ECH Newsletter January 2026

View this email in your browser Welcome to the ECH's first newsletter of 2026. It has been a terribly cold and snowy winter so far. We hope everyone is staying warm and trying to possibly ignore the psychopath to the south of us, where hell has frozen over.  Our good news is that we are now in partnership with Little Wren Books, London, ON, McIntosh Gallery, London, ON, Hamilton Artist Inc., Hamilton, ON and Critical Distance, Toronto, ON. In April 2026, ECH will be doing a presentation and book launch of the Not/For the Money publication at Critical Distance, 401 Richmond St. Building in Toronto. In 2027, our online exhibition Not/For the Money will be shown at Hamilton Artist Inc. The partnerships we forge are integral to our operation and reaching a broader audience within and outside of London, Ontario.  We are truly grateful to all of our supporters - thank you! Jamelie Hassan, Curing Pond, 1988/89, Glazed ceramic tiles on concrete form  Photo credit: Ron Benner, 2025 Not/For the Money Book Launch Image: Chimtou gold coin hoard, Bardo Museum, Tunis, Tunisia Photo credit: Ron Benner, 2024, Design: Sawyer Shin January 22, 2026 from 4 - 6 PM Cohen Commons, John Labatt Visual Arts Centre The Embassy Cultural House (ECH) is pleased to launch its most recent publication Not/For the Money, in partnership with Western University's Department of Visual Arts.  Not/For the Money is an international online group exhibition that highlights contributions by artists and cultural workers that examines themes related to money, capital, and value.  This publication is ECH's 10th publication since its relaunch in 2020 and has been designed by Olivia Mossuto, Coordinating Editor of the ECH, and is printed in an edition of 500 copies, full colour, 52 pages. 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, Claudia Sambo, Ruth Strebe, and Jeff Thomas. This ECH project has been organized by Ron Benner, Jamelie Hassan, Olivia Mossuto, and Mireya Seymour.  From the Art Lab website: https://www.uwo.ca/visarts/artlab/upcoming/index.html Art Now!: Billy Bert Young Image: Billy Bert Young Photo credit: Ron Benner, 2024 February 5th, 2026 7:00PM-8:30PM Museum London   Local artist Billy Bert Young shares insights into his latest series of paintings created over the past four years and featured in the exhibition Billy Bert Young: Cloudburst. Drawing inspiration from nostalgic advertisements, movie posters, children’s book illustrations, and historical prints, Young combines high realism with pop culture and collage to create striking, fantastical, and thought-provoking works. Presented in partnership with the Department of Visual Arts at Western University, all Art Now! Speakers’ Series talks are free to students and educators. Registration is required.  About the Artist: A graduate of the prestigious H.B. Beal Secondary School in 2002, Billy Bert Young also attended the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design in Halifax, Nova Scotia. His practice has included drawing and design, zines, found object work, and murals. Register Here Protests in Minnesota The ECH stands in solidarity with the people of Minnesota in their resistance to Trump's ICE invasion, occupation and immigration crackdown. ICE agent uses pepper spray against peaceful protestors in Minneapolis.  Photo by Alex Kormann/The Minnesota Star Tribune via Getty Images. Common Dreams, Weekend Edition, Jan. 17-18, 2026. Larry Towell: Boundaries at Judith & Norman Alix Art Gallery  October 3, 2025 – March 14, 2026 Judith & Normal Alix Art Gallery 147 Lochliel Street, Sarnia, ON   Boundaries spans four-decades of Larry Towell’s prolific career, revealing his emotionally charged and deeply humanist vision as a photographer. His work explores themes of land, landlessness, and control, ranging from a personal account of his family’s life in rural Ontario to the plight of civilians caught in the crossfire of war.  The exhibition highlights selections from Towell’s extensive photographic series, including: The Mennonites, which exposes the extreme poverty endured by the Canadian/Mexican Mennonite community as they struggle to resist modernity; The World From My Front Porch, which offers a personal account of Towell’s family life and home in Dawn-Euphemia Township; El Salvador, the award winning No Man’s Land which intimately examines the struggle for survival in the conflict zones of El Salvador and Palestine; Afghanistan, released in 2014, plus his most recent project, The History War, which documents Ukraine’s long struggle for independence. For more information, please visit the Judith & Norman Alix Art Gallery website.  Andrew Maize *(s)twerH, McIntosh Gallery, Western University, ongoing installation Photo credit: Andrew Maize January 21st, 2026 Andrew Maize is the artist-in-residence at the McIntosh Gallery and is happy to meet with visitors at his exhibition titled, *(s)twerH, curated by Helen Gregory. Andrew is in residence until Feb. 12 at the gallery and is also in residence at the Embassy Cultural House while here in London. His exhibition will continue until May 16, 2026.    Andrew Maize’s playful and improvised approach to his art practice is contingent on environmental, social, and material relations. Recent interests include mobile instruments for improvised performance, wind-powered kinetic sculptures, and experimental drawings using smoke and natural pigments. He is curious how transdisciplinary collaboration and improvisational methodologies can help embody more creative, adaptable and resilient ways of being in the world. As an arts educator and organizer, Maize has been involved in collaborative projects that engage communities with art in non-traditional spaces. Maize graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from NSCAD University in Halifax, NS, in 2012, and a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Guelph in 2021. McIntosh Gallery, *(s)twerH, Featuring Andrew Maize https://mcintoshgallery.ca/exhibitions/Upcoming.html    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! 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 What we're reading Carthage Must be Destroyed: The Rise and Fall of an Ancient Civilization, Richard Miles, Published by Viking Books, New York, 2011 They Knew: How a Culture of Conspiracy Keeps America Complacent, Sarah Kendzior, Published by Flat Iron Books, New York, 2022 *(s)twerH/Andrew Maize, Lisa Hirmer, Pascal Dufaux, Sarah Wendt, sophia bartholomew, Printed by McLaren Art Centre, PS Guelph, 2026 The Destruction of Palestine Is the Destruction of the Earth, Andreas Malm, Published by Verso, London, New York, 2024 Relevant and Related Links   The South African Pavillion is Betraying Its Own History https://hyperallergic.com/the-south-african-pavilion-is-betraying-its-own-history/ ICE vs. the People of Minnesota: A Special Report https://www.democracynow.org/2026/1/20/minneapolis_minnesota_ice?utm_source=Democracy+Now%21&utm_campaign=18bdf12f42-Daily_Digest_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_fa2346a853-18bdf12f42-193235784 A Night of Funk: By Ottawa's Funk Yourself https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/a-night-of-funk-by-ottawas-funk-yo-self-tickets-1980149700057 McIntosh Gallery, Atmospheric Shifts, Featuring Wally Dion, Lisa Hirmer, David Spriggs https://mcintoshgallery.ca/exhibitions/Upcoming.html    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.