I am so grateful for the opportunity to exhibit my work as part of the 2020 DesignTO Festival, made possible through a Presentation Grant through Arts Nova Scotia.
On January 15, I arrived in Toronto to install my collaborated to my dual exhibition with Libs Elliott, FACETS. The two of us worked together for several hours with our friend Julie Amlin, to install the show.

Photo: Danica Casas.

To our delight, the exhibition venue, Daniels Spectrum, was very professional and accommodating of how we wanted to hang our work. There was lots of breathing room around each piece in the lobby of the building. The foot traffic through the space was to total over 1,500 over the course of the week. As an arts hub, the venue is host to film screenings, conferences, performances and regular weekly programming for youth and families.

Photo: Danica Casas.

We intentionally chose only black and white and greyscale works to display, for viewers to be able to really look at the forms and shapes that we were introducing to them. The cohesion across our pieces with apparent through this choice.

Photo: Danica Casas.

I was pleased to receive a “Love Tag” from DesignLines Magazine, a Canadian design publication that I have followed for over a decade. This Fogo piece was one of my first attempts at long arming and I feel like perhaps there is a voice I can explore with that technique. See the other “Love Tag” recipients here.

Photo: Danica Casas.

For exhibition opening, we chatted a little bit about how our journeys as artists came to be and how our paths crossed. We also touched on the very large subject of women’s work, and our concern with how domestic work is displayed for public viewing. That morning, I had read an article by curator Glenn Adamson that really struck a chord with me. For me, the most pressing quote from the piece was, “Craft matters.. because it is the art world’s best path to diversity.” I strongly encourage you to read the article. My art practice is increasingly interested in textile art and how it is viewed perceived by art audiences.

Photo: Danica Casas.

Adamson highlights how the world might be coming around to accepting craft media as art media. Lots of female textile artists have done hard work to break the glass ceiling over the last hundred years. I underscored during our talk how appreciative I was of what they were up against and their efforts to make a path for us to follow. We had some wonderful questions to answer by both young and old; I was so pleased to meet new people and see old friends.

Photo: Danica Casas.

This year, I am excited to continue to produce work that really speaks to my passions and brings me to new places, both geographically and artistically. Can’t wait to show you more…

Photo: Danica Casas.