Guests delight in exhibit How to Breathe Forever

Dark room with people in foreground and works of art, neon light
Thursday, January 17, 2019

Close to 300 people escaped the cold and enjoyed the opening night of Onsite Gallery’s latest exhibition, How to Breathe Forever. The group exhibition underlines the importance and interconnectedness of air, animals, land, plants and water. Featuring work by local, national and international artists, How to Breathe Forever invites visitors to consider an expanded personhood that attentively collaborates and exchanges with living things.

Curated by Lisa Deanne Smith, Onsite Gallery’s Curator, features the work of international artists including OCAD U alumni Rouzbeh Akhbari, Mary Anne Barkhouse and Maryanne Casasanta, alongside DaveandJenn, Li Xinmo, Qavavau Manumi, Felix Kalmenson, Naufus Ramírez-Figueroa, Ningiukulu Teevee and Flora Weistche.

The public opening reception featured remarks by Archer Pechawis. A performance artist, new media artist, filmmaker, writer, curator and educator and member of Mistawasis First Nation, Saskatchewan, Pechawis thanked Onsite Gallery, OCAD U and the exhibiting artists for their creativity and vision. President Sara Diamond congratulated Lisa Deanne Smith, who personally thanked the exhibitors in attendance: Mary Anne Barkhouse, Maryanne Casasanta, DaveandJenn, Rouzbeh Akhbari and Flora Weistche.

The exhibition is presented with the support of the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council and Nexus Investments, the free exhibition runs through to April 14, 2019.

Poster: 
Archie Pechawis speaking at podium in gallery
Sculpture of a rabbit looking down at a prone rabbit