Renée van der Avoird, Assistant Curator of Canadian Art and Assistant Interpretive Planner Nadia Abraham talk to artist Sarindar Dhaliwal ‌about the cartographer's mistake: The Radcliffe Line, ‌a recent AGO acquisition.

Toronto-based artist Sarindar Dhaliwal was born in the Punjab, India, and raised in London, England before moving to Canada in 1968. Working in a range of media that includes installation, video, photography, and drawing, she weaves compelling narratives that explore issues of culture, migration, and identity. Rooted in memories and dreams, Dhaliwal’s work reflects on the dissonance of the immigrant experience, often addressing her childhood experience and perceptions of Eastern and Western customs.

Dhaliwal has exhibited widely in Canada since the 1980s. A retrospective exhibition, entitled The Radcliffe Line and other Geographies, curated by Marcie Bronson (Rodman Hall, Brock University in St. Catherines) toured to the Reach in Abbotsford, BC and the Robert McLaughlin Gallery in Oshawa in 2015-16. More recently, she participated in the following group shows: Vision Exchange: Perspectives from India to Canada (a national touring exhibition organized and circulated by the Art Gallery of Alberta and the National Gallery of Canada, 2019), Yonder (Koffler Gallery, Toronto 2016), Form Follows Fiction: Art and Artists in Toronto (Art Museum at the University of Toronto, 2016) and India Contemporary Photographic and New Media Art, FotoFest 2018 Biennal (Asia Society Texas Center, Houston, Texas).‌

Nadia Abraham is an interpretive planner and audience researcher at the Art Gallery of Ontario. She attended Queen’s University, where she completed her honours degree with a specialization in history, English language and literature, and art history. Nadia is also a graduate of the Museum Studies Master’s program at the University of Toronto, where she focused on museum education and visitor motivations. Nadia’s research is centered on how visitors make meaning in museums, and she is interested in promoting in-gallery conversations about the social context of art, public memory and how museums can be active agents of decolonization.

Prior to joining the AGO in 2018, Renée van der Avoird held positions as Associate Curator/Registrar at the MacLaren Art Centre, Barrie; Assistant Director of Susan Hobbs Gallery, Toronto; and Curatorial Mentor at the Art Museum at the University of Toronto. She holds an Honours Bachelor’s of Arts Degree in Fine Arts and French Language & Literature from Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, and a Master’s Degree in Museum Studies from thePrior to joining the AGO in 2018, Renée van der Avoird held positions as Associate Curator/Registrar at the MacLaren Art Centre, Barrie; Assistant Director of Susan Hobbs Gallery, Toronto; and Curatorial Mentor at the Art Museum at the University of Toronto. She holds an Honours Bachelor’s of Arts Degree in Fine Arts and French Language & Literature from Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, and a Master’s Degree in Museum Studies from the University of Toronto. Van der Avoird’s area of focus is modern and contemporary Canadian women artists.