Fall 2025 Exhibitions at Cambridge Art Galleries

Video still from work in progress, courtesy of Behnaz Fatemi.

Behnaz Fatemi: Sumâq / Sumac / سماق

September 13, 2025 – December 7, 2025
Cambridge Art Galleries, Preston
Curated by Karly Boileau

“Plants are often considered static. The word we often use to describe them, ‘rooted,’ is also how we might describe our human belonging to place. But when I think of seed, of blossom, root, and rhizome, it is movement that I think of.”
– Jessica J. Lee, Dispersals: On Plants, Borders, and Belonging

“Even in the busy city streets small plants push bravely up through the cracks in the paving. Pause and look at the next one you see, marvel at its determination, its will to live.”
– Dr. Jane Goodall, Seeds of Hope, Wisdom and Wonder from the World of Plants

These two quotes, one from environmental historian, Jessica J. Lee, the other from Dr. Jane Goodall, provide a framework for considering Behnaz Fatemi’s exhibition, Sumâq / Sumac / سماق. In a time of transition, sumac holds a quiet, steady presence in Fatemi’s life, naturally finding its way into her artistic practice and grounding her to the respective places she calls home. Plants have no boundary lines. They grow and move, becoming many things to many species, providing the basis for inspiration, medicine, shelter, and food. Through the themes of connection, belonging, resilience, healing, diasporic grief, and transformation, Fatemi explores the various ways sumac has become an essential symbol in her life.
– Karly Boileau, curator

Related Programming

Opening Reception: Sumâq / Sumac / سماق
Friday, September 19, 2025, 6:00pm – 8:00pm
Cambridge Art Galleries, Preston
No registration required

Celebrate the opening reception of Behnaz Fatemi’s solo exhibition, Sumâq / Sumac / سماق at the Preston Gallery. Light snacks and refreshments will be served. All are welcome to attend.

Work by artists in Paralèlles: Unseen Feminine Forces at Cambridge Art Galleries.

Paralèlles: Unseen Feminine Forces

October 4, 2025 – December 21, 2025
Cambridge Art Galleries, Queen’s Square
Guest curated by Alix Voz

Artists: Antonietta Grassi, Caroline Monnet, Carolina Reis

This exhibition brings together three French-speaking women artists whose practices reveal the unseen forces that shape our shared world, forces rooted in connection, memory, resistance, and cultural belonging. Through textile, sculpture, and painting, Parallèles explores how stories passed through hands, materials, and lived experience offer powerful counter-narratives to dominant histories. Grounded in personal heritage and collective resonance, the works presented invite viewers into parallel spaces where thread becomes language, ornament becomes armour, and art becomes a portal to ancestral and future worlds.

Related Programming

Opening Reception: Paralèlles
Saturday, October 4, 2025, 11:00am – 2:00pm
Cambridge Art Galleries, Queen’s Square
No registration required

Celebrate the opening Parallèles: Unseen Feminine Forces at the Queen’s Square Gallery. Tour the show with guest curator Alix Voz to learn about the thematic connections and each artist’s practice. Light snacks and refreshments will be served. All are welcome to attend.

Cambridge Art Galleries
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Cambridge Art Galleries, Queen’s Square
1 North Square
Cambridge, ON N1S 2K6

Hours of Operation
Monday to Thursday, 9:30am – 8:30pm
Friday and Saturday, 9:30am – 5:30pm
Sunday, 1:00pm – 5:00pm

Cambridge Art Galleries, Preston
435 King Street East
Cambridge, ON N3H 3N1

Hours of Operation
Monday to Thursday, 10:00am – 8:30pm
Friday, 10:00am – 5:30pm
Saturday, 9:30am – 5:30pm
Sunday, 1:00pm – 5:00pm

Admission is free. All are welcome.

Cambridge Art Galleries is situated on the traditional territory of the Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee, and Neutral peoples. We recognize that this land is part of the Haldimand Tract, extending 10km on either side of the Grand River.

Cambridge Art Galleries presents contemporary art from two galleries in the City of Cambridge: Queen’s Square and Preston. We serve our regional and broader communities through the delivery of contemporary art programs that foster critical cultural dialogue. Our artistic activities engage, embrace, and empower people of all ages and abilities from diverse backgrounds.

Accessibility:
Cambridge Art Galleries, Cambridge Public Library is fully accessible. For more information: cambridgepl.ca/about/accessibility

Our Supporters:
Cambridge Art Galleries gratefully acknowledge the generous support of the City of Cambridge, Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, and the Government of Ontario.