Join us for this opening weekend youth workshop facilitated by Kandis Friesen in support of our winter exhibition, All or None. This workshop is designed for emerging artists, young activists, allies and teens aged 16-25.
The banner has long been a space for text-based expression in political and artistic realms, distilling demands, ideas, desires, refusals, and other poetic visions of both the present and possible futures. In this workshop, we will explore text as a visual form, looking specifically at the banner as a space for text to serve as image and as voice.
The workshop will include an overview of contemporary artists who use text as a central part of their art practice, and also look at the role of banners, posters, and protest signs in social justice movements (Barbara Kruger, Jenny Holzer, Edgar Heap of Birds, Black Lives Matter, Stand With Standing Rock, and Just Seeds Collective, to name a few). Through drawing/writing exercises, we will distill our ideas into concise texts, and learn how to make a banner from start to finish using basic tools and a DIY approach, including sewing basics, text layout, using a projector, and painting on textiles.
Pre-registration is required on Eventbrite using this link, or via email in advance of the workshop. Registration closes on Friday, February 10th at noon. Please be in touch with Tara Bursey, Program Coordinator at tara@wahc-museum.ca or (905) 522-3003 x 29 for more information or to register.
This workshop was produced with the generous support of the Ontario Trillium Foundation.