Reimagining Mourning:  Artist Talk  with Laura Barrón and Claudia Chagoya

Sur Gallery / LACAP

Artist discussion about their artwork in the Reimagining Mourning Exhibition.

November 4th on ZoomABOUT THE ARTISTSLAURA BARRÓN is a photo- and video-based artist, and arts educator. She holds an MFA in Visual Arts from York University and a BFA from the National School of Plastic Arts (ENAP-UNAM) in Mexico. Since 1996, her work has been exhibited and published internationally. She has taught photography in several institutions, including the University of Morelos (UAEM) in Mexico as well as York University and OCAD University in Toronto. Barrón’s work belongs to several public and private collections and has been awarded and extensively supported by FONCA- CONACULTA Mexico, the Ontario Arts Council, the Toronto Arts Council and the Canada Council for the Arts. Barrón explores the meanings of landscape within her practice. Through the examination of territory, geography and cartography she seeks to create relationships between memory, place and presence. CLAUDIA CHAGOYA is a Mexican Calgary-based interdisciplinary emerging artist born in Zacatecas, Mexico, and based in Calgary, Canada. She holds an MFA degree from the University of Calgary, and a BFA from Instituto Allende in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. Her artistic practice explores topics related to gender violence and its socio-political context. Chagoya explores these themes through the use of various materials within her installations, all of which are rooted in Mexican culture and are tied to various traditional rituals. Chagoya has been an artist in Residence at the Royal College of Art in London, UK, the Women’s Centre of Calgary, and at Calgary Allied Arts Foundation at cSPACE King Edward. She has also exhibited her work in both solo and group exhibitions in Mexico, Canada and the United Kingdom.ABOUT THE CURATORTAMARA TOLEDO is a Chilean-born Toronto-based curator, scholar, and artist, graduate of OCAD University and holds an MFA from York University. Toledo is co-founder of the Allende Arts Festival and of Latin American Canadian Art Projects - LACAP. For over a decade, Toledo has curated numerous exhibitions offering spaces, platforms and opportunities to Latin American and diasporic artists. She designed and curated the Latin American Speakers Series inviting internationally renowned contemporary artists, writers, theorists, and curators to Toronto such as Gerardo Mosquera, Luis Camnitzer, and Tania Bruguera, among many others to articulate and discuss issues of identity and intercultural dynamics in contemporary art. Toledo has presented her work at various conferences in Montreal, Chicago, New York, Vancouver and Toronto. Her writing has appeared in ARM Journal, C Magazine, Fuse and Canadian Art. Her practice often follows an interdisciplinary approach and touches on notions of memory, identity, diasporas, issues of power and representation, trauma, and international artistic-cultural interaction. Toledo is currently the Curator of Sur Gallery and is a PhD candidate in Art History and Visual Culture at York University.ABOUT THE EXHIBITIONPeople must mourn, yet this human need has been challenged by the pandemic where thousands around the globe have not been able to accompany their sick relatives and friends during the last few days of their lives. Our rituals, funerals, vigils, ceremonies, and congregations have had to change in order to prevent further spread of the disease. The uncertainty of death has become as real and as palpable as the uncertainty of living, and those most vulnerable in our society have paid the heftiest price during this global tragedy. However, deprived of the ability to mourn has led to alternate modes of expression and human interaction. Many have adapted to new possibilities and perspectives, all of which include our process of mourning. The artists Paolo Almario, Laura Barrón, Claudia Chagoya, and Rafael Lozano-Hemmer offer new insights into this human quest and position the task as an all-encompassing and collective endeavor. Their work speaks to a generation of people who have had to overcome uncertainty and unpredictability, where memory serves as a powerful tool to re-conceptualize a different outcome.The artists in the exhibition Reimagining Mourning construct narratives that discuss the despair faced by loss while also offering humanity a place for closure. No one can ever prepare for death or loss, but these artists allow a space for its representation, they display the fragility of life and the humanity we all share. Almario, Barrón, Chagoya, and Lozano-Hemmer capture an experiential and transcendental place, and they suggest a new terrain for its absent subject, no longer confined to isolation. Perhaps the ability of artists to provide spaces of revisiting, regenerating, and reimagining sites of remembrance and commemoration – one that we all long for and need – will lead us to acknowledge the horrors of our past and present and seek to live a more just and balanced future.PROGRAMMINGLatin American Speaker Series with Rafael Lozano-Hemmer:Thursday, November 18th, 7-8PM ET on Zoom. Studio Critique: Paolo Almario with Gerardo Mosquera:View recording online at www.surgalleryvirtual.caIMPORTANT NOTICEFor a safe and enjoyable experience, we are taking all protocols and health measurements to ensure the continuing health of our community. We will be open by appointment only on Fridays from noon to 6pm and Saturdays 11am to 5pm. The use of masks will be required to enter the gallery. To book an appointment, please email operations@surgallery.ca. ABOUT SUR GALLERYSur Gallery is Toronto&#x27;s first gallery space dedicated to the exhibition and critical engagement of contemporary Latin American Art and is a project of LACAP. For information contact:416-654-7787info@surgallery.cawww.surgallery.cawww.surgalleryvirtual.cawww.facebook.com/LACAPsurgalleryhttps://www.youtube.com/user/lacapcanada/videosGallery Hours:To book an appointment, please email operations@surgallery.caFri noon-6:00PM / Sat 11AM-5PMLocation: 100-39 Queens Quay East, TorontoSur Gallery acknowledges the financial support of the Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council, Toronto Arts Council, and The City of Toronto through section 37.

Our {communityGuidelinesLink} describe the sort of content we prohibit on Eventbrite. If you suspect an event may be in violation, you can report it to us so we can investigate.

To report other categories of prohibited or illegal content, submit {link}

Reimagining Mourning: Artist Talk with Laura Barrón and Claudia Chagoya

More events from Sur Gallery / LACAP

Follow organizers to get events picked for you

Still looking for the right event?

Explore all online events to browse and filter by date, category, and more.

Reimagining Mourning: Artist Talk with Laura Barrón and Claudia Chagoya

More events from Sur Gallery / LACAP

Follow organizers to get events picked for you

You might also like...

Browse more events with different dates, prices, and formats to find your next great experience.

Still looking for the right event?

Explore all online events to browse and filter by date, category, and more.