Not/For The Money

Online exhibition presented by Embassy Cultural House

SF Ho, Money Mirror, digital photo, 2020

Not/For The Money

July 31, 2025 | Ongoing
Zoom Launch: Friday, August 8, 2025, 11am EDT | RSVP here
Embassy Cultural House Online Exhibition

The Embassy Cultural House is pleased to present Not/For The Money, a group exhibition that highlights work by artists and cultural workers that examines themes related to money, capital, and value.

Money is a very urgent issue for many artists. An aspect of this issue is the general public’s inability to value the arts and cultural workers’ vital role and impact within any community. There is a lack of understanding in the way cultural workers survive and build meaningful lives, often with a minimum of resources. The issue of money, the impact of economic disparity, and insecurity dominates many of our lives. Without a stable income, most people struggle to afford basic necessities that are required for quality of life.

Mohamed Monaiseer, I, Pet Lion (The Royal Crown) (with detail), 2022 embroidery on found fabric

The theme of money is addressed frequently within the art world, but usually it is in the context of the art “market,” commercial auctions, and wealthy collectors. Many artists work to imagine and engender new relationships, value systems, and ways of being. As journalist Eric Reguly wrote in The Globe and Mail business section, “You don’t necessarily need buckets of money to succeed. Sometimes imagination and the courage to break the rules can do the trick.”

Not/For the Money includes contributions by Ron Benner, Karl Beveridge, Lily Cho, Matthew Dawkins, Holly English, Soheila Esfahani, Kelly Greene, Jamelie Hassan, SF Ho, Michael Maranda, Alistair MacKinnon, Patrick Mahon, David Merritt, Mohamed Monaiseer, Sheri Osden Nault, Wanda Nanibush, Shelley Niro, Ruth Strebe, and Jeff Thomas, with a publication forthcoming. The project is organized by Ron Benner, Jamelie Hassan, Olivia Mossuto, and Mireya Seymour.

Please contact Embassy Cultural House to RSVP for the Zoom Launch on Friday, August 8, 2025.

Patrick Mahon, Drawn Like Money Montage (Bifocal), two hand-punched prints of the artist’s drawings, 2005-2006

Upcoming Exhibitions

Art Speaks: Bridging Cultures Fundraiser
August 19 – 24, 2025
Reception: Thursday, August 21, 2025, 5 – 8pm
Silent Auction: August 14 – 24, 2025
TAP Centre for Creativity, 203 Dundas St, London, ON

Across Languages is proud to present Art Speaks: Bridging Cultures, a special exhibition and fundraising event that brings together artists, community members, and language lovers in celebration of the many ways art transcends barriers and builds understanding. This inspiring event is made possible through the generous collaboration of TAP Centre for Creativity and the Embassy Cultural House, two pillars of London’s arts community. Together, we are creating space for stories to be shared, cultures to be celebrated, and voices—often unheard—to be amplified.

Join us for an unforgettable night of visual art, silent auction, and conversation. Funds raised will support Across Languages’ interpretation and translation services that help newcomers access vital services and fully participate in our shared community life.

About Embassy Cultural House

In 1983, artists Jamelie Hassan, Ron Benner and jazz musician Eric Stach founded the Embassy Cultural House (1983-1990), which was located in the restaurant portion of the Embassy Hotel at 732 Dundas Street in East London. In 2020, at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Embassy Cultural House was re-envisioned as an online collective and arts community by Tariq Hassan Gordon. The virtual and in-person programming is a collaborative effort by contributors, editors, partners and volunteers to celebrate the art community in London, Ontario—its past and present, and its many connections across Canada and around the world.

The Embassy Cultural House (ECH) is located on the traditional lands of the Anishinaabek, Haudenosaunee, Lūnaapéewak, and Chonnonton peoples, at the forks of Deshkan Ziibi (Antler River), an area subject to the Dish with One Spoon Covenant Wampum and other treaties, colonized as London, Ontario. The ECH strives to create meaningful relationships between the Indigenous Peoples of Turtle Island and our contributors. The ECH honours the stewardship of the many Indigenous peoples who have resided on these lands since time immemorial.

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Image Descriptions:
1. A person in black jeans walks along a sidewalk, their body obscured by a large mirror that they are carrying. A large dollar sign is drawn on the surface of the mirror. Behind them is a neighbourhood with houses lining the street and grass lawns.
2. A sand-coloured piece of found fabric in the shape of a rectangle hangs on a white wall. The fabric has a grid embroidered onto it and small beads are threaded through each intersection. A close-up of the fabric makes clear a row of old coins hanging along the bottom edge of the fabric.
3. Two drawings sit side-by-side, curved like the pages of a book. Small drawings in light blue sit at the center of each page, surrounded by hole punches in the shape of a circle.

This exhibition is generously supported by the Ontario Arts Council, the London Arts Council, the City of London, and the Embassy Cultural House community.