Carleton University Art Gallery (CUAG). Portraits of Community: Recent Acquisitions (May 28 – September 3, 2023)

Artists in the exhibition: Barry Ace, Tarralik Duffy, Bushra Junaid, Meryl McMaster, Kole Peplinskie, Finnegan Shannon. Curated by Heather Anderson

Portraits of Community: Recent Acquisitions

How do we define community?

We are all part of multiple, overlapping and distinct communities. We create and build communities together. As we celebrate CUAG’s 30^th anniversary, Portraits of Community features artworks that we have recently acquired for Carleton University’s art collection. Although distinct in approaches and media, these artworks coalesce as “portraits” that represent and evoke different kinds of communities.

Meryl McMaster’s photographs created with friends and Tarralik Duffy’s prints of Inuit who have influenced her offer tribute to kinship’s role in shaping identity. Bushra Junaid and Kole Peplinskie explore historical lineages, using archival sources in photographic lightboxes and a beaded textile work respectively. Barry Ace brings past events forward, in a powerful storytelling work of bearing witness and commemoration. The declarative text of Finnegan Shannon’s installation directly addresses CUAG’s and Carleton’s overlapping communities to meet accessibility needs.

These artworks are proposed by CUAG team members and reviewed by the gallery’s Advisory Board, which represents the campus and civic communities in equal measure. They variously reflect and arise from CUAG’s exhibition and public programs, collecting priorities and community relationships, and embody the generosity of artists and donors.

Bandolier for Minnie Sutherland (2020) mixed media with digital monitor.  210 x 31 x 14 cm. Collection of Carleton University Art Gallery (more info).

CUAG Website (here)