Black Gold: A Black Feminist Art History of 1920s Montréal

The 1920s have been touted as the golden era of jazz and Black history in Montréal. Similarly, the decade is well known for the Harlem Renaissance, a key moment in African American art history. Yet this period in Black Canadian art histories remains largely unknown. As a first step toward shedding some light on this period in Black Canadian art history, I propose to use what I term a Black feminist art-historical (bfah) praxis to discuss some visual art practices undoubtedly active alongside well-known jazz musicians and cultural producers in 1920s Montréal. This paper presents an overview of critical race art history and feminist art history, as well as Black feminist approaches to visual representation, to outline what might be considered four tenets of bfah praxis. Applying these tenets, I propose that a new art history may emerge from well-known art objects and practices as well as lesser-known ones. I posit that through a deliberately bfah approach, new meanings emerge and the voices of Black women, even when obstructed by mainstream white narratives, may begin to stand out and shed light upon a variety of histories. This praxis aims to underline the subtext lurking at the edges of these images and to make intangible presences visible in the archive and in art history. I propose bfah as a strategy for more nuanced discussion of the work of Black Canadian artists and histories that have by and large been left out of official records.

Migration and art: exploring experiential and theoretical connections

How can arts-based methodologies offer unique insights into contemporary migration and settlement experiences? Informed by qualitative research and a literature review which analyzes identity theory, social construction theory, and Canadian art organizations which support newcomer artists, this paper explores the potential for the intersection of the arts in immigration and settlement assessment. An exploratory investigation of the theory of art as linked to migration is illuminated by the experiences of a group of artists who have gone through a significant migratory experience and share their reflections on being artists in Canada. This paper argues that analyzing art created by immigrant artists offers insight into the contemporary Canadian immigration experience which quantitative data is unable to capture. Learning about the barriers which immigrant artists face through using arts-based research includes the subject in the research, thereby empowering and validating their lived experiences as valuable epistemologies and ontologies. Findings reveal the impact of acculturation on the identities of and opportunities available to immigrant artists in Canada. Key Words: Immigrant Art; Immigration and Toronto; Place-making; Acculturation; Hybridity; Identity

Migration and art: exploring experiential and theoretical connections

How can arts-based methodologies offer unique insights into contemporary migration and settlement experiences? Informed by qualitative research and a literature review which analyzes identity theory, social construction theory, and Canadian art organizations which support newcomer artists, this paper explores the potential for the intersection of the arts in immigration and settlement assessment. An exploratory investigation of the theory of art as linked to migration is illuminated by the experiences of a group of artists who have gone through a significant migratory experience and share their reflections on being artists in Canada. This paper argues that analyzing art created by immigrant artists offers insight into the contemporary Canadian immigration experience which quantitative data is unable to capture. Learning about the barriers which immigrant artists face through using arts-based research includes the subject in the research, thereby empowering and validating their lived experiences as valuable epistemologies and ontologies. Findings reveal the impact of acculturation on the identities of and opportunities available to immigrant artists in Canada. Key Words: Immigrant Art; Immigration and Toronto; Place-making; Acculturation; Hybridity; Identity

VISUAL ART THERAPY

Visual Art konseling merupakan salah satu Teknik dalam konseling seni yang memfokuskan pada visualisasi atau simbolisasi untuk mengungkapkan permasalahan konseli secara holistik yang dituangkan dalam menggambar, mewarnai, dan mematung (lilin). The American Art Therapy Association (dalam Hirawan, 2014) menjelaskan bahwa art therapy merupakan metode terapeutik yang menggunakan karya seni dengan hubungan profesional pada individu yang memiliki pengalaman menyakitkan (trauma) atau individu yang memiliki tantangan dalam hidupnya (Evi, 2017).Canadian Art Therapy Association (dalam Edwards, 2004) juga menjelaskan bahwa art therapy adalah bentuk psikoterapi yang memungkinkan sebagai bentuk ekspresi emosional dan penyembuhan melalui cara-cara nonverbal.Menurut Malchiodi (2005) seni visual merupakan konseling ekspresif. Melalui gambar dan lukisan dapat membantu individu mengekspresikan masalahnya. Bukan hal yang penting jika seseorang tidak mampu menggambar atau melukis dengan baik karena apa yang tergambarkan dan terlukiskan akan mencerminkan perasaan serta permasalahan yang sedang dihadapi oleh individu.

Diversity Counts: Gender, Race, and Representation in Canadian Art Galleries

A review of Anne Dymond’s new book, Diversity Counts: Gender, Race, and Representation in Canadian Art Galleries. In it, she takes a statistical approach to investigating gender and racial parity in large Canadian art galleries. By counting solo exhibitions shown in Canadian art galleries, Dymond reveals that they are not in fact representative of the nation’s diverse population.

The Pieces We Leave Behind: A Tale of Two Artists and a Desk

How do objects gather value and bear the weight of history? This research project addresses this question through research into an old wooden desk stored in the corner of an office at Queen’s University. It has six drawers coloured with a black cherry stain and decorative wooden handles. Adhered onto the desktop surface is a thin overlay of dark leather, to which is affixed a brass plaque that reads, "This desk was used by two famous Canadian artists, J.W. Beatty (1869-1941) and A.Y. Jackson (1882-1974). It was presented to Queen's University in 1980 by Dr. Naomi Jackson Groves, niece of A.Y. Jackson." J.W. Beatty and A.Y. Jackson were influential Canadian painters, whose stylistic focus on Canadian landscapes underpinned the formation of the Group of Seven; the desk was a non-sentient observer of their contributions to Canadian art and art history until 1968, when the desk left Jackson’s possession. Beyond the desk's immediate story, there is a larger research question: "how does the social biography of an object reveal the dynamics of its meaning, affect its value as a physical object, increase its significance in the art world, and determine where it is best preserved?" Using information uncovered during the summer of 2019, this presentation will reveal the importance of the desk’s provenance in relation to the stories of two influential Canadian artists, as well as share the process of investigating the biography of the desk through archival research methods.