD U. The CEAD is committed to supporting the early-career advancement?of all students and recent alumni at OCAD U. Our team delivers specialized programs and services that connect individuals to?meaningful opportunities, communities of practitioners, skill-building?resources and facilitated learning experiences. The work of the CEAD is delivered across our Career Development, Experiential Learning Program, and Creative Entrepreneurship portfolios.