ArtworxTO Exhibition Explores Indigenous Self Care in Downtown Toronto

ArtworxTO Pop Up Hub | Collision Gallery

Locating Self Care in Urban Centres runs until December 31, 2021.

Locating Self Care in Urban Centres

September 22, 2021 – December 31, 2021
ArtworxTO Pop Up Hub: Collision Gallery – 18 Wellington Street W.

Participating Artists: Laura Grier, Susan Blight
Curated by: Emma Steen

Hours:
Monday Closed
Tuesday 10:30 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Wednesday 10:30 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Thursday 10:30 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Friday 10:30 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Saturday 12:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Sunday Closed

ArtworxTO Pop Up Hub: Collision Gallery
This downtown Pop-Up Hub for ArtworxTO takes place at Collision Gallery and is host to the exhibition ‘Locating Self Care in Urban Centres.’ Collision Gallery is located at 18 Wellington St. W, in the heart of the financial district, and is open Tues-Fri 10:30am-7pm and Saturdays from 12pm-5pm.

A Battlefield Medicinal Herb Living Green Under the Snow by Susan Blight, 2021

Locating Self Care in Urban Centres
Locating Self Care in Urban Centres continues the conversation started by Black and Indigenous curators and writers on care as methods of resistance and sovereignty. Artists Laura Grier and Susan Blight consider self-care as manifested through body, land, and community, extending into the gallery itself as a place of respite within the downtown core, a space often unwelcoming of Indigenous presence.

Curator Emma Steen
Emma Steen is a freelance curator, writer, and the Community Relations Manager for the Indigenous Curatorial Collective. Born and raised in Toronto, her area of interest lies in art that explores bodies, sex and love with anti-colonial intention. Her background also includes extensive work in community arts organizing and supporting methods of institutional accountability.

Kǝdǝdzǝ́hehtsį by Laura Grier, 2021

ARTWORKS
‘A Battlefield Medicinal Herb Living Green Under the Snow’ by Susan Blight brings Yarrow plants into the gallery and weaves a narrative around authenticity, healing, and strength against harsh climates and unwelcoming circumstances.

‘Kǝdǝdzǝ́hehtsį’ by Laura Grier explores language revitalization in a journey to find a word in their language that encompasses what they feel ‘care’ is, landing on the realization that “When there are no words, you make them.”

‘Ɂįdzǝ́Ɂenį’ by Laura Grier explores the tactile nature of giving care and enacting self-care through tangible acts that can be memorialized through print.

A Battlefield Medicinal Herb Living Green Under the Snow by Susan Blight, 2021

Educational Tools
Learn more about this exhibition in Listen. Learn. Act. – an educational toolkit that invites the public to take a deep dive into the conceptual underpinnings of projects and programs at ArtworxTO hub exhibitions.

There will be a number of exciting programs taking place in the next two months at the ArtworxTO Pop Up Hub: Collision Gallery, including printmaking workshops, musical performances and more. Please check back on the Collision Gallery Pop-up Hub website for more details as they come out.

Directions:
The gallery can be accessed from within Commerce Court Courtyard near the Tembo, Mother of Elephants by Derrick S. Hudson (on google maps), or through the entrance to the plaza off Wellington at 18 Wellington Street W.

About ArtworxTO
ArtworxTO: Toronto’s Year of Public Art 2021–2022 is a year-long celebration of Toronto’s exceptional public art collection and the creative community behind it. Working closely with artists and Toronto’s arts institutions, the City of Toronto is delivering major public art projects and commissions, citywide, from fall 2021 to fall 2022. Supporting local artists and new artworks that reflect Toronto’s diversity, ArtworxTO is creating more opportunities for Torontonians to engage with art in their everyday lives. This year, explore your city and discover creativity and community–everywhere. Visit artworxTO.ca for full details.

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Please contact hubsouth@artworxto.ca for questions or media inquiries.