Past Events // Latin American-Canadian Art Projects

Sur Gallery

2021 | Latin@merica: Embedding Bodies and Localities Curator Tour & Video Interviews

Latin@merica: Embedding Bodies and Localities offers the possibility of rethinking how traditional place-based affiliations and notions of cultural identity end up reproduced, reaffirmed, or even transformed in the digital realm. The curator tour lead by Claudia Arana, explored the works of featured artists Alexandra Gelis, Ana Maria Millán, Santiago Tavera and Laura Acosta.

Video Interviews with Eva Salinas and the Latin@merica Artists featured discussions about their current work and their relationship to the identities of Latinx, artist and worker, especially in a time of uncertainty and precarity. These short video interviews provided an intimate, behind-the-scenes look at the exhibit and the creators of the respective works.

For more information about the exhibition and the artists please visit Sur Gallery Virtual.

Co-presented with Mayworks Festival

2018 | Salt Cartographies by Elvira Santamaría

Salt, being a mineral essential for life, has numerous positive and negative symbolic values across various cultures. Historically, salt has been used as a currency, as gift, as salary, or as punishment and destruction. Currently salt’s role is reduced to health and culinary concerns, but it retains a metaphorical link to elusive psychic processes and realities: change, transformation, formation, disintegration, entropy, catastrophe, regeneration. This 3-day durational performance was a cartographic work of memory and reflections focusing on the relationship between Mexico and a North American economic context.

Co-presented by 7a11*d International Festival of Performance Art.

2017 | Diverting Rivers: A Conversation on Canadian Mining Companies' Impact

Academics and Professors Steven Schnoor (Concordia University), Carlotta McAllister (York University), and Dot Tuer (OCAD University) as well as Canadian performance artist and writer Irene Loughlin shared their expertise and discussed Regina Jose? Galindo’s practice and performance at Sur Gallery. Human rights defender Angelica Choc and Grahame Russell (Rights Action) also tuned into the conversation. Moderated by Tamara Toledo.

2016 | Mentorship Program for Emerging Latin American Artists & Curators

Carnavalismo is the result of Sur Gallery's first mentorship program aimed to provide Latin American university students, emerging artists and curators with skills and opportunities to build strong careers in the arts through a series of workshops, one-on-one advisory consultations and group meetings. After an eight-month process, participants developed relationships, had access to professionals in the industry and gained the opportunity to develop a final curated art exhibition at Sur Gallery.

2016 | Conversation at Sur Gallery

Latin American artists and curators were invited to begin a conversation with Curator/Director of Sur Gallery, Tamara Toledo in order to participate in activating the space, offering their skills and expertise to the growth of this initiative, and propose projects at Sur Gallery.