Fall 2024 Exhibitions at MSVU Art Gallery

Mark Valino, Still from Moments of Movement, Freestyle Dance Video Series #104 – Tafiya, 2022

Still Tho: Aesthetic Survival in Hip Hop’s Visual Art

September 21 – November 23, 2024
Opening Reception: September 21, 1:00 – 3:00pm
Curated by Mark V. Campbell
Lower Gallery

Still Tho is an ode to the visual artists in Canada who shaped hip-hop culture and its visual aesthetics. In this group exhibition featuring artists from across Canada, an array of mix-media works explores the growth, influence and importance of graffiti art and its aesthetic legacies.

The phrase “Still Tho” in the exhibition’s title refers to a common expression in hip-hop culture that speaks to these artists’ perseverance, their overcoming numerous barriers to make art and build community. Moreover, the exhibition highlights the lasting impact of hip-hop’s visual art on both Canadian culture and visual aesthetics in our digital age.

Featured artists include Corey Bulpitt, Mark Stoddart, Mique Michelle, Miss Me, Leon ‘Eklipz’ Robinson, EGR, Wizwon (Jayde Goodon), Mark Valino, Kalidan Assefa, STARE, Nelson ‘Dedos’ Garcia, and Elicser Elliot.

About the Curator

Mark V. Campbell is the founder of Northside Hip-Hop Archive, and he spent two decades in the Toronto hip-hop scene DJing on the ‘Bigger Than Hip-Hop’ radio show from 1998-2015. Since the launch of Northside in 2010, Mark has curated exhibitions of archival items and artistic works related to Canadian hip-hop on three continents, including The T-Dot Pioneers Trilogy, 2010-2013, Mixtapes: Hip-Hop’s Lost Archive, …Everything Remains Raw: Photographing Toronto Hip-Hop Culture from Analogue to Digital as part of the 2018 Contact Festival exhibition at the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, and For the Record: An Idea of the North at the TD Gallery in Toronto.

East of East’s collection contains hundreds of vinyl records by Atlantic Canadian hip-hop artists. Photo by M. McGuire

East of East Atlantic Hip Hop Archive

September 21 – November 23, 2024
Opening Reception: September 21, 1:00 – 3:00pm
Curated by Michael McGuire
Upper Gallery

The East of East Atlantic Canadian Hip Hop Archive delves into the rich history of hip hop culture in the Atlantic Provinces dating back to the 1980s. Curated by founder Michael McGuire this exhibition showcases a selection of digital and physical items from an archive of over 2100 recordings, 400 posters, and 9 hours of video, along with 850 CDs, 165 cassettes, and 280 vinyl records. This exhibition aims to celebrate and preserve the often-overlooked hip hop legacy of Atlantic Canada and honour the individuals who have contributed to its vibrancy.

As an ongoing project, the East of East Archive collects and documents materials related to Atlantic Canadian hip hop. The exhibition is designed to be an interactive experience. Visitors will not only view but also have the opportunity to engage with and contribute to the history of hip hop in the region and experience the breadth of cultural expression within Atlantic Canadian hip hop.

For more information on the East of East Atlantic Hip Hop Archive visit their website.

About the Curator

Michael McGuire, also known as ‘Hermitofthewoods’, is a multidisciplinary artist, academic, archivist, and historian of Atlantic Canadian Hip Hop music and culture based in Kjipuktuk/Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.

Exhibition Reception

Saturday, September 21, 1:00 – 3:00pm

All are welcome to a celebratory reception for MSVU Art Gallery’s Fall exhibitions, Still Tho, curated by Mark V. Campbell and East of East Atlantic Hip Hop Archive curated by Michael McGuire. The curators and several artists will be in attendance. DJ DTS and DJ R$ $mooth will play live sets throughout the afternoon.

This event is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be available. Please contact art.gallery@msvu.ca with any access needs, requests, or inquiries.

About MSVU Art Gallery

Opened in 1971, MSVU Art Gallery is dedicated to contemporary art with an emphasis on women as cultural subjects and producers. Exhibitions explore various forms and highlight the achievements of artists in all career phases. MSVU Art Gallery promotes critical access to its exhibitions through publications, lectures, and educational programs, recognizing socially engaged practices as models of aesthetic distinction and political imagination. Consistent with the principle that exhibition spaces are civic spaces, the Gallery is committed to normalizing accessible presentation practices throughout its public programs. Admission is always free.

MSVU Art Gallery respectfully acknowledges that the Gallery and Mount Saint Vincent University are situated on Mi’kma’ki, the ancestral, unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq.

MSVU Art Gallery
166 Bedford Hwy
Halifax, NS B3M 2J6

www.msvuart.ca
art.gallery@msvu.ca
902-457-6160

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Accessibility:
MSVU is partially accessible. For more information, visit the Plan Your Visit page on our website.

Support from the following organizations is gratefully acknowledged:
We gratefully acknowledge support from the Canada Council for the Arts and Halifax Regional Municipality.

Image Descriptions:
1. A photo of a dark-skinned man in baggy jeans and a navy blue hoodie in mid-air making a break-dancing move in an alley with graffiti walls
2. A close-up of over two dozen vinyl record sleeves stacked horizontally, with the titles and recording artists visible, including Buck 65, Jesse Dangerously, Contiuum, Classified, Hip Club Groove, and many more.
3. Logo for MSVU Art Gallery