Museum London held an annual Winter Launch Party to celebrate a new season of exhibitions.
A total of eight new exhibitions and installations were unveiled at the event, featuring artists from all over Ontario and Canada.
In particular, the exhibition that will be the centerpiece of this Winter Launch Party is ‘Tropi-X: Brazilian Art in Canada’.
Abby Vincent is the Head of Marketing and Development at Museum London.
Abby Vincent (Credit: Emily Kim/XFM News)
“It features more than 70 artworks from a variety of artists who are working either in Brazil or in Canada, who are part of the Brazilian diaspora,” said Vincent. “And it’s striving to probe at ideas of identity, culture across boundaries and regions and think of themes of folklore, history, stories.”
Vincent said the exhibition is particularly important in Canada because it is worth celebrating.
“Guest curators Elena Robin and Rodrigo da Cantera have come in and done extensive research on these works and have deduced that this is one of the largest collections of Brazilian art in Canada,” said Vincent.
In addition, 30 of the 70 artworks are from the Museum London collection, and some are on display for the first time since the early 1990s.
“Especially now, 30 some odd years later, that we have such a vibrant Central and South American community here in southwestern Ontario,” added Vincent.
Through this event, Museum London wants to provide visitors with a special experience beyond just announcing the opening of the exhibition.
“As a joint art and history museum, we have a unique mandate. There aren’t many other spaces like Museum London in our community or even across Canada to be so transparent,” said Vincent.
The Launch Parties held every summer and winter are open to the public, admission is by donation.
Londoners enjoyed guided tours and musical performances, and were able to participate in hands-on arts activities.
Winter Launch Party at Museum London (Credit: Image courtesy of Angela Antonopoulos)
Vincent also explained why she chose a live performance as a highlight that visitors should not miss.
“It’s inspired by our exhibition Black Lives Lived Here, London Family Photos, which is a large-scale installation of more than 50 family photos of people in London who are descendants of freedom seekers. And it’s evidence of joy and resilience. And so they’ve leveraged and kind of animated these key themes in the exhibition and they’ve created a live performance inspired by it.”
Vincent left a message for the visitors one last time.
“The museum is open six days a week and we offer admission by donation, which means that we’re open to everyone, no matter their access,” said Vincent.
The Winter Launch Party was held from 7 to 10 on Thursday evening, but new season of exhibitions remain open until next year.
