CHAINS & CROWNS
Chains & Crowns, is a photo-based series of artworks inspired and dedicated to the artist’s mother. This large-scale print depicts the history, politics, science and psychology of Black Hairstyles. The typological series displayed in a grid format encourages the viewer to cross-reference hairstyles and allows the Black and broader communities the opportunity to draw from their personal experiences, whether that be through their own stories or through their community members. The work also comes with information on styles that derive from an array of time periods, cultures and movements ranging from Ancient Egypt (2700 BC – 343 BC) to The Natural Hair Movement (1960 – present). This gives way for the audience to further solidify their understanding through historical text and to question the multi-faceted ways these styles have been utilized and evolved in impact over time.
Stéphane Alexis is an artist based in Ottawa, Canada. His work stems from personal experiences, research, community collaborations and visual expression, all fostering a strong desire to bring a level of understanding to the often overlooked communities. Stéphane’s work seeks to give insight into these communities in which he belongs to.
Artist website: stephanealexis.com
Keywords: Activism | Community | Depression | Resilience | Trauma
#RWMFest #MoreThanRebellion
This year, the exhibition in the Rendezvous With Madness Festival will be presented in-person throughout the festival from October 27 to November 6.
VENUE:
The exhibition is held at Workman Arts Offsite Gallery, Artscape Youngplace, 180 Shaw Street, Unit 302, Toronto.
DATES:
October 27 to November 6, 12 – 6 PM.
EXHIBITION OPENING & ARTISTS TALK
October 29, 1-4 PM, Talk at 2:30 PM
After the opening reception, engage with the artists of kind renderings as they delve into their work and practice.
TOURS
Please join us for a guided tour on Thursday, November 3 at 5 PM
ACCESSIBILITY
If in-person access is a barrier, please contact Raine Laurent-Eugene at raine_lauenteguene@workmanarts.com.
Visit the Accessibility page for further festival information and wayfinding.
ALSO OF INTEREST
AN IN-PERSON EXHIBITION
Kindness is not an act of weakness. It is an act that resists societal expectations of doing and saying nothing. This form of rebellion is evident in this year’s Rendezvous With Madness visual art exhibition whereby the six exhibiting artists address within their work personal experiences that challenge what mental health and wellness looks like. Action is apparent through frameworks of compassion, thought-provoking imagery and considerate storytelling.
IN THE EXHIBITION:
CHAINS & CROWNS
Stéphane Alexis
THE THINGS WE CARRY WITH US
Twinkle Banerjee
LOSING IT
Boozie
MULTITUDE OF FISH - ACENSION TALES
Jenny Chen
MY LEFT-HAND IS TALKING AND
MY RIGHT-HAND IS NURTURING
Jessica Field
CINNAMON
Wen Tong
This year, the exhibition in the Rendezvous With Madness Festival will be presented in-person throughout the festival from October 27 to November 6.
VENUE
Workman Arts Offsite Gallery, Artscape Youngplace, 180 Shaw Street, Unit 302, Toronto
GALLERY HOURS
October 27 to November 6, 12 – 6 PM
EXHIBITION OPENING & ARTISTS TALK
October 29, 1-4 PM, Talk at 2:30 PM
After the opening reception, engage with the artists of kind renderings as they delve into their work and practice.
TOURS
Please join us for a guided tour on Thursday, November 3 at 5 PM
ACCESSIBILITY
If in-person access is a barrier, please contact Raine Laurent-Eugene at raine_laurenteugene@workmanarts.com
Visit the Accessibility page for further festival information and wayfinding.
WORKMAN ARTS MEMBER ARTISTS JURY:
Sylvia Frey, Visual Artist, Toronto
Sylvia Frey is a Mad, Queer, BIPOC Visual Artist based in Toronto. Her artwork explores the intersection of Madness, Healing, and Art. She is an interdisciplinary artist, working in the mediums of painting, drawing, writing, and performance. Most currently, she has started to explore film and photography. Her artwork can be found in various private collections in North America and Europe.
Esmond Lee, Visual Artist, Researcher, and Architect, Toronto
Esmond Lee is an artist, researcher, and architect based in Scarborough. Lee explores long-term, intergenerational experiences of migration in peripheral spaces. He holds a Master of Architecture and is pursuing a Doctorate in Critical Human Geography. Lee draws from these seemingly diverging backgrounds to examine identity, belonging, and nuanced cultural and political borders in the built environment. Recent works include installations for Nuit Blanche Toronto, developed during his time as the Doris McCarthy Artist-in-Residence, and at Malvern Town Centre for CONTACT Photography Festival. Lee’s current projects include two photobooks: ‘Below the City’, recognized by the Burtynsky Grant, and one for Woodside Square Library as the TPL Artist-in-Residence.
Laura Shintani, Visual Artist, Toronto
Laura Shintani is a multimedia multidisciplinary artist who’s curiosity leans into learning, leadership and making friends with the interior monologue of the mind. Having a Japanese-Canadian ancestry, she directs themselves to create work that re-connects a disconnected past to the present. She lives with and embraces neurodiversity.
Her work has been shown at the Royal Ontario Museum, Campbell House Museum, Tangled Arts + Disability and Workman Arts. She helps to facilitate CAMH’s client “Art Cart” through Workman Arts and has received grants from and has been on juries for the Ontario Arts Council. Her most recent skill is trying her hand at taiko drumming!