Winter 2025 Exhibitions at Dalhousie Art Gallery

Dalhousie Art Gallery presents three concurrent exhibitions that celebrate Black resilience, creativity, and the strength of community connections to offer thought-provoking perspectives on history, identity, and perseverance.

February 6 – April 27, 2025
Opening Reception: Thursday, February 6, 6:00 – 9:00pm
Dalhousie Art Gallery, Halifax

Justin Augustine, The Faith Catchers, 2000, oil on canvas. Dalhousie Art Gallery permanent collection. Purchased with funds donated by Dr. John A. Scrymgeour, 2001. Photo: Steve Farmer.

Down Home: Portraits of Resilience

Curated by Fabiyino Germain-Bajowa

Justin Augustine | Saba Blyden-Taylor | Chrystal Clements | Kayza DeGraff-Ford | Rebecca Fisk | Letitia Fraser | Chantal Gibson | Preston Pavlis | Vanessa Thomas

Down Home: Portraits of Resilience features intimate portraits and personal narratives by nine artists. This exhibition celebrates the enduring strength of African Nova Scotian and Black Canadian communities. Down Home is the culmination of a one-year Curatorial Mentorship Program led by Dalhousie Art Gallery Director and Curator Pamela Edmonds, supported by the Canada Council for the Arts.

Oluseye, Muhammad Had a Dream, 2021-ongoing, boxing gloves, rubber, found objects, dimensions variable, detail. Private collection of Jad and Roula Shimaly. Photo: LF Documentation. Courtesy of the artist and Daniel Faria Gallery.

Oluseye: by Faith and Grit

Curated by Pamela Edmonds

In Oluseye: by Faith and Grit, curated by Pamela Edmonds, Nigerian-Canadian artist Oluseye reflects on Black Nova Scotian culture and the African diasporic experience. His installations transform salvaged materials into evocative forms that interweave historical and cultural narratives of endurance and belonging.

Theaster Gates, Billy Sings Amazing Grace, 2013, colour video with sound. Duration: 12 minutes 24 seconds. ©Theaster Gates. Courtesy White Cube.

Theaster Gates: Billy Sings Amazing Grace

On loan from the National Gallery of Canada

Theaster Gates is a visual artist, archivist, curator, and musician whose practice explores Black identity and history through material investigations into labour, spirituality, vacancy, and spatiality. The film Billy Sings Amazing Grace (2013) chronicles a rehearsal of the artist’s musical ensemble, The Black Monks, with soul singer Billy Forston. The ensemble is grounded in the Black musical traditions of the American South, such as blues and gospel, as well as ascetic and Eastern monastic practices. Enacting a conversation traversing cities, classes, and generations, the ensemble plays their improvised rendition of the hymn Amazing Grace as a tribute to Forston.

Dalhousie Art Gallery
6101 University Avenue
Halifax, NS B3H 4R2
gallery@dal.ca
artgallery.dal.ca
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Public Hours:
Wednesdays to Fridays, 11:00 am to 5:00 pm
Thursday until 8:00 pm
Saturdays and Sundays, 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm
Free admission

Accessibility:
The Dalhousie Art Gallery is located on Level 1 of the Dalhousie Arts Centre. There is a permanent ramp located at the front entrance of the Arts Centre on University Avenue and automatic doors to assist with entry into the building. The lobby is carpeted and there are wide pathways throughout the building. There is an elevator on the main floor with access to all floors including the Art Gallery. There is a gender-neutral, single-occupancy washroom with automatic door and accessible stalls in the women’s and men’s washrooms on the second floor which can be reached via the elevator. There are two accessible parking meters located on Seymour Street by the side entrance of the Arts Centre. The Gallery floors are a smooth, hard surface.