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Art Gallery of Windsor is Reopening!
The Art Gallery of Windsor welcomes visitors back inside the gallery on Thursday, August 12 to experience the exhibitions and programs with COVID-19 health protocols in place – protocols which range from mandatory masks, reduced maximum capacity, and social distancing among other measures.
“We are delighted to reopen on August 12, with four new exhibitions and displays,” says Jennifer Matotek, Executive Director. “Our new shows celebrate local talent, highlight incredible pieces from our rich collection, and showcase the power and resilience of Indigenous women. We invite you to appreciate work by artists in our community, feel pride in your art collection, and engage in art-making activities. We also welcome you to further your commitment to Truth and Reconciliation by learning about Indigenous contemporary art with two exhibitions by artists from, and connected to, our region. There is lots to enjoy during your visit to the AGW this summer and fall.”
Catherine Blackburn: New Age Warriors
Catherine Blackburn’s artworks are contemporary interpretations of traditional forms. In New Age Warriors, she uses beading to explore cultural identity, memory, and history, creating seven life-size warrior garments and language medallions. Each piece of regalia combines elements from traditional female clothing of different nations in Canada, speaking to the diversity and resilience of Indigenous women and Two-Spirit people. Catherine Blackburn was born in Patuanak Saskatchewan. She is of Dene ancestry and a member of the English River First Nation, with European ancestry tied to Essex County.
Conversations: Windsor Essex Triennial of Contemporary Art
The Windsor-Essex Triennial of Contemporary Art is the AGW’s signature group exhibition focused on contemporary art practice in southwestern Ontario, Windsor-Essex, and Detroit. Featured artists include: Imogen Clendinning, Cora Cluett, Paul Dignan, Canada Herrera, Lucy Howe, Sharmistha Kar, Amos Paul Kennedy Jr., Luke Maddaford, Christopher McNamara, Czarina Mendoza, Marc Ngui, Sasha Opeiko, Three Collective (Boyd Harris, Jessica Rachel Cook, Julie Rae Tucker) & Jude Abu Zaineh.
Curated by University of Windsor alumni Ray Cronin and former Artcite Director Lucas Cabral, the 2021 Windsor-Essex Triennial of Contemporary Art focuses on the theme of conversations. Interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, AGW had to rethink how to continue sparking and hosting critical conversations that matter to our community. The conversations sparked by the Triennial transcend our physical spaces and reach out into our wider community, physically and digitally — sparking new ideas, creativity, and connection in a time when so much has kept us apart.
Links as Bones: Sorel Etrog and the Fragile Body
In 1967, while living in Italy, the Jewish Canadian artist Sorel Etrog was involved in a life-threatening car accident, breaking both legs and injuring his right hand. Shaken by the accident, Etrog began to explore the fragility of the human body through his artworks. Featuring more than half of AGW’s collection of Sorel Etrog’s formidable works, with loans from The Estate of Sorel Etrog, this marks the first exhibition of Etrog’s art to date that explores the impact of these life events on Etrog’s creative process, allowing viewers to consider a powerful body of work with new understanding.
The Bridge Artists: Teresa Altiman, Naomi Peters & Daisy White
The Bridge Artists exhibit features drawings, paintings and textiles from the Anishinaabe artists Teresa Altiman and Daisy White of Walpole Island First Nation and Naomi Peters of Caldwell First Nation, who were commissioned to create the murals displayed on the bridge tower forms at the Gordie Howe International Bridge’s Canadian project site in 2020. The artworks illustrate themes of nature, teaching, philosophy and cultural pride through paintings, drawings and textiles. A large-scale model of the Gordie Howe International Bridge is also showcased as part of the exhibit.
Visitors are encouraged to bring their smartphones and headphones to explore an engaging audio tour through the new exhibitions. Admission is $10. Purchase of an annual membership guarantees visitors free, unlimited, year-round admission. As COVID-19 has had different impacts on all citizens of Windsor-Essex, AGW introduces a new membership program. Free memberships are available for local creators and artists, as well as youth under
New membership rates are available at the individual level ($30 a year, for one admission + one guest), dual ($40 a year, for two admissions + two guests), and household ($50 a year for all residents of same address, or up to 4 attendees per visit). Seniors and educators can access these new levels at $10 off.
