And thats A Wrap! Concrete Cleavage 2020

It is a blessing that even in times of darkness, there is art.

Concrete Cleavage 2020 was a poster art show driven by queer-thinkers, artists and designers. This show featured 13 creative thinkers and their take on the theme “Concrete Cleavage”.

Considering that there was a limited number of physical events to attend during this summer’s Pride events, our team set out the ambitious goal of creating this event as two outdoor walk-through pop-up galleries in Ottawa & Toronto Ontario, and an online virtual gallery. In-person attendees were asked to wear a mask and respect social distancing.

In this time of change and adaptation, I am very proud of our team and our artists for the creative problem solving, teamwork, and thinking-on-our feet required to pull off an event like this that celebrated Pride, shared artwork to the world, but did so in a way that considered the limitations of our pandemic situation. As an independent creative duo, we also were also working with limited time and resources. I am especially grateful for Planet Coffee in Ottawa who generously offered their patio walls for our pop-up there.

It was such an honour to be able to share the work of artists from cities all across Canada and even one from Europe. Our artists had such insightful and diverse interpretations of the theme. They were amazing! To read more about the curatorial statement, and see the posters and written reflections, feel free to take a look at the exhibition catalogue here.

A big thank you to everyone who contributed to Concrete Cleavage 2020.

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Featured Artists:

Ottawa (ON)
Toru Kashiura
Tamar Scott
Lucas Khul
Maren Kathleen Elliott
Montreal (QC)
Jacqueline Mudie
Toronto (ON)
Andra Ragusila
Kohila Kurunathan & Ryan Kerr
Juan Saavedra
Edmonton (AB)
Precious Kay
Ziwei Huang
Vancouver (BC)
Averill Victoria
Milan (IT)
Mauro Mazzara

THE TEAM:
Juan is an art director & design researcher specializing in health literacy, education and social policy. His interests are volunteerism, social innovation, design-activism and entrepreneurship. When not doing these things, you can find Juan being gay, tired & hungry.

Maren is an interdisciplinary creative bisexual bipolar gemini who has recently transplanted from Edmonton to Ottawa. Her modalities include illustration, mixed media, movement and music. Maren is passionate about arts accessibility, story telling, mental health advocacy, and community activation.

Concrete Cleavage acknowledges the land we met on, both in Toronto and Ottawa. In the City of Toronto, we are on the traditional territory of many nations including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples. We also acknowledge that Toronto is covered by Treaty 13 with the Mississaugas of the Credit. In the City of Ottawa, we are located on unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinabe Nation. Collectively, both cities are now home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples. We extend our respect to all First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples for their valuable past and present contributions to this land. We also recognize and respect the cultural diversity that First Nations, Inuit and Métis people bring.