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Latest News

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CreativeMornings Ottawa

Ottawa Art Council _ LUCK

Emergence, Canadian Education through Art Symposium 2022

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July 18, 2022 - October 8, 2022
Queen's Square Gallery

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Beyond Exclusion _ Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Chinese Gardens _ Vancouver

🌟Upcoming Exhibition🌟 SUM Gallery, ON MAIN Gallery and Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden are proud to present Don Kwan: Beyond Exclusion as part of Pride in Chinatown.


Don Kwan is a queer third-generation Chinese Canadian artist whose work is influenced by his upbringing in a family-owned restaurant in Ottawa's Chinatown. He uses mixed media, found objects, and sourced personal text and photographs to explore questions of identity, belonging, and place, reflecting on his family history while weaving intriguing stories about the Chinese Canadian diaspora. This exhibition brings together his diverse body of work along with new site-specific installations.


In the exhibition opening on July 28, Don will perform Altering the Flow of Exclusion to commemorate the 100th anniversary of his grandfather's arrival in Canada from China through the port of Vancouver to Ottawa. To register for the free opening, please head over to the link in our bio.

Pride in Chinatown _  Beyond Exclusion _ Vancouver

Beyond Exclusion is Don Kwan’s first solo exhibition in Vancouver. Based in Ottawa, Kwan is a queer third-generation Chinese Canadian artist whose work is influenced by his upbringing in a family-owned restaurant in Ottawa’s Chinatown. He uses mixed media, found objects, and sourced personal text and photographs to explore questions of identity, belonging, and place, reflecting on his family history while weaving intriguing stories about the Chinese Canadian diaspora.
Beyond Exclusion brings together Kwan’s diverse body of work along with new site-specific installations. In the exhibition opening on July 28, Kwan will perform Altering the Flow of Exclusion to commemorate the 100th anniversary of his grandfather’s arrival in Canada from China through the port of Vancouver to Ottawa. Kwan’s brother, Edward, will host the opening as Ottawa’s legendary drag queen China Doll.

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LANDSCAPE, LOSS, AND LEGACY.
Ottawa Art Galley 

https://oaggao.ca/whats-on/exhibitions/don-kwan-landscape-and-loss/

Artist Profile

February 5, 2022 to January 23, 2023

Don Kwan is a third-generation Chinese-Canadian artist from Ottawa, whose work explores place, identity, representation and family memory across generations. Taking a multidisciplinary approach, Kwan engages with the Ottawa Art Gallery’s (OAG) Firestone Collection of Canadian Art (FCCA) for this exhibition. 

Here, he considers depictions of landscape in Canada, and reflects upon legacies of inclusion and exclusion, rooted in land-based settler colonialism. In a process of research and exchange with OAG curators, Kwan brings his selection from the FCCA’s twentieth-century modernist landscape works into dialogue with his own artistic practice. Through a discourse of iconic “Canadian” and “Chinese” images and objects, Kwan considers the question: what does it look like to belong in the Canadian landscape?

This exhibition is part of the OAG’s Firestone Reverb series, in which contemporary artists are invited to respond to the FCCA by putting new work into conversation with this well-known collection of historical art.

Curators:
Don Kwan
Meghan Ho, OAG
Catherine Sinclair, OAG

This exhibition was realized with the support of the City of Ottawa, the Ontario Arts Council and the Canada Council for the Arts, as well as the RBC Foundation’s support of the OAG’s Connect: Artist Mentorship Program.

SAW Prize for New Works 2020
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Don Kwan 

SAW Prize for New Works, Gallerie SAW Gallery 2020


https://saw-centre.com/

SAW is delighted to announce the 30 winners of the SAW Prize for New Works. Artists and makers from Ottawa-Gatineau and the surrounding First Nations were invited to submit their applications for this production program, which will lead to public presentations at SAW in 2021.


In 2020–21, SAW will invest more than $100,000 in direct support to artists through various production programs, including the SAW Prize for New Works, the Dennis Tourbin Prize for New Performance and the SAW Nordic Lab International Residency Program.


The SAW Prize is geared toward artists who wish to expand their practice and explore new ideas during an extended period. This program is a rare opportunity for local artists to create new works with financial and organizational support. The winners each receive an artist fee of $1,500, a contribution of $500 toward equipment and/or materials, and access to SAW staff and office resources, including technical assistance. Professional development opportunities, such as workshops and master classes, will also be offered. The winners have a period of six months to complete their projects.


When SAW reopens to the public, the winners will gain access to the centre’s various spaces for rehearsals and testing out new ideas, including its exhibition spaces, the Nordic Lab screenprinting and production studios, and the Club SAW performance venue.



SAW a le plaisir d’annoncer les 30 lauréats du Prix SAW de création. Les artistes, créatrices et créateurs d’Ottawa-Gatineau et des Premières Nations de la région ont été invités à déposer leurs candidatures pour ce programme de production, qui résultera en des présentations publiques à SAW en 2021.


En 2020–21, SAW investira plus de 100 000 $ en soutien direct pour les artistes grâce à divers programmes de production, dont le Prix SAW de création, le Prix Dennis Tourbin pour la création en performance et le Programme de résidences internationales du Labo nordique de SAW.


Le Prix SAW vise les artistes qui souhaitent élargir leur pratique et explorer de nouvelles idées pendant une certaine période de temps. Ce programme offre aux artistes de la région l’occasion unique de créer de nouvelles œuvres en bénéficiant d’une aide financière et organisationnelle. Les gagnants reçoivent un cachet d’artiste de 1 500 $, de même que 500 $ en frais d’équipement et/ou matériaux, et ont accès au personnel de SAW et aux ressources du bureau, et à un soutien technique. Des possibilités de développement professionnel, tels que des ateliers et des classes de maître, seront également offertes. Les gagnants auront six mois pour achever leurs projets.


Quand SAW rouvrira ses portes au public, les artistes auront accès aux divers espaces du centre pour des répétitions et pour travailler à de nouvelles idées, dont les espaces d’exposition, les ateliers de sérigraphie et de production du Labo nordique, ainsi que la salle de spectacle Club SAW.

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