Stitching Dialogues

Dream Catcher by Daria Beer

Stitching Dialogues
Daria Beer, Mariana Bolanos Inclan, Dorota Dziong, Rosario Gálvez and Ana Raquel Ramirez “Guaricha”

August 21 – September 19, 2024
Opening Reception: Thursday, August 22, 6 – 8pm
Etobicoke Civic Centre Art Gallery, Toronto

Presented by Llalín Collective, this exhibition explores the women’s diasporic displacement through imagination, ancestry and memory by using a variety of artistic approaches. The five artists of Latin American and Eastern European backgrounds, Daria Beer, Mariana Bolanos Inclan, Dorota Dziong, Rosario Gálvez and Ana Raquel Ramirez “Guaricha” all incorporate their identities as emigrant women in their individual artistic practices and these identities are woven into the artworks presented in this exhibition.

While these five artists share common themes, such as coming from countries with histories of occupation and war and timelines of emigration, each of their story is distinct. Ana Raqyel Ramirez and Rosario Gálvez fled oppressive regimes in El Salvador and Chile respectively; Mariana Bolanos Inclan emigrated from Michoacán, Mexico, a region plagued by drug cartels and corruption. Dorota Dziong and Daria Beer grew up in Poland under the postwar totalitarian regime. Despite the challenges of displacement and economic instability, the artists have established deep roots in their new home in Canada.

Images (left to right): The Typewriter and the Chess by Dorota Dziong and Head with Crown by Mariana Bolanos

Daria Beer is a collage artist who utilizes both digital and analog techniques. Her work, inspired by her travels, centers on women and nature. By recontextualizing found images, Daria intuitively creates new narratives. In her recent work, she has been using her mother’s embroidery floss, one of the few items that her family took with them when fleeing Poland in the 1980s.

Mariana Bolanos Inclan is a Mexican artist and ceramic sculptor who explores the combination of textiles and ceramics. Her work addresses themes of injustice and pain, while also highlighting endurance and power, conveying her stories as a woman and immigrant.

Rosario Gálvez is a visual artist who uses textiles to convey social justice issues and challenge imposed identities. She finds textiles a versatile medium for uncovering systems of oppression through various materials and techniques.

Dorota Dziong focuses on painting, installation, and animation. Her recent work is informed by her family history, personal experiences with displacement through emigration and Toronto’s housing crisis. She blends gravity and humour, working with pieces of unstretched canvas and repetition of motifs to create textile-like patterns in her collaged paintings.

Ana Raquel Ramirez “Guaricha” is a multidisciplinary artist from El Salvador who grounds her work in Latin American and Mesoamerican ancestry. She focuses on womanhood and motherhood, emphasizing their roles in political resistance and generational healing, using a variety of materials with a strong emphasis on photography and textiles.

Images (left to right): Hombre Semila by Ana Raquel Ramirez “Guaricha” and Roots1 by Rosario Gálvez

About Llalín Collective
The Llalín Collective is a group of artists that brings Latin American women together to honour their roots through textiles, celebrating an art form that is traditionally the domain of women. Alongside their textile work, the collective’s members engage in various artistic activities including organizing exhibitions with guest artists and hosting textile workshops. For this exhibition, they are joined by two Polish Canadian artists who incorporate textiles into their chosen media. For more information, visit their Instagram @llalincollective.

About the Etobicoke Civic Centre Art Gallery
The Etobicoke Civic Centre Art Gallery hosts 10 shows annually with exhibitions showcasing emerging and established visual artists/art groups, by providing diverse, accessible, inclusive and professional gallery space. The gallery is owned and operated by the City of Toronto, Arts Services and is programmed by a dedicated gallery committee.

Gallery Hours: Monday to Friday, 9am to 6pm and Saturday, 10am to 6pm Admission is free and the venue is accessible.

Etobicoke Civic Centre Art Gallery
399 The West Mall
Toronto, Ontario M9C 2Y2
toronto.ca/eccartgallery
416-394-8628
eccartgallery@toronto.ca

About City of Toronto’s Cultural Centres & Galleries
Toronto’s Cultural Centres & Galleries comprise of 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.