Putting Art in the Spotlight
For weeks, the AGO team has been connecting with artists virtually for our Art in the Spotlight series. Check out some of the highlights.
Image courtesy of AGO
Each week, AGO team members hop on Zoom for the digital talk series Art in the Spotlight, which features conversations with artists about how they are doing, and how they are staying inspired during COVID.
Here’s a look at four sensational talks from the past few weeks. And with new talks premiering regularly, stay tuned to AGO.ca/events to see who we’ll be speaking with next.
Alyssa Bistonath
The AGO team had the pleasure of chatting with artist and lens-based practitioner Alyssa Bistonath to discuss her recent photography series documenting friends during self-isolation. The daughter of Guyanese immigrants, Bistonath teaches at Ryerson University and focuses her photographic and video-based work on themes of memory and belonging.
Laakkuluk Williamson Bathory
Laakkuluk Williamson Bathory is an established multidisciplinary artist whose practice centres on uaajeerneq (Greenlandic mask dance) and also includes acting, curating, drum-dancing, music and writing. A co-curator of the 2018 AGO exhibition Tunirrusiangit: Kenojuak Ashevak and Tim Pitsiulak, Williamson Bathory joined AGO curators from her home in Iqaluit, Nunavut to talk about her connection to land and how it is interwoven in her artistic practice.
Charles Officer
An acclaimed filmmaker, Charles Officer spoke with AGO curators about the challenge of sparking creativity and continuing to produce creative work during the era of COVID-19. The founder of Canesugar Filmworks, Officer’s recent work includes the 2012 Emmy Award-winning Mighty Jerome and the recent documentary The Skin We’re In, which examines anti-black racism in Canada.
Rajni Perera
Earlier this summer, Rajni Perera Zoomed with our AGO team to talk about what this cultural moment means for her creative practice. After looking at the piece recently acquired by the AGO called Fresh Air, the conversation focuses on the activism that must stem from this moment. A painter and sculptor, Perera’s work explores issues of ethnography, gender, sexuality, popular culture, deities, monsters and dream worlds. Her work seeks to counteract oppressive forces and act as a restorative force – the perfect sentiment for these challenging times.
Loving the Art in the Spotlight series? Don’t forget to check back at AGO.ca/events for the newest feature.
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