At this moment in time ECH Newsletter

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View this email in your browser Incé Husain, Cats of Gaza, 2023, Ink on paper  Photo credit: Incé Husain, 2025 Inspired by a video of a Palestinian man in Gaza opening a can of meat to feed hundreds of starving cats as the Gaza strip endured an illegal food blockade imposed by Israel. Accompanies the article Get to know Fredericton's six active Palestine solidarity groups at theunprecedentedtimes.net At this moment in time hundreds of thousands of people in Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and now Iran are displaced. Homeless. Refugees in their own countries because of Israeli and US bombings and invasions. We have questions. Why are the verbal responses similar when speaking about a Palestinian or an unhoused person in Canada?: “I’m feeling uncomfortable.” “I don’t feel safe.” “I am distressed.”  “This is deeply troubling.” How long can these people deny a genocide is taking place? Or apartheid? Or war crimes? Is the end of human rights violations an "existential threat"?  We depart on Wed. April 1 for Cairo, Egypt. We look forward to catching up with friends and family there - including Mohammed Monaiseer, whose work is featured in Not/For the Money. We will be back in Canada on April 20th. Hope to see you at Critical Distance Centre for Curators (CDCC) in Toronto on April 30th. Mona Hatoum, Map (red), 2026 25 mm clear red glass balls, 6 m x 10.30 m Photo credit: Mona Hatoum Award-winning artist Mona Hatoum’s site-specific exhibition Over, under and in between, at the Fondazione Prada in Milan, Italy, from January 29 to November 9, 2026. ECH News We are happy to share some fantastic news and send our BIG congratulations to Lily Cho on receiving the Dorothy Killam Fellowship for her project Shaping national memory and identity through the archival materials of contemporary Chinese Canadian artists. Read Lily Cho's text, SUPERFAKE in ECH's recent publication Not/For the Money available from ECH, Museum London Shop, Little Wren Books, and Attic Books. Lily Cho's text is available to read on the ECH website here. Also put on your calendar ECH’s upcoming publication event at Critical Distance Centre for Curators, 401 Richmond St. West, #122, Toronto on Thursday, April 30 from 3 - 7 PM. As we reflect on the last 5 years, we give our sincere thanks to all the cultural workers who have joined the ECH team since 2020 and to those whose contributions have been presented in our numerous various projects. Thank you to our subscribers, readers and visitors to our projects, both online and in-person. We encourage others to subscribe and to learn about ECH and our collective work. Subscription is free but donations are welcome which enables ECH to continue to pay fees to contributors for their work. Our gratitude to Marnie Fleming, Fern Helfand and SF Ho for their support over 5 years on the ECH advisory circle. In stepping down at this time, their contributions will continue to be included and recognized as among the early contributors and continued supporters of the Embassy Cultural House. We are happy to welcome Olivia Mossuto and Iraboty Kazi in their new capacity to the ECH advisory circle.   Upcoming ECH Events Scheduled Upcoming Events Thursday, April 30 - Critical Distance Centre for Curators, Toronto, ON, Check out the Embassy Cultural House on the CDCC website Thursday, May 15 - Sunday, May 17 - Vancouver Art Book Fair, Vancouver, B.C, A Roundhouse Partnership with OCCW Arts & Publishing Foundation. View the Roundhouse website for more information. Image: ECH Postcards by Olivia Mossuto, Incé Hussain, Shelley Niro, Jamelie Hassan, Ron Benner, Diana Tamblyn and Mireya Seymour. Photo credit: Ron Benner The postcards are now available at Shop Museum London, Little Wren Books and are coming soon on the ECH website. Price: $3.00 each/5 for $10.00 + postage in Canada Karine Ng, Jayce Salloum and Tariq Hassan Gordon in Cairo, March 2026 Jayce Salloum, ECH contributor, screening his films in Cairo on April 8th, 2026.  Photo credit: Tariq Hassan Gordon ECH Online Shop Coming Soon Looking to purchase publications, print materials and artists' multiples directly through ECH? Soon, we will launch an online website that will include not only our current publications, such as Not/For the Money and An Alternative Cultural History of London Ontario, but also artwork from the ECH archive and ECH contributors. More details to come! UpwithArt! April 16th-25th, 2026 Museum London The 16th Annual UPwithART is almost here, raising crucial support for Unity Project and Museum London! This year’s event theme is The Future of Joy, and you’re invited to help shape it. Your participation, your bids, and your presence all contribute to building a future filled with creativity, compassion, and community care. Browse and bid on 50 exceptional artworks by established and emerging artists, including Unity Project participants, along with remarkable pieces generously donated by local collectors. On April 25, join the UPwithART! team at Museum London for arty-party, featuring live performances from local musicians, interactive art experiences, delicious cocktails and tasty treats, and so much more! The Legends of Madiba: In Their Own Words  May 14th, 2026 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm Museum London The Legends of Madiba: In Their Own Words, is a powerful documentary celebrating Black South African jazz singers who created, performed, and resisted during the apartheid era (1948–1990s). This special screening is presented in affiliation with Lido Pimienta: Love and Resistance, on view until May 31, and deepens the exhibition’s themes of artistic expression, resilience, and political defiance. Presented by London, Ontario–based Juno Award–winning artist Lorraine Klassen, alongside TD Curator of Collections Zahra McDoom, the film honours the lineage of Black women whose creativity sustained community, joy, and resistance in the face of systemic injustice. Registration is recommended.  Register Here Collaboration with Little Wren Books The Embassy Cultural House is pleased to announce that Jenny Berkel/Little Wren Books is exhibiting works by artists in the ECH community. The first featured artist is ECH cofounder and curatorial advisor, Jamelie Hassan. She is exhibiting two of her glass mosaics in the bookstore.  Little Wren Books Website https://www.littlewrenbooks.com Little Wren Books, 502 Adelaide St. N, London, ON Jamelie Hassan, Common Expressions: Rome #1 All Roads Lead to Rome, 2022, Glass mosaic on plywood By Circumstance, Not by Choice Our most recent connection with Yasmin Hussain has led to conversations involving collaborating with her work at the InterCommunity Health Centre through our exhibition climate crisis... no fixed address. The booklet/zine By Circumstance, Not by Choice is the result of a collaboration between four Peer members and four staff members from the London InterCommunity Health Centre(LIHC), two staff from Regional HIV/AIDS Connection London (RHAC), a placement student and local artist Hailey Tallman. Special Thanks and Recognition We are grateful and recognize the following individuals, who since 2020, have financially supported the ECH and help to enable our programs as we continue into ECH’s 6th year:   Nehal Al Tarhuni                           Maria Awaraji  The Estate of Phyllis Benner Julie Burnett Liza Eurich Marnie Fleming Kelly Greene John Greyson Tariq Hassan Gordon  The Estate of Ayshi Hassan Fern Helfand SF Ho Iraboty Kazi Paul King and Patrick Ng Qanita Lilla Freida and Michael Malone Andrew Maize Jeff MacLennan Mary Helen McMurran and John Riley David and Dawn Merritt Patrick and Barbara Mahon Olivia Mossuto Franca Mossuto Kim Neudorf Judith and Wilson Rodger  Roland and Myra Schubert  Danielle St. Amour Jeff Thomas Sarah White  Lewis Williams Without the contributions of these individuals and many more, we would not have accomplished all that we have in 6 years. Thank you! Relevant and Related Links   Zeteo, From Gaza to Iran, Children Have Always Been Sacrificed by Western Imperial Aims https://zeteo.com/p/gaza-iran-children-minab-killed-western-imperialism-israel-us?utm_medium=ios CBC News, Indigenous artist slams Ontario premier's basket weaving comments https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/london/indigenous-artist-slams-ontario-premier-s-basket-weaving-comments-9.7096091  The Conversation, What Bad Bunny meant when he said 'Canada' - and why we're still talking about it https://theconversation.com/what-bad-bunny-meant-when-he-said-canada-and-why-were-still-talking-about-it-277148 The Guardian, Cannon by Lee Lai review - a meditative graphic novel laced with horror and humour https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/sep/26/cannon-lee-lai-review-meditative-graphic-novel-horror-and-humour Facebook, History SA ZAR's post, 1970: Thandi Klaasen (musician) with her daughter, Lorraine. Source: Drum Archive https://www.facebook.com/61576050696957/posts/c-1970-thandi-klaasen-musician-with-her-daughter-lorraine-source-drum-archive/122163609308868356/   Visit the ECH Website Embassy Cultural House is located on the traditional lands of the Anishinaabek, Haudenosaunee, Lūnaapéewak, and Chonnonton peoples, at the forks of Deshkan Ziibi (Antler River), an area subject to the Dish with One Spoon Covenant Wampum and other treaties, colonized as London, Ontario. The ECH strives to create meaningful relationships between the Indigenous Peoples of Turtle Island and our contributors. The ECH honours the stewardship of the many Indigenous peoples who have resided on these lands since time immemorial. Copyright © 2026 Embassy Cultural House. All rights reserved. Our mailing address: 514 Pall Mall Street, London, ON, N5Y 2Z6, Canada Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.