Join us for a free guided tour of Harvest, Sweep, Gather led by WAHC's Program Coordinator, Tara Bursey.
Harvest, Sweep, Gather presents perspectives on past and present modes of surveillance and conflict. Shadows of cold war paranoia and union-busting initiatives, workplace surveillance, incendiary weapons, Islamophobia and controversial government initiatives such as Bill C-51 can be found in works by two contemporary artists, Gail Bourgeois and Riaz Mehmood, that together, evoke historic and contemporary collective insecurities.
Attend our interactive guided tour on August 6th at 2 pm to view, discuss and learn more about this timely exhibition. The tour will end with a screening of the short documentary Horn Please (Dir: Shantanu Suman and Ishtling Mirche, 2013) about truck art in India. Admission is free and all are welcome.
Gail Bourgeois is a founding member of Powerhouse Gallery (La Centrale, Montréal) and has founded or formed part of a dozen artists’ collectives. In 2013, she was invited artist in residence at the Diefenbunker: Canada’s Cold War Museum (catalogue essay by Marcia Lea, 2014). Currently, she is engaged with the Firestone Collection of Canadian Art at the Ottawa Art Gallery in the development of new works toward a solo exhibition opening in the summer 2016. Previous solo exhibitions include: Incidental things, Research-in-Art Project Room (catalogue essay by Petra Halkes, 2011) and Particle Factor, IPO Gallery (publication essay by Natasha Mazurka, 2008) both in Ottawa, Ontario. In December 2016, she will present new works for a two-person exhibition at the Karsh-Masson Gallery in Ottawa, Ontario. Gail Bourgeois holds an MFA from Concordia University (Montréal, Québec) and has been shown professionally since 1985. She maintains a studio based drawing practice where themes and methods of working express the tension between academic knowledge and more experimental forms of knowledge based on her interest in collective practices and community engagement. gailbourgeois.ca
Riaz Mehmood is a multidisciplinary artist originally from Pakistan. After obtaining a degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Engineering and Technology in Peshawar, Riaz went on to complete the Integrated Media program at Ontario College of Art and Design (2005) and an MFA from the University of Windsor (2012). His artistic oeuvre encompasses a range of practices including performance, video, photography and new media. These works have explored a number of issues related to identity, history and media. Riaz has also been involved with a number of artist-run centres and served on the boards of SAVAC and articule. His works have been shown internationally, including the US, Canada, Egypt, Pakistan and Indonesia.
Tara Bursey is an interdisciplinary artist, independent curator and arts worker. She has worked as Curatorial Assistant at the Textile Museum of Canada and Artscape Youngplace, and in a curatorial capacity for the City of Hamilton Tourism and Culture Division, the Wychwood Barns Community Association, Culture for Kids in the Arts, Gallery 1313, the Ontario Crafts Council and the Art Gallery of Hamilton Design Annex. She currently sits on the Curatorial Committee of Supercrawl. Her artwork has been exhibited across Canada as well as in Copenhagen, Berlin and Eye, Suffolk, UK.
