REset Point

Kiss by Arif Bahaduri

REset Point

Antonio Arraut, Arif Bahaduri, Camille Fontaine, Daniela Galaviz and Paola Paz
Presented by the City of Toronto in partnership with MABELLEarts

August 8 to October 24, 2024
Ascent Gallery, Toronto

Public Reception and Artist Talk: Saturday, August 10, 2-4 p.m.
The reception will also feature art activations by MABELLEarts. Light refreshments provided.

REset Point follows the narrative of five newcomer artists, Antonio Arraut, Arif Bahaduri, Camille Fontaine, Daniela Galaviz and Paola Paz, embarking on a new journey in Canada. Contrary to the perception that newcomers are starting anew, these artists draw from a wealth of resources and insights that they bring from past experiences as they navigate their new environment, enhancing their personal and artistic paths.

The artists, originally from Afghanistan, Colombia, the UK and Mexico, bring a diverse array of experiences, memories, traditions, languages and unique perspectives on life. This diversity is reflected in their artistic practices and media, including watercolour, acrylic, photography, textile and mixed media. The artworks in this exhibition are centered around their experience of being artists and newcomers in Canada. Themes such as migration, loss and grief, even when a migration is planned, are interwoven throughout the artworks. They serve as a channel for expressing the artists’ identities and the narratives of the communities they represent.

About Welcome to the Neighbourhood Program
MABELLEarts is a charity with strong roots in community-engaged arts, grassroots community development and placemaking. MABELLEarts’ Welcome to the Neighbourhood (WTTN) program aims to co-create innovation between community arts and the settlement sector. Through a variety of activities, initiatives, and events, the program supports Canadian newcomers such as the artists presented in REset Point exhibition, to broaden their social networks, increase their opportunities for socio-economic participation and forge supportive relationships in the broader community to support their full integration. WTTN’s current activities are funded by the Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada department (IRCC). For more information about MABELLEarts, visit: mabellearts.ca.

About Ascent Gallery
Opened in 2023, the Ascent Gallery is dedicated to early-career artists and collectives, with a focus on those from equity-deserving communities, living and working in Toronto. The gallery hosts 4 exhibitions annually, with most exhibitions running for 10 weeks each. The gallery is owned and operated by the City of Toronto, Arts Services.

Gallery Hours: Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Admission is free and the venue is accessible. Elevator access only available during: Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Ascent Gallery
Level 1, 399 The West Mall
Toronto, Ontario M9C 2Y2
toronto.ca/eccartgallery
416-394-8628
ascentgallery@toronto.ca

About City of Toronto’s Cultural Centres & Galleries
Toronto’s Cultural Centres & Galleries comprise five unique sites owned and operated by the City of Toronto. They include Assembly Hall, Cedar Ridge Creative Centre, Clark Centre for the Arts and Etobicoke Civic Centre Art Gallery and the Ascent Gallery at the Etobicoke Civic Centre. Collectively the centres present over 40 gallery shows annually, showcasing works by more than 800 artists, and offer close to 150 art programs each year in collaboration with some 70+ community partners.

More information about the City of Toronto’s Cultural Centres & Galleries can be found at toronto.ca/CulturalCentres or by following City of Toronto Culture on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.