Art galleries are often sterile environments, drenched in formality. They don’t usually ask you to take off your shoes at the door, or smell kind of like weed.
Last weekend, Nestled in Ottawa’s Findlay Creek suburb on Paakanaak Avenue, two artists hosted an intimate and accessible art show.
Toronto-based artists Sar Wagman and Ifetayo Z. Alabi displayed their work throughout a friend’s home, opening the private space for a pay-what-you-can event.
Walking into the contemporary suburban home, visitors were greeted by Alabi’s painting on the glass door: a Black woman in a red dress sitting under a tree beneath the sun. Backlit by the foyer lights, the piece welcomed guests into the space.
When homeowner Keana Janae moved in with their partner, they knew they wanted to do something special with the space. The motivation behind the unconventional venue was to help build community in the newly developed neighbourhood.
Wagman said they wanted to show their art inclusively. “If our art is about accessibility, why shouldn’t our art be accessible?” She said.
The event was inspired by gatherings hosted by queer artists during times when fine art institutions were unwelcoming. This show, however, was rooted in acceptance.
“Art can feel intimidating, especially in the spaces where it’s shown,” said Alabi. “There are artists I know whose shows I want to attend, but some spaces don’t feel welcoming or friendly.”
Wagman and Alabi have been friends since meeting in the life studies department at Ontario College of Art and Design University. Two years out of school, they have both found success in Toronto. However, an invitation from a close friend brought them by bus to Ottawa.
“It was a labour of love,” said Alabi about Mixed Afro-Indigenous, a linocut-stamped canvas overlaid with collaged paper hands reaching across two panels. Evoking Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam, the piece was previously showcased in Toronto during Alabi’s residency at WildSeed Centre for Art and Activism.
Each stamp represents part of Alabi’s mixed identity: a buffalo for her Blackfoot ancestry, a mill for her European heritage and, for her Nigerian roots, Obatala—a divine, creationary spirit in the Yoruba religion. Wagman helped stretch the patterned canvas over wooden frames before the paper-cut collage hands were added.
Both artists embrace nature and the human form, and this exhibit embraces their different mediums.
Wagman’s reclaimed clay sculptures explore themes of lesbian bodies and mushrooms. The organic forms of the human body complement natural elements like dried moss and fungi.
On the TV—typically the centrepiece of a modern living room—played a video compilation: scenes of nature and plants intercut with traffic, buses, and cityscapes. The contrasting imagery, set to sounds of wind, waves and passing cars, reflects Wagman’s reality: audio recorded from a park near Lake Ontario, bordering a busy city road.
Fear of damage during transport limited what could be brought to Ottawa. After a five-hour bus ride, most of Wagman’s larger works wouldn’t have survived the trip.
With 13 pieces showcased throughout the home, the artists plan to host similar events in Toronto next year, where larger works will be easier to show.
Check out the artists online: