Anna Binta Diallo: Heliophile

Galerie Buhler Gallery

Anna Binta Diallo, Aura 3: Sun Waves, 2025, Fused glass and concrete, 4 ft x 4 ft. Photo: Karen Asher

Anna Binta Diallo: Heliophile

On view until August 22, 2025
Galerie Buhler Gallery, St. Boniface Hospital, Winnipeg
Curated by hannah_g

Glass is a material uniquely placed to marry the qualities of colour and light, amplifying the properties of both. The motif of light in Anna Binta Diallo’s exhibition Heliophile, which means “lover of light”, acts as a personal evocation of Ètienne Gaboury, her grandfather and a renowned Canadian architect. In Heliophile, Diallo’s glass works and video nurture a looseness around beginnings and endings, allowing for the moving expression of reverence and joyfulness, common experience and private grief, and a love of light, in all of its forms.

Few architects in the province have captured the hearts and minds of its people as profoundly as Étienne Gaboury, whose creations are rooted in the nuances of regional character, shaping the way Manitobans perceive themselves and their landscape. Gaboury is also the grandfather of the artist Anna Binta Diallo (a professor at the University of Manitoba) and was a profound source of inspiration to her, guiding, encouraging, and influencing her journey as a visual artist since she was very young. GBG is proud to have a fused glass artwork by Gaboury in the entrance wall of the gallery. Étienne Gaboury passed away in St. Boniface Hospital on October 14, 2022, surrounded by his family.

About the Artist

Anna Binta Diallo (b. 1983, Dakar, Senegal; lives and works in Winnipeg, Manitoba) explores how memory and nostalgia create unexpected narratives around identity. Her work addresses migration, displacement, and the relationship between language, history, and identity. Diallo holds an MFA from Transart Institute (Berlin) and a BFA from the University of Manitoba. Her exhibitions include venues such as MOCA Taipei, SAVVY Contemporary (Berlin), and the African Photography Biennial in Bamako, Mali. She has received multiple grants, awards, and nominations, including the Sobey Award longlist. Diallo is an assistant professor at the University of Manitoba on Treaty 1 and is represented by Towards Gallery.
www.annabintadiallo.com

Anna Binta Diallo & Sun Waves, 2025. Photo: Karen Asher

Upcoming Exhibitions

Predictions
July 11 – November 9, 2025
Polygon Gallery, Vancouver, BC
Curated by Elliott Ramsey
Learn more | Instagram @polygongallery

Fluid Fossils
July 18 – December 31, 2025
Harbourfront Centre, Toronto, ON
Learn more | Instagram @harbourfrontcentre

Rewilding
October 11 – December, 2025
Canadian Museum of Nature, Ottawa, ON
Curated by Hannah Gregory
Instagram @museumofnature

Oscura
Summer 2025 – Spring 2026
Parc Galerie Stewart Hall, Pointe-Claire, QC
Curated by Manel Benchaban
Learn more | Instagram @galerie.stewarthall

About the Gallery

Galerie Buhler Gallery (also known as GBG) is located within St. Boniface Hospital, a busy centre of healing in the heart of Winnipeg’s French Quarter. This contemporary art gallery provides an important oasis of contemplation, imagination, and rejuvenation for patients, their visitors, staff, physicians, and volunteers.

Land Acknowledgement
St. Boniface Hospital is located on the traditional territories of the Anishinaabe, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota, and Dene peoples, and on the national homeland of the Red River Métis. We acknowledge that our water is sourced from Shoal Lake 40 First Nation. We respect the treaties that were made on these territories and we acknowledge the harms and mistakes of the past. Recognizing that we are all treaty people, we dedicate our efforts towards a more loving and compassionate world as we all move forward in a spirit of reconciliation and collaboration.

Galerie Buhler Gallery
St. Boniface Hospital
TG108A – 409 Taché Avenue
Winnipeg, Manitoba R2H 2A6
galeriebuhlergallery.ca
204-237-2309
Facebook @galeriebuhlergallery
Instagram @galeriebuhlergallery

Contact the curator:
hannah_g
sbhcurator@sbgh.mb.ca

Please note that staff are not always on the premises and it may take a few days to receive a response. Please follow on social media for frequent updates.

Visitor Information
Visitors are encouraged to contact us ahead or make an appointment to see the exhibition to avoid disappointment. Walk-ins are welcome but bear in mind, hours may fluctuate due to short staffing. If you would like to make an appointment to visit, e-mail tgadd@sbgh.mb.ca.

Hours
Monday to Friday, 10am – 5pm
Saturday, 10am – 4pm
Sunday, 12pm – 4pm
Closed on statutory holidays

Accessibility
Galerie Buhler Gallery is fully accessible. For complete visitor and accessibility details, please visit galeriebuhlergallery.ca/visitor-information.

The artist gratefully acknowledges support from the Canada Council for the Arts.