ARMCHAIR POLITICS
A film screening curated by Vince Rozario and Sanjit Dhillon
Thursday, 4 July 2019, 7 PM
In partnership with the Canadian Filmmakers Distribution Centre
Hosted by the Toronto Media Arts Centre
32 Lisgar St, Toronto, ON M6J 0C9
Armchair Politics imagines an affective viewing space where socially encoded scripts of identity, as mediated by the screen, are challenged, negotiated and transformed. Departing from an existent media archive of home videos, pop culture ephemera, newsreels and diaries, these artists attempt to challenge the depoliticizing effects of nostalgia. Through omissions, appropriations and recontextualizations, these films engender the potential to activate and envision new social relations. Featuring works by Onyeka Igwe, Rolla Tahir, Yanyu Dong, Saiyar Azar, Sharlene Bamboat and Di HU. Total runtime: 1:16:26.
This screening is part of EMILIA-AMALIA’s year-long collaboration with the Canadian Filmmakers Distribution Centre (CFMDC), titled HOLES AND HOW TO FILL THEM. Inviting emerging artists and curators to respond to E-A’s programming, and to the CFMDC film collection, these curated screenings activate holes, gaps and omissions as artistic and political strategies.
Selected films:
Specialized Technique by Onyeka Igwe (2018)
Sira by Rolla Tahir (2018)
Ayesha by Yanyu Dong (2017)
Monument of Distance by Saiyar Azar (2018)
Video Home System by Sharlene Bamboat (2018)
Ecstasy by Di HU (2015)
The screening is free and the venue is fully accessible.
Sanjit Dhillon is a multidisciplinary artist, curator and arts administrator based in Tkaranto/Toronto, Canada. Her practice interrogates constructions of memory, hegemonic structures, and the limits of visual culture in creating and disseminating identity. She has curated for Xpace Cultural Centre, DUTY FREE magazine and participated in residencies at Whippersnapper Gallery and Roundtable Residency.
Vince Rozario is an independent curator, writer, community activist and arts administrator. Their writing deals with issues around community accountability, representation, and equity in Canadian contemporary art; as well as discourses on queerness and gender in South Asian modernism and contemporary diasporic practices. Their writing has been featured in C Magazine and Momus, as well as in exhibition texts for Xpace Cultural Centre, Whippersnapper Gallery and Gallery 44. They were the winner of 2018 the C New Critics Award and have curated exhibitions at Xpace Cultural Centre and the Gladstone Hotel.