Special Events

Transference: A performance by Vanessa Godden

Nov 1, 2024, 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM

Transference is a performance by RBC Emerging Artist in Residence Vanessa Godden. Throughout the performance, Godden will submerge their body in containers of different sizes filled with salt water. The artist’s movement, and the resulting sounds, will interact with a sound composition produced in collaboration with Markham-based Visual and Sonic artist, James Knott. The composition includes audio collected by Godden during their residency at the RMG, field recordings from Trinidad and Tobago, experimental steel pan recordings, and a choir of sounds collected from Queer and Trans loved ones. The performance serves as a bridge between Godden’s Non-Binary Queer diasporic existence in the West and the lineages of movement instigated by colonization of South Asia and the Caribbean.

Vanessa Godden, Transference (2024), performed at the 7a*11d International Festival of Performance Art, October 13, 2024. Image by Henry Chan.

The RBC Emerging Artist Residency Program is generously sponsored by the RBC Foundation’s Emerging Artist Project.

The artist thanks the Canada Council for the Arts for their support of this work.

Upcoming Events

Workshops

Studio to Makerspace: An Artist’s Exploration of Digital Fabrication Tools

Sep 10, 2026, 7:00 PM - 8:15 PM

Lana Yuan is a Critical Making and Makerspace Assistant at York University’s Markham Campus Library, and an artist working across sculpture, kinetic works, and interactive installation. Her recent interests focus on combining sculptural practice with digital technologies such as parametric modeling and 3D printing. Her work explores patterned behaviours within urban environments, with attention to […]

Special Events

Family Sunday: Swirly Snails

Sep 13, 2026, 10:30 AM - 12:30 PM

This month, take inspiration from the central character in the exhibition Oliver Husain: I ♥ Snail, the golden apple snail. Let’s sculpt our own small snail character with plasticine and then create a cozy collaged triorama habitat for our snail to reside in. Click here to learn more about the exhibition Oliver Husain: I ♥ […]

Special Events

Bringing the Art Collection to Life

Sep 15, 2026, 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM

Learn about the history of how The Robert McLaughlin Gallery came to be, with a particular focus on the permanent art collection. With now over 4,700 works of art, Curator of Collections, Sonya Jones, will share stories about key works in the RMG’s collection. Storytelling forges connections between people and ideas, making it a powerful […]

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