Art Speaks: Bridging Cultures Fundraiser presented by Across Languages and Embassy Cultural House

Join us for a night of visual art, silent auction, and conversation. Funds raised will support Across Languages' range of services.

View this email in your browser Art Speaks: Bridging Cultures Fundraiser presented by Across Languages and Embassy Cultural House August 19 - August 24, 2025 TAP Centre for Creativity 203 Dundas St, London, ON Appreciation Event: Thursday, August 21, 2025 at 5PM to 8PM Silent Auction: August 14 - August 24, 2025 Across Languages is proud to present Art Speaks: Bridging Cultures, a special exhibition and fundraising event that brings together artists, community members, and language lovers in celebration of the many ways art transcends barriers and builds understanding. This inspiring event is made possible through the generous collaboration of Embassy Cultural House and TAP Centre for Creativity, two pillars of London's arts community. Together, we are creating space for stories to be shared, cultures to be celebrated, and voices—often unheard—to be amplified. Join us for an unforgettable night of visual art, silent auction, and conversation. Funds raised will support Across Languages' interpretation and translation services that help newcomers access vital services and fully participate in our shared community life. Let’s come together to celebrate what connects us—art, food, and community. BID NOW Not/For The Money presented by Embassy Cultural House Alistair MacKinnon, Missing the Point, mixed media, 2025. Image courtesy of the artist The Embassy Cultural House is pleased to present Not/For The Money, a group exhibition that highlights work by artists and cultural workers that examines themes related to money, capital, and value.   Money is a very urgent issue for many artists. An aspect of this issue is the general public’s inability to value the arts and cultural workers’ vital role and impact within any community. There is a lack of understanding in the way cultural workers survive and build meaningful lives, often with a minimum of resources. The issue of money, the impact of economic disparity, and insecurity dominates many of our lives. Without a stable income, most people struggle to afford basic necessities that are required for quality of life. The theme of money is addressed frequently within the art world, but usually it is in the context of the art “market,” commercial auctions, and wealthy collectors. Many artists work to imagine and engender new relationships, value systems, and ways of being. As journalist Eric Reguly wrote in The Globe and Mail business section, “You don’t necessarily need buckets of money to succeed. Sometimes imagination and the courage to break the rules can do the trick.” Not/For the Money includes contributions by Ron Benner, Karl Beveridge, Lily Cho, Matthew Dawkins, Holly English, Soheila Esfahani, Kelly Greene, Jamelie Hassan, SF Ho, Michael Maranda, Alistair MacKinnon, Patrick Mahon, David Merritt, Mohamed Monaiseer, Sheri Osden Nault, Wanda Nanibush, Shelley Niro, Ruth Strebe, and Jeff Thomas. The project has been organized by Ron Benner, Jamelie Hassan, Olivia Mossuto, and Mireya Seymour. View Exhibition As The Crow Flies: Garden Tours with Ron Benner Ron Benner, As The Crow Flies, photographic garden installation, 2005—present. Image courtesy of Museum London Join local artist Ron Benner for special garden tours through As the Crow Flies this summer! This longstanding, living artwork blends art, ecology, and cultural history. Experience its evolution and meaning firsthand at this guided outdoor event, rain or shine! These events are a celebration of As The Crow Flies' 20th anniversary at Museum London.  As the Crow Flies is an outdoor photographic/garden installation by London, Ontario-based artist, writer, and gardener Ron Benner (b. 1949). Installed on the western side of the Museum, overlooking the Deshkan Ziibi (Thames River), Benner’s work consists of an elliptical or egg-shaped reflecting pool. The pool is surrounded by a rich assortment of plant life, which the artist has cultivated for regeneration every year since 2005. It also supports migrating waterfowl and is an ecosystem for amphibians, insects, and fish. The flowers and vegetables that make up As the Crow Flies all grow along the 81.14th meridian leading from Benner’s home of London, south to far-flung locations such as Cape Sable, Florida, and the Bay of Pigs, Cuba. A series of 22 black-and-white photographs document seemingly disconnected landmarks situated along the same meridian. They include colonial monuments, military infrastructure, and industrial remnants. Benner studied agricultural engineering before becoming an artist. He considers the tension between the human imposition of order on the natural world—through mapping, trade, settlement, and colonization—and the rich cultural knowledge that plants embody. As the Crow Flies illustrates Benner’s longstanding commitment to investigating the history and political economics of food cultures. The work embodies his think-globally, act-locally approach to creative practice.   For more information, please visit Museum London's website.  The last tour is being offered on August 24. Registration is required.  Relevant and Related Links From Democracy Now!: Prof. Rashid Khalidi Slams "Crushing Repression" at Columbia, Cancels Course over Trump Settlement From CounterPunch: In Israel's Genocide of Gaza, We See the Face of Five Centuries of Western Colonialism by Patrick Mazza From The Walrus: China Secretly Executed Four Canadians. A Former Prisoner Explains Why by Michael Kovrig From Michigan State University: Mandela Washington Fellows Make Their Mark at MSU and Beyond by Beth Brauer  From C Magazine: "Composition: We Return" by Wanda Nanibush From Democracy Now!: “War on Children”: Doctor Tarek Loubani in Gaza on Massacres, Starvation and Israel’s Plan for Concentration Camps 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 © 2025 Embassy Cultural House. All rights reserved. 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