The Art Gallery of Burlington (AGB) is hosting “Bring a Folding Chair” until January 7, which grew out of conversations with Halton Black Voices about a potential Culture Days event to its current form. Work from four local Black artists is featured, that of Vivianne Pereira, Kemahee Baker, Reynold Thomas, and Xavier Fuller.
Gennile Thomas Smith, the founder and executive director of Halton Black Voices (HBV), wanted to showcase the diverse talent of Halton’s Black community on a local platform, and brought that concept to the AGB’s curators. Art is one of the pillars of HBV, and many artists are part of the HBV collective already. Thomas Smith notes that while Burlington is doing a good job with creating spaces for culture to thrive, there are gaps, and many local artists leave Halton, so it is “very important to establish an arts scene in Halton,” to give artists a local outlet.
Part of what HBV is aiming to do is “create a rooted community, to create spaces that just cultivate joy,” says Thomas Smith. And that includes providing places for Black artists to display their work and for the wider community to enjoy it. This particular exhibit focuses on younger, self-taught artists whose work highlights resilience, perseverance, and strength — often by demonstrating vulnerability.
Thomas Smith co-curated the exhibit with the AGB’s Jasmine Mander. Some of the artists were already known to Thomas Smith as members of the HBV collective, others were discovered in other ways. She met Vivianne Pereira, for instance, when Pereira was selling her work at an Oakville Afro-Caribbean festival.
Pereira’s work has a magnetic rawness about it, alongside her undeniable talent. It is all the more impressive when you find out that Pereira is still in high school — grade 10 to be exact.
Pereira says that she has always been creative. Growing up, she always saw her mother painting, and they used to paint together. While she doesn’t have a specific style, there is usually semi-realism involved, and Pereira is always striving to improve. “Every piece I do, [I think] I can do way better than that,” Pereira explains. She learns something new from each painting, and takes that piece of knowledge or skill to use on her next piece. Pereira also uses a range of mediums: soft pastels, pencil crayons, and acrylic paint are favourites.
She takes her inspiration from reference photos, often found online, and will combine elements from various photos while adding her own spin on them. “Sometimes I’ll add cartoony stuff in the background…and they’re mostly people of colour, especially people with fun hair,” Pereira says. She notes that she is really close to the Trinidadian side of her family, so there’s a personal connection functioning in her choice of subjects to paint or draw.
Pereira also enjoys taking inspiration from interesting interplays of shadow and light. If a reference photo is blurry, or “where there is ambiguity in where the light hits, it’s harder, but I can be more creative,” Pereira explains.
When Thomas Smith asked her to take part in “Bring a Folding Chair,” Pereira chose to submit two portraits, both of which are on display at the AGB.
All of the artists happened to submit portraits, says Thomas Smith, which perfectly fit the theme of resilience and determination. The exhibit’s title is drawn from a quote attributed to U.S. Congress member Shirley Chisholm: “If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair,” encapsulating the perseverance that is necessary to make one’s own space in places that have previously been exclusionary. Exploration of identity is another common thread between the art included in “Bring a Folding Chair”: “Everyone had a really deep story and connection to the pieces that they’d created,” notes Thomas Smith.
And indeed, the works complement each other while allowing each artist’s work the space to shine through their different styles and voices. Each work is compelling, each demonstrates that these artists have, as Chisholm’s quote suggests, brought their chairs to the table, where they can be heard and celebrated.
Visit the AGB’s corridors and pull up your own chair before Jan. 7 to see “Bring a Folding Chair,” and stay tuned for interviews with artists Reynold Thomas and Kemahee Baker in the coming days.
