Art has the power to inspire change and challenge norms. It can evoke emotions, spark conversations, and create a sense of community and solidarity. Featuring a variety of artworks from The Robert McLaughlin Gallery’s (RMG) Permanent Collection of over 4,700 pieces, this exhibition explores how artists throughout history have used art to resist and disrupt social and political structures– including within the art world.
The RMG is a space for many to reflect, learn, engage in dialogue, and connect. During these complex global times, we believe art can play an important role in understanding our world and in healing. We are responsive to contemporary issues and see this exhibition as an opportunity to engage in the discourse on freedom of expression. Recently, there has been a number of high-profile incidents of censorship of artists and arts workers in our sector worldwide. In response, this exhibition features art that courts controversy, comments on contemporary issues, and generally pushes back on the status quo.
Join us for a performance of Transference on Friday November 1, 2024 at 7pm.
Transgressive Passages is an exploration of, and love letter to, queer and trans experience, especially as it intersects with Caribbean-diasporic identity. This exhibition presents two projects, Transmission (2024) and Transference (2024), that seek to bridge individual experiences of queerness with community and intergenerational kinship. Godden expresses this effort both visually and sonically as well as through the collaborative nature of the projects’ production.In both works, water emerges as a symbol for migration, fluidity, and transformation.
The photographic portrait series, Transmission, is displayed across the walls of the gallery. For this project, Godden invited queer members of the Caribbean diaspora living in the GTA to share their stories, asking about the role that specific myths and traditions from the Caribbean have played in their lives. Inspired by their conversations, Godden created colourful textiles for each sitter that reference their individual stories, and then photographed them. Whether draped over a shoulder or tied across a waist, the textiles are a tool for grounding the photographs in these bonding conversations and proclaiming belonging in cultures that have at times excluded or threatened queer and trans identities. Each sitter is staged like a heroic figure or elder with the same reverence one might find in similar tableaus enshrined in hallowed halls.
At the centre of the room is a group of plastic, aluminum, and glass containers holding salt water. The largest vessel sits in the corner, with progressively smaller vessels winding towards the entrance to the gallery. A looping audio track, created with the help of James Knott, fills the space with a chorus of sound, including steel drums, splashing water, field recordings from Trinidad and Tobago, and vocalizations from queer and trans loved ones. This forms the setting for Transference, a performance by Godden presented at the gallery on November 1, 2024. Moving from the largest vessel to the next in an outfit made of thetextiles from Transmission, Godden eventually reaches the smallest vessel, which cannot contain them. The work is a visual metaphor for a journey of self-discovery, a passage witnessed and cared for by the elders and future elders whose portraits watch on and whose personal mythologies are woven into Godden’s patchwork garment.
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 Transgressive Passages and 7A*11D International Festival of Performance Art for their support of Transference.
For their contributions to this project, the artist also thanks: Adrienne matheuszik, Alyssa Bistonath, Amina Ramcharitar, Amirah Star, Andil Gosine, Anesha Godden, Asmath Majarali Khan, Azim Khan, Brent Baillie, Brigita Gedgaudas, Brigitte Sampogna, Camila Salcedo, Cazim Khan, Claudia Edwards, Dev Ramsawakh, Dion Khan, Duane Khan, E Cheung, Emah Fox, Francis Almendarez, Francisco-Fernando Granados, Hannah Keating, Ivetta Sunyoung Kang, James Knott, Jess Pinney, Joyce Troy, Kate Just, Kate Welsh, Kirby Rose, Lan Florence Yee, LeZlie Lee Kam, Lingxiang Woo, Michèle Pearson Clarke, Natalia S. Hall, Natalie Wood, Nisa Singh, Ouma Amadou, Pearly Seulakhan, Phon Baillie, Queen Kukoyi, Reema Mahadeo Brahim, Richard Fung, RTS Plastics, Ruby Khan, Samuel La France, Sarah Mohammed, Shara Khan, Shinnelle O’Gilvie, Sonya Jones, Thembi Soddell, and Zinora Ferreira.
Artist Bio:
Vanessa Godden is a non-binary Queer Indo-Caribbean and Euro-Canadian artist, educator, and curator. They are a sessional lecturer at universities across the Greater Toronto Area and a cofounder of the curatorial collective Diasporic Futurisms. Godden holds a PhD from the Victorian College of the Arts (Melbourne, Australia; 2020), an MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design (Providence, USA; 2014), and a BFA from the University of Houston (Houston, USA; 2012). Their transdisciplinary practice explores how the relationship between the body, personal histories, and geographic space can be conveyed in multi-sensory performances, videos, and installations.
Image: Installation of “Vanessa Godden: Transgressive Passages” at The Robert McLaughlin Gallery, 2024. Photo by Toni Hafkenscheid.
Part of the RMG Fridays Transcending to Convergence Series.
It’s Salsa Night at Robert McLaughlin Gallery! Join us in the Backyard for free salsa lessons, good eats and a lively party under the night sky.
RMG’s Salsa Night will start off with two 25 minute lessons led by Kurt and Maria from The Love of Salsa. Learn the basics and then bring your moves to the dance floor where the live band, Farrucas Duo, will serenade our steps into the night.
Participants can register for a maximum of 2 people. Lesson 1 will be from 7:30-7:55pm and Lesson 2 will be from 7:55-8:20pm. Please arrive 15 minutes prior to the start of your lesson.
8:20PM: Dance lessons end + Short performance by Instructors
8:40PM: Band starts
9:40PM: Band ends
Farrucas Duo draws its unique repertoire from many classic songs written over the past century, but is also influenced by modern musical styles such as Salsa, Rumba Flamenco, Bolero, Cha Cha Cha, Cuban, South American, Arabic and more! Farrucas Duo combines entertainment, musicality, professionalism, creativity and tradition in every concert for almost 20 years; a must see!
Teaching & dancing Salsa in Durham Region since 2007, The Love of Salsa offers weekly group and private classes. Our Mission: To enhance dancing by helping Durham residents embrace their Latin side. Come join us on the floor.
Let the music and moves inspire you! In the lower level of the Backyard, we’ll be decorating wooden maracas using acrylic paint.
While supplies lasts.
A scholarship recipient of Classic Piano at Universidad del Norte in Barranquilla, Colombia, Anabella Cabrera Janer is a musician with experience performing classic piano in various formats, as well as guitar, percussion and voice in a wide range of genres such as tropical, popular and Caribbean folk.
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.
CANCELLED: Due to low registrations, this event has been cancelled.
Breathe, stretch and flow at the RMG! We’re hosting Yoga with local instructors, Kimmel Alcide, The Everyday Yogi, and Jessi Hoey owner of Nirmana School of Yoga. They will guide you through 1 hour of a guided mindful experience.
$15/person. Ages 13 and up. Children aged 13 to 16 require parental supervision.
Rain or shine, experience our Isabel Gallery or Backyard on the 3rd Thursday of each month. We look forward to healing the mind and body through breath and stretch with you.
Limited spaces available. Bring your own mat. Water is not allowed inside gallery spaces during indoor events. All sales are final, no refunds. If event is cancelled, registrants will be contacted and refunds will be issued. Ticket sales close at 4PM the day before the event.
*We kindly request a minimum attendance threshold of 20 participants to ensure the successful execution of the session, otherwise the event will be cancelled
Breathe, stretch and flow at the RMG! We’re hosting Yoga with local instructors, Kimmel Alcide, The Everyday Yogi, and Jessi Hoey owner of Nirmana School of Yoga. They will guide you through 1 hour of a guided mindful experience.
$15/person. Ages 13 and up. Children aged 13 to 16 require parental supervision.
Rain or shine, experience our Isabel Gallery or Backyard on the 3rd Thursday of each month. We look forward to healing the mind and body through breath and stretch with you.
Limited spaces available. Bring your own mat. Water is not allowed inside gallery spaces during indoor events. All sales are final, no refunds. If event is cancelled, registrants will be contacted and refunds will be issued. Ticket sales close at 4PM the day before the event.
*We kindly request a minimum attendance threshold of 20 participants to ensure the successful execution of the session, otherwise the event will be cancelled
—> CANCELLED <— Due to low registrations, this event has been cancelled.
Breathe, stretch and flow at the RMG! We’re hosting Yoga with local instructors, Kimmel Alcide, The Everyday Yogi, and Jessi Hoey owner of Nirmana School of Yoga. They will guide you through 1 hour of a guided mindful experience.
$15/person. Ages 13 and up. Children aged 13 to 16 require parental supervision.
Rain or shine, experience our Isabel Gallery or Backyard on the 3rd Thursday of each month. We look forward to healing the mind and body through breath and stretch with you.
Limited spaces available. Bring your own mat. Water is not allowed inside gallery spaces during indoor events. All sales are final, no refunds. If event is cancelled, registrants will be contacted and refunds will be issued. Ticket sales close at 4PM the day before the event.
*We kindly request a minimum attendance threshold of 20 participants to ensure the successful execution of the session, otherwise the event will be cancelled
Breathe, stretch and flow at the RMG! We’re hosting Yoga with local instructors, Kimmel Alcide, The Everyday Yogi, and Jessi Hoey owner of Nirmana School of Yoga. They will guide you through 1 hour of a guided mindful experience.
$15/person. Ages 13 and up. Children aged 13 to 16 require parental supervision.
Rain or shine, experience our Isabel Gallery or Backyard on the 3rd Thursday of each month. We look forward to healing the mind and body through breath and stretch with you.
Limited spaces available. Bring your own mat. Water is not allowed inside gallery spaces during indoor events. All sales are final, no refunds. If event is cancelled, registrants will be contacted and refunds will be issued. Ticket sales close at 4PM the day before the event.
*We kindly request a minimum attendance threshold of 20 participants to ensure the successful execution of the session, otherwise the event will be cancelled
Breathe, stretch and flow at the RMG! We’re hosting Yoga with local instructors, Kimmel Alcide, The Everyday Yogi, and Jessi Hoey owner of Nirmana School of Yoga. They will guide you through 1 hour of a guided mindful experience.
$15/person. Ages 13 and up. Children aged 13 to 16 require parental supervision.
Rain or shine, experience our Isabel Gallery or Backyard on the 3rd Thursday of each month. We look forward to healing the mind and body through breath and stretch with you.
Limited spaces available. Bring your own mat. Water is not allowed inside gallery spaces during indoor events. All sales are final, no refunds. If event is cancelled, registrants will be contacted and refunds will be issued. Ticket sales close at 4PM the day before the event.
*We kindly request a minimum attendance threshold of 20 participants to ensure the successful execution of the session, otherwise the event will be cancelled
Breathe, stretch and flow at the RMG! We’re hosting Yoga with local instructors, Kimmel Alcide, The Everyday Yogi, and Jessi Hoey owner of Nirmana School of Yoga. They will guide you through 1 hour of a guided mindful experience.
$15/person. Ages 13 and up. Children aged 13 to 16 require parental supervision.
Rain or shine, experience our Isabel Gallery or Backyard on the 3rd Thursday of each month. We look forward to healing the mind and body through breath and stretch with you.
Limited spaces available. Bring your own mat. Water is not allowed inside gallery spaces during indoor events. All sales are final, no refunds. If event is cancelled, registrants will be contacted and refunds will be issued. Ticket sales close at 4PM the day before the event.
*We kindly request a minimum attendance threshold of 20 participants to ensure the successful execution of the session, otherwise the event will be cancelled.
Part of the RMG Fridays Transcending to Convergence Series.
Bubbles, Bubbles, BUBBLES! We’re celebrating the iridescence in all of us as Pride is here! The night will be filled with a cabaret of performances with all the wonderful people in our community. So, please join us for a night of frivolity, dance and letting your troubles float away into the twilight.
The Losing Art of Plating: Drag Aesthetics, Food Security, and Harm Reduction with Mikiki
7:30-9:30pm
In this hands-on workshop, participants will build extravagant plates of highly processed (“junk”) food. Performance Artist and Queer Community Activist Mikiki will lead the workshop, facilitating conversations about the politics of food as it intersects with concepts of beauty, gender representation, drag, food security, and harm reduction. Unpacking the language of “junk food” through creativity and play, this drop-in program is welcoming to people of all ages.
This workshop is offered alongside an installation by Hannah Jickling and Reed H. Reed in the exhibition Contemporary Kids, on view at the RMG from June 1 to October 6, 2024. Their installation After Wrappers, explores collaborative learning, the politics of food and of the potential of garbage.
Please note: Various food products will be available in the workshop space, so please take the necessary precautions if you have a food allergy.
If there is something we can do to support your participation, or if you have any questions about the program, please contact Hannah Keating at [email protected].
Kali Kontour, the sensational drag persona hailing from Oshawa, has been captivating audiences for two fabulous years. With roots firmly planted in her hometown, Kali embodies elegance, sass, and unapologetic charisma. Beyond the spotlight, she champions charitable causes, using her platform to uplift and support her community in true diva fashion.
Dank Sinatra is a non-binary drag thing, librarian, and Dora-nominated theater artist who got their start performing on Coast Salish Territories in 2018. As part of the House of Faith, they took home second place in Absolut Empire’s Ball 2023. Boasting the same record collection as your Dad, Dank draws on influences from cabaret to classic rock, burlesque to big band, delivering thrills, chills, and live vocal skills with a heavy dose of stupidity and an old school sensibility.
A trans non binary drag king, thing, and everything in between. Born and raised in Southern Ontario, El Experimento has been gracing the stages of Toronto and the East Coast since winter of 2022. An amalgamation and reclamation of nostalgic heart throbs, heart breakers and hell raisers. His Latin flare and hunky charm transcend time and space, leaving you aching with desire.
Vital! Contemporary Circus is a small, local circus company founded in 2022 by Oshawa resident Jackie Houghton. Jackie has spent close to 15 years in the circus community as a performer, producer and writer. After moving to Oshawa in 2020, she realized that there was an opportunity to develop a local circus community where there was none. Since then she has performed for local businesses, Canada Day at Lakeview Park, and the inaugural Convergence Festival. In addition to performing, Jackie also produces circus cabarets locally under the banner of Vital! Circus Cabaret. Jackie continues to work towards her goal of sharing her love of circus with Durham Region and she’s very excited to be working with the Robert McLaughlin Gallery!
In the studio, make D.I.Y. Pride themed pins using polymer clay! This project is simple and fun, no experience required. Ages 12+
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.
