February Updates with the Embassy Cultural House!

2/22/2024

Throughout the months of February and March, the Embassy Cultural House will focus on our publications—and trees!

On Sunday, February 25, 2024 from 11AM to 4PM, ECH is set to attend the Rock / Paper / Scissors Book & Print Fair at the Art Gallery of Guelph. The newest edition of the Embassy Cultural House tabloid will be available at our booth and has already been distributed throughout London and Toronto! Our work continues on the forthcoming anthology as well--An Alternative Cultural History of London, Ontario: Art and Activism.

On Friday, March 1, 2024 at 1 PM EST, ECH will also launch our newest online exhibition, A Community of Trees, curated by ECH Contributing Editor Emmy Meredith with the assistance of Curatorial Advisors Ron Benner and Jamelie Hassan. We look forward to celebrating this event with a Zoom Launch - all who are interested are welcome. More information below!

“A Community of Trees" Online Exhibition and Zoom Launch

A Community of Trees Zoom Launch
Friday, March 1, 2024 at 1:00 PM EST (10 AM PST / 2:30 PM NST)
Contact [email protected] to RSVP

Though it is not widespread knowledge, trees have the ability to communicate with each other through a variety of means. Their elaborate root systems contain fungi, which can send messages to nearby connected trees to warn of dangers or other predators. Just as humans function best when working together as a collective and a community, trees are best able to thrive when they are a part of a forest, connected to other trees.

A Community of Trees will highlight the versatility of trees' existence and how they are an important and essential part of the ecosystem.

This exhibition has been curated by ECH Contributing Editor Emmy Meredith, with the assistance of ECH Curatorial Advisors Ron Benner and Jamelie Hassan. Contributors to the exhibition include Maria Awaraji, José Bedia, Ron Benner, Marlene Creates, Patricia Deadman, Selwyn Dewdney, Richelle Forsey, Alexis Green, Jamelie Hassan, Fern Helfand, Lisa Hirmer, Penn Kemp, Miriam Love, Don McKay, Emmy Meredith, Catherine Morrisey, David Merritt, Olivia Mossuto, Monica Joy, Judith Rodger, Roland Schubert, Ashley Snook, Heather Steinhagen, Diana Tamblyn, and Larry Towell.

To join the event on Friday, March 1, please email the Embassy Cultural House for the Zoom link required for the launch.

Embassy Cultural House Tabloid: February 2024—Now Available

The most recent ECH tabloid at Art Metropole. Photo credit: Olivia Mossuto

The February 2024 edition of the Embassy Cultural House tabloid documents the ECH’s programming from January 2023 to January 2024, in addition to works, writings, and news from the local arts community in London, Ontario, and the ECH community abroad.

This edition includes a reprint of Wanda Nanibush's 2016 article About Land, tributes to Tom Hill and Raymond Moriyama, an essay on the RI 9 Space of Memory in Corrientes, Argentina, by Dot Tuer and Alberto Gomez, a recipe for risotto, and more.

Locations where you may or may not find the tabloid include Museum London, Colour by Schubert, Covent Garden Market, Jill's Table, Western University's Visual Arts Department, Locomotive Espresso (Pall Mall location), The Bag Lady, and The Framing and Art Centre. While quantities last!

To receive a free copy of this tabloid, please contact [email protected].

PS Guelph's Annual Rock / Paper / Scissors
Book & Print Fair at the Art Gallery of Guelph

The Embassy Cultural House will have a table at PS Guelph's annual (and free to attend) Rock / Paper / Scissors Book + Print Fair on Sunday, February 25 from 11AM-4PM at the Art Gallery of Guelph (AGG). This annual event is devoted to small-scale publishing and the social life of the book. This year, zinesters, printmakers, poets, and publishers from across Ontario will join us for a print media lover’s dream. Peruse hand-made and locally published books and print media while supporting small bookmakers, artists, and publishers.

This event is part of a weekend of programming hosted by PS Guelph, including a series of bookmaking and writing workshops on Saturday, February 24. Details and registration information can be found at musagetes.ca/news.

The Man I Left Behind - Triple Vinyl LP by Larry Towell

Larry Towell, the Magnum photographer who has published fourteen books and covered conflicts around the world, has now released a triple vinyl LP of original ballads about photography or the places he’s photographed based on issues of justice and peace. Peter Yarrow (of Peter, Paul and Mary) writes: “Larry Towell is one of the few songwriters today who carries on the courageous tradition of Woodie Guthrie, Pete Seeger, and Phil Ochs.” The anthology also contains field recordings mixed with his arrangements and lyrics.

Larry is accompanied by musicians and friends that include Jeff Bird of the Cowboy Junkies, Mike Stevens, who was a regular contributor to the Grand Ole Opry, Anne Lindsay who tours with Blue Rodeo and Jim Cuddy, Gwen Swick of Quartette, and many others.

To purchase signed copies of The Man I Left Behind on triple vinyl, please email [email protected]. Each copy is $60+HST, shipping not included.

Shelley Niro's “500 Year Itch" at the Art Gallery of Hamilton

“The Rebel," Shelley Niro, shot in 1982, shown in 1989, Hand-tinted photograph

Shelley Niro: 500 Year Itch is the first major retrospective exhibition of the multi-media work of Mohawk artist Shelley Niro, who is based in Brantford, ON. Spanning four decades of her photography, film, painting, installation, sculpture and mixed media practice, the exhibition highlights themes she constantly returns to: Matriarchy, Past is Present, Actors, and Family Relations. Her persistent vision is to represent Indigenous women and girls, advocating for self-representation and sovereignty. Her highly empathetic approach moves viewers to understand the issues at hand through her visually impactful and politically powerful manner. She uses parody, feminism, and spirituality to examine identity, and in turn, brings political power to the realm of the personal.

The exhibition features over 70 works by Shelley Niro, some in series (totaling 136 pieces) coming from public and private collections across Canada and the US, including new work to be debuted in Hamilton.

Shelley Niro: 500 Year Itch is organized and circulated by the Art Gallery of Hamilton with the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI), with curatorial support from the National Gallery of Canada (NGC). Co-curated by Melissa Bennett, AGH Senior Curator of Contemporary Art, Greg Hill, Independent Curator, formerly Audain Senior Curator, Indigenous Art, National Gallery of Canada, and David Penney, Associate Director of Museum scholarship, Exhibitions, and Public Engagement at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian.

The opening celebration of the exhibition at the Art Gallery of Hamilton will take place on Saturday, February 24, during the Winter Exhibition Opening Celebration. For more information, please visit the Art Gallery of Hamilton website.

The Green Bin Program arrives in London, Ontario!

Recent visitor to 514 Pall Mall Street—observing the new green bin. Photo credit: John Riley

On January 15, 2024, the city of London, Ontario, officially adopted the Green Bin! This initiative follows cities such as Hamilton and Guelph who had adopted the waste management program many years ago. Many residents are ecstatic about this development, including London's raccoon and squirrel residents.

What is the Green Bin? A Green Bin is like a blue (recycling) bin, but for food waste such as fruit and vegetable skins, spoiled leftovers, and other inedible food waste like bones. The Green Bin would be collected from your home at the curbside much like your Blue Box is, and the materials from your Green Bin would be composted or digested.

For more information about the Green Bin program, please visit the City of London's website.

Relevant and Related Links

From CBC London: “London, Ont., doctor files defamation suit against Rebel Media owner over social media post"
From CTV News Montreal: “Lorraine Klaasen reflects on strength, family ahead of Montreal show" by Lauren Fernandez
From CBC London: “Judge rules convicted killer of London, Ont., Muslim family committed terrorism" by Kate Dubinsky
From National Diamond Syndicate: “Royal Canadian Mint Celebrates Cultural Diversity With Gem-Adorned Coins"
From The Conversation: “Artists bring human richness to times of strife—and need to be allowed to speak about the Israel-Hamas war" by Lowell Gasoi
From UK-based newspaper, Al Quds: “الفنانة التشكيلية اللبنانية الكندية جميلة حسن: الافتقار إلى سوق تجارية للأعمال الفنية يشكل تحديًا كبيرا إذا كان الفنان مثيرا للجدل" / “Lebanese-Canadian plastic artist Jamelie Hassan: Lack of a commercial market for art is a major challenge if the artist is controversial" by خالد الحمادي / Khaled Al-Hammadi (Arabic-only)
From Jonathan Cook: “Why is the media ignoring evidence of Israel's own actions on 7 October?" by Jonathan Cook

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