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Hiba Abdallah: 100 years then and hereafter
March 15 - May 15, 2021
Curated by Sandy Saad Smith
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Trailer for 100 years then and hereafter made in collaboration with filmmaker Alyssa Bistonath.
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100 years then and hereafter is an exhibition of new works by artist Hiba Abdallah. Inspired by her excavation of Clarington’s historic archives, Abdallah looks back 100 years into the municipality’s documented history, finding diary entries, political documents, and newspaper headlines with uncanny similarities to the present moment. With her findings as the grounds for the exhibition, she examines social and political cycles, while exploring ways to disrupt the archival process when looking to the future.
The exhibition brings together text works based on archival headlines and tools that have been altered from their historic context to offer different imagined purposes. In collaboration with filmmaker Alyssa Bistonath, Abdallah proposes alternative archival practices, and invites community members to contribute to future historical records adding to a more complex narrative of our times. 100 years then and hereafter invites us to think about the ways in which history is recorded, repeated, and remembered. The exhibition looks at the past, present, and future from a critical standpoint through Abdallah's thoughtful exploration of Clarington’s documented history. |
Take a virtual tour of 100 years then and hereafter
Exhibition programming
Messages to the Future
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In conjunction with the opening of 100 years then and hereafter, the VAC is launching access both in the gallery and online to members of the public to write messages to the future and contribute to a new historical record project created by Hiba Abdallah. The messages will be collected at the end of the exhibition and placed in buried time capsules to be opened in 100 years.
* Please note that printed messages will first be displayed as a part of the exhibition 100 years then and hereafter at the Visual Arts Centre of Clarington. The messages will then be placed in a time capsule for burial. |
Exhibition Programming:
Digging into Archives
Thursday, April 22, 6 pm - 8 pm EDT / GMT-4
Join us on Zoom for an intimate discussion with artist, Hiba Abdallah, and archivist, Tamara Rayan. Moderated by curator, Sandy Saad-Smith the discussion will touch on some of the most compelling issues around the nature and meaning of the archive. Looking at the archive as a conceptual and physical space in which memories are preserved and history decided, the talk will explore questions around the ways in which we create, store, and circulate information.
Guest Archivist: Tamara Rayan
Tamara Rayan is a Palestinian settler, ARL/SAA Mosaic Fellow, and recent University of Toronto Masters of Information Studies graduate specializing in archives and records management. Anti-racist action and BIPOC representation within the archive has always been at the forefront of her archival work. She is the former co-chair for the UofT iSchool's Diversity Working Group and is a current Steering Committee Member of the Society of American Archivists - Archivists and Archives of Color Section. Her research interests are focused on the ways in which minority and marginalized groups document and preserve their cultural heritage in the face of social pressure, colonialism, assimilation, and political oppression.
Date TBC - Burial of Time Capsules
Slated to take place when the grounds at the VAC have thawed, and dependent on COVID-19 guidelines, a burial ceremony will be held to place Abdallah’s time capsules beneath the VAC. The capsules will contain repurposed archival tools, a video proposing alternative archival practices produced with filmmaker, Alyssa Bistonath, and the public’s messages to the future.
Biography
Hiba Abdallah is an artist and cultural organizer who frequently works with others. Her practice explores the structural legacies and futures of cities by researching the intersections of collaboration, communication, and disagreement as productive frameworks for re-imagining public agency. She lives and works in Toronto.
Further resources
Guest Archivist: Tamara Rayan
Tamara Rayan is a Palestinian settler, ARL/SAA Mosaic Fellow, and recent University of Toronto Masters of Information Studies graduate specializing in archives and records management. Anti-racist action and BIPOC representation within the archive has always been at the forefront of her archival work. She is the former co-chair for the UofT iSchool's Diversity Working Group and is a current Steering Committee Member of the Society of American Archivists - Archivists and Archives of Color Section. Her research interests are focused on the ways in which minority and marginalized groups document and preserve their cultural heritage in the face of social pressure, colonialism, assimilation, and political oppression.
Date TBC - Burial of Time Capsules
Slated to take place when the grounds at the VAC have thawed, and dependent on COVID-19 guidelines, a burial ceremony will be held to place Abdallah’s time capsules beneath the VAC. The capsules will contain repurposed archival tools, a video proposing alternative archival practices produced with filmmaker, Alyssa Bistonath, and the public’s messages to the future.
Biography
Hiba Abdallah is an artist and cultural organizer who frequently works with others. Her practice explores the structural legacies and futures of cities by researching the intersections of collaboration, communication, and disagreement as productive frameworks for re-imagining public agency. She lives and works in Toronto.
Further resources
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