Kick off Oshawa’s Convergence Music and Art Festival at the RMG! The launch party will be taking place at the Gallery on Friday, September 20. During the Festival on Saturday, September 21, find us at the ARTBLOCK and at the Family Zone.
RMG Friday: Convergence Launch Party
September 20, 2024
7-10pm
Location: The Robert McLaughlin Gallery
Join us to celebrate the launch of the Convergence Music & Arts Festival. Enjoy live musical performances by Joel Anderson, Christina Smith, and Desarae Dee* as well as art-making activities, exhibitions, and food from local restaurants.
* Please note: due to unforeseen circumstances Desarae Dee is unable to perform.
Joel Anderson is a songwriter with a rich, smooth tone that fuses elements from R&B and Gospel. His music, characterized by heartfelt storytelling and passionate delivery, deeply resonates with listeners through its authenticity and emotional depth.
Scarborough-born, Jamaican-raised Christina Smith’s unique sound is a combination of elements. Some of her musical influences include FKA twigs, Halle Bailey, Kathleen Battle and Qveen Herby. She describes her sound as classical fusion, pulling from the vocal technique and delivery of classical music, and the instrumentation of contemporary music (including, R&B, pop, house and rock).
Join local guest artist Chelsea Frattura in the art studio to get your geek on! Dive into the nostalgic world of 8-bit artwork as you design and create your own custom magnet. Using the grid method, you’ll bring your favourite pop culture icons to life—or invent your own design! Perfect for beginners.
ARTBLOCK
September 21, 2024
11am-7pm
Location: Former Oshawa GO Bus terminal
At the Convergence Music & Arts Festival, the City of Oshawa and The Robert McLaughlin Gallery are co-presenting ARTBLOCK, an art-centered festival Zone showcasing local artistic talent. This area will include a public art exhibition in the former Oshawa GO Bus terminal, art by local artists, participatory art activities and more!
Feature in ARTBLOCK: Points of Connection
For over 20 years, the Oshawa Bus Terminal served as the site for countless homecomings, goodbyes, greetings and adventures. Now no longer in use, it stands like a monument to past memories while awaiting its future redevelopment. For Convergence Music & Arts Festival, the terminal returns to its former glory, packed with people and stories, as the site of the art exhibition Points of Connection.
Points of Connection brings together work by locally connected artists to explore how our personal histories are tied to collective experiences and settings. The exhibition gathers us to reflect on the ways we seek connection; through personal histories, community, technology and nature.
This Bus Terminal connected Oshawa’s communities to and from, far and wide, making it a fitting location for an exhibition that considers how we as a community flourish through connections.
Presented by the City of Oshawa and The Robert McLaughlin Gallery.
Family Zone
Saturday, September 21, 2024
11am-7pm
Location: Family Zone
Join us in the Family Zone at the Convergence Music and Art Festival! We will be designing our own unique band t-shirt art using watercolour resist techniques to create awe-inspiring creations.
This event has been financially assisted by the Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund a program of the Government of Ontario through the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport, administered by the Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund Corporation.
The RMG reserves the right to modify or cancel this event due to circumstances beyond RMG’s control or not reasonably anticipated, including but not limited, to weather, or inability of Facility to host Event.