JOIN THE LAUNCH: “An Alternative Cultural History of London, Ontario: Art and Activism"

Launch parties for Embassy Cultural House's newest publication, corn roasts, exhibition openings, and more!

View this email in your browser Welcome back to the Embassy Cultural House newsletter! Our team has had quite the busy schedule throughout the summer—working hard on our latest publication, which will be launched THIS SUNDAY! We can hardly believe it—all 240-pages of "An Alternative Cultural History of London, Ontario: Art and Activism" will be available on Sunday, September 22, 2024. It is a very special occasion, as this book has been in production for over a year and includes essays, poems, and artworks from 36 contributors. The launch of the publication will happen in tandem with Ron Benner's annual Maiz Barbacoa corn roast, which will take place at Museum London in collaboration with Doors Open. If you are unable to make the in-person launch event, we are happy to share that there will be an online launch event scheduled to take place on Saturday, September 28, 2024 at 1PM ET. To RSVP for the online launch, please email [email protected]! We will send along the Zoom link. Ron Benner's Maiz Barbacoa Corn Roast and Embassy Cultural House Book Launch Ron Benner roasting corn at Museum London, 2022. Photo credit: Studio Kuefner Photography DOORS OPEN: Live. Work. Play: In the Forest City Sunday, September 22, 2024 | 1:00 – 4:00 PM Free at Museum London 421 Ridout Street N, London, ON Join London artist and ECH Co-founder Ron Benner at his garden installation, As The Crow Flies. This annual community gathering features fresh roasted corn on the cob with butter, salt, Mexican chili powder, and fresh lime juice. Part sculpture, part installation, and part performance, this event will feature Benner’s roving corn-roasting wagon, Maiz Barbacoa. Maiz Barbacoa includes images of corn roasters from around the world and the names of corn in over 50 languages. An Alternative Cultural History of London, Ontario: Art and Activism Book Launch An Embassy Cultural House Publication Special Launch Price – $20.00 (Regular $25.00)   An Alternative Cultural History of London, Ontario: Art and Activism, 2024 Edited by Jamelie Hassan and Ron Benner and designed by Olivia Mossuto Published by the Embassy Cultural House, 240 pages, full colour This anthology reveals the vibrant yet often overlooked cultures of London, Ontario. The history of collective action within the city is narrated through essays, conversations, poetry, and archival images. It includes texts and images by 36 contributors: Lillian Allen | Robin Cary Askew | Blessy Augustine | Christina Battle | Ron Benner | Carl Cadogan | Tom Cull | Greg Curnoe | Stan Denniston | Omar El Akkad | Robert Fréchette | Wyn Geleynse | John Greyson | Janice Gurney | Jamelie Hassan | Salah D. Hassan | Tariq Hassan Gordon | Iraboty Kazi | David Neil Lee | Tarek Loubani | Miriam Love | Michael Lynk | Olivia Mossuto | Shelley Niro | Kim Ondaatje | Andy Patton | James Stewart Reaney | Christopher Régimbal | Judith M. Rodger | Jenna Rose Sands | John Scully | Ruth Skinner | Dan Smoke | Mary Lou Smoke | Diana Tamblyn | Don Vincent Their writings and accompanying images add to the previous histories written about London, Ontario. The emphasis in this anthology is on art and activism and presents a historical perspective beginning in the 1950s through to the present. An Alternative Cultural History of London, Ontario: Art and Activism is the Embassy Cultural House’s ninth printed publication since 2020. The ECH is grateful to the following for the financial support of the ECH’s programs and for this publication: the London Arts Council, the City of London, Ontario Arts Council, the Province of Ontario, the Canada Council for the Arts, Ottawa, the Forest City Gallery, Arts & Humanities, Western University, London, Ontario, Faculty of Information & Media Studies, Western University, London, Ontario and Museum London. The editors express their gratitude to the dedication of the ECH team and all the contributors and supporters from across Canada and internationally who are an integral and essential part of the work that has been accomplished. This publication is a tribute to the collective effort of “what solidarity looks like”. McIntosh Gallery Fall Exhibition Schedule Opening Reception:  In Search of a Loss of Self: The Language of Alterity and Sanaz Mazinani: From Elsewhere to Here Jamelie Hassan, The Copyist, 1995. Mixed media including black and white photograph, copper, ceramic tablet, ceramic slippers, 18th century manuscript Arabic/ Persian grammar, wooden bookstand, child's pencil sharpener, cotton cloth and wooden platform. McIntosh Gallery Collection, Western University. Purchase, The Walter and Duncan Gordon Charitable Foundation, 1996 Friday, September 20, 2024 from 6:00 to 8:00 PM Remarks @ 6:30 PM Free | Open to the public McIntosh Gallery, Western University, London, ON   Join the McIntosh Gallery in celebrating the launch of their fall exhibition schedule among campus partners and community members.  Expanding on Edward Said’s original thesis in Orientalism (1978), which focused primarily on the colonial [re]imagining of the East, In Search of a Loss of Self: The Language of Alterity curated by Soheila Esfahani and Mélika Hashemi is a journey of self-discovery. First and second-generation Muslim-Canadian artists and scholars, Esfahani and Hashemi perform a survey of the McIntosh Gallery Permanent Collection, yet fail to see themselves reflected in collected works or under database search keywords. Consequently, they argue that Islamic art and artists fall into the cracks of collection acquisition practices.   Sanaz Mazinani: From Elsewhere to Here curated by Helen Gregory, brings together elements of Mazinani’s art practice that are taken from multiple previous exhibitions, creating an archaeological survey of the past and present. Vision, perception, conflict, and war have been important themes in Mazinani’s practice for two decades, and still resonate within her practice and the broader socio-cultural landscape today.   Ron Benner's Maiz Barbacoa Corn Roast at Corn = Life: The Power of Naming Corn = Life, June 25, 2024. Photo credit: Olivia Mossuto Monday, September 30, 2024, 11AM - 4PM 248 Steelcase Road East, Markham, ON   Industrial Arts Sculpture Garden presents a unique fusion of two artists’ visions that interweaves living native plants with evocative historical imagery. Curated by Yuluo Wei and presented by Steelcase Art Projects from June 23 to October 26, 2024, this artwork is a tribute to Indigenous peoples’ agricultural and cultural heritage. At its heart lies a striking white-purple trellis, an homage to the 1613 Two Row Wampum Treaty—a foundational agreement between Dutch settlers and Jeff Thomas’ Haudenosaunee ancestors. Ron Benner plants a rich tapestry of culturally significant native American plants and corn, including varieties Peruvian Purple Maize, Mandan Bride, Assiniboian Flint, and Iroquoian Rainbow, which grow to embrace the structure. These are accompanied by tomatoes, chilli peppers, marigolds, sunflowers and many others, creating a rich flora that honours its Indigenous origins. On Monday, September 30, 2024, join artist Ron Benner for an afternoon of roasted corn—an opportunity to honour the very plant that both Benner and Thomas pay homage to in their installation. GardenShip and State and the Hibernaculum Collective  at Thames Art Gallery GardenShip and State Curated by Jeff Thomas and Patrick Mahon August 23 – October 20, 2024 Thames Art Gallery, Chatham, ON   Artists: Ron Benner, Lori Blondeau, Sean Caulfield, Anindita Chakraborty, Paul Chartrand, Tom Cull, Amelia Fay, Michael Farnan, Joan Greer, Jamelie Hassan, Sharmistha Kar, Jessica Karuhanga, Mark Kasumovic, Patrick Mahon, Olivia Mossuto, Quinn Smallboy, Ashley Snook, Adrian Stimson, Jeff Thomas, Andres Villar, Michelle Wilson This exhibition brings together 21 artists and writers who engage in decolonial critique, environmental activism, and twenty-first century artistic practices to address what is arguably the problem of our times: environmental catastrophe. Inspired and aided by the living Two Row Treaty, originated between the Haudenosaunee and the Dutch in 1613, the project asks how we can work together and create together as a global community to restore the planet – while respecting differences and seeking to repair divisions and address injustices brought about by colonialism. Co-curated by Jeff Thomas and Patrick Mahon, the exhibition features a vast array of works, many produced over a two-year period and originally shown at Museum London in 2021-22. The results of conversations between the artists and writers, as well as with members of local communities, those artworks are being presented at the Thames Art Gallery alongside new and updated projects, offering a multi-sensory experience that inhabits the main gallery, and moves upward into the mezzanine space. Comprising textiles, photography, sculpture, video, gardening, and installation, the show invites gallery participants to see, to hear and to engage with aesthetically rich and culturally complex artworks that are simultaneously provocative and challenging—and also sources of hope. For this version of GardenShip and State, environmental projects by artists and activists from the Chatham region are being highlighted on the mezzanine, as well. Engaged in tree planting, pollinator gardens, harvesting and creating with wild clay, organic gardening, and working to understand and protect habitats, the contributions of the Hibernaculum Collective enhance the important visual conversation that GardenShip brings to the Thames Art Gallery. For more information about GardenShip and State please visit the project website or view the project’s Instagram. GardenShip and State exhibition catalogues are available for purchase at the Thames Art Gallery or through Museum London website. Hibernaculum Collection: Troubled Critters & Healing Spells. Photo credit: Alia Fortune Weston Hibernaculum Collective: Troubled Critters & Healing Spells Presented in collaboration with GardenShip and State   Collective members: Andrea Nickerson, Alia Fortune Weston, Faye Mullen, Joce Tremblay, Nat Tremblay, and Sarah Couture-McPhail in collaboration with Amy Soberano, Mike & Deb Tremblay, Rashel Tremblay, Emily, Oddy, Saria, Magnolia, the land, wilds and waters. Troubled Critters & Healing Spells is an ever-evolving eco-art project by the Hibernaculum Collective, a diverse group of artists, storytellers and earth workers using the Tremblay family farm as their base of operations. This project is included as a locally based component of the GardenShip and State exhibition at the Thames Art Gallery in Chatham, exploring land and water decolonization, restoration, relationship and reciprocity through traditional wild clay processes. For this exhibition the collective foraged wild clay, exploring how honourable harvest might differ from its historical use as a commodity for settling, farming and industrially producing clay tiles by some of their ancestors. Gatherings and feasts were held with family and friends throughout the project to process the clay, fire their forms, and discuss what decolonization and healing the land and waters means to them, generated through artistic and collaborative processes. New Roles! Ruth Skinner and Adi Berardini Congratulations to Ruth Skinner, SASAH's new Community Engagement and Outreach Coordinator, and Adi Berardini, Forest City Gallery's new Executive Director!   We are happy to share that Dr. Ruth Skinner has taken up the position of Community Engagement and Outreach Coordinator for SASAH at Western University. Many of you will know Ruth, who recently completed her PhD in Western's Department of Visual Arts. She has been teaching SASAH's Digital Literacies Course since 2020. In her most recent role as Executive Director of the Forest City Gallery she has revitalized engagement with programming that is inclusive, impactful, and generative.  We are also very happy to congratulate Adi Berardini on her new role as Forest City Gallery's Executive Director. Forest City Gallery is excited to welcome Londoner Adi Berardini to the role of Gallery Executive Director. Adi is an artist, writer, and editor. She has an MA in Art History from Western University and a BFA in Cultural + Critical Practice from Emily Carr University. She is the founder and editor of the publication Femme Art Review, which provides space for women and LGBTQ2S+ writers to reflect on art and culture. You can find more of her writing through Femme Art Review, VANDOCUMENT, LIVE Biennale, and Issue Mag.  Artcite is moving to Ford City! Artcite Inc. is a non-profit, artist-run centre for the contemporary arts located in Windsor, Ontario, dedicated exclusively to expanding the visibility of contemporary arts within the region and advancing the professional presentation, promotion, and animation of contemporary art forms. Artcite’s move to Ford City is a crucial step in the mission to continue offering innovative programs and exhibitions that inspire and engage the community. The new location will offer many benefits:  It will be fully wheelchair accessible and will allow Artcite to offer consistent year-round programming.  A new reception area and front office will enable Artcite to offer public access to the physical archives, which will function as a reference library. There will also be two gallery spaces: one for major juried exhibitions and related programming, and one for local exhibitions, residencies, workshops, and community events. For this move to be successful, however, Artcite will need considerable help from the community. Artcite is aiming to raise $20,000 to fund necessary renovations, including new interior walls, track lighting, flooring, archive storage, and more. Your support is invaluable in helping Artcite achieve their mission and continue their work. Thank you for considering a donation to Artcite Inc. Together, we can foster a vibrant, creative community, and expand the visibility of contemporary arts within our region. Relevant and Related Links Helen Haller (1943-2019), owner and operator of the Embassy Hotel for nearly 30 years, is inducted into the London Music Hall of Fame at the 2024 Forest City London Music Awards: "London Music Hall of Fame Class of 2024" Congratulations to Dot Tuer, Professor of Visual and Critical Studies at OCAD University and ECH contributor, on her appointment as Massey OCAD U Fellow  From The Walrus: "Why Did Canada's Top Art Gallery Push Out a Visionary Curator?" by Jason McBride   From The Walrus: "How the Giller Prize Became Associated with Genocide" by Josiah Neufeld From Accenti: "To Seize the World: A Review of Carmela Circelli's Novel 'Love and Rain'" by Andy Patton Light: Visionary Perspectives: July 13, 2024 – March 17, 2025 at the Aga Khan Museum, Toronto, ON Congratulations to bill bissett and Susie Matthias on receiving the Order of Canada in June. From CBC News "Poets bill bissett, Sylvia D. Hamilton, author Solomon Ratt among new Order of Canada appointees" and London Free Press "London mouth artist named to Order of Canada" Not By Andy Warhol: June 23 - October 13, 2024 at Gallery Stratford, Stratford, ON 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 © 2024 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? 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