Artist Residency -Charlevoix, Quebec

I am very pleased to announce that I will have an artist residency in Charlevoix, Quebec, to document the contemporary Charlevoix landscape in 2021-2022, presented by Musée de Charlevoix and Rencontres internationales de la photographie en Gaspésie, in collaboration with Loto-Québec.

Musée de Charlevoix and Rencontres, in collaboration with Loto-Québec, announce the selection of Chun Hua Catherine Dong to carry out a photography mission that will document the contemporary Charlevoix landscape in 2021-2022.

A Montreal visual artist of Chinese origin, Chun Hua Catherine Dong uses performance, photography and video in her work. In 2015 she began the travel-based performance I Have Been There, which she aims to continue in the framework of her mission in Charlevoix. The artist has carried out this performance in 13 countries, 33 cities and more than 200 different places.

“During the residency, I will use Chinese embroidered fabric to make a duvet,” she explains. “As a way of engaging with Charlevoix’s unique landscapes and cultures, I will lie on the ground of forests, river banks, historical sites and landmarks, covered by the duvet.” Her performance will be documented so as to produce a series of photos and 360º videos to be presented at Musée de Charlevoix, in 2022, and at Rencontres internationales de la photographie en Gaspésie, in 2023.

Chun Hua Catherine Dong’s project is inspired by a tradition in her hometown in China. “When an elder dies, her daughters make duvets with silk fabrics to cover their deceased parent’s body. For me, as a person living alone in Canada without family and children, the question of who will bury me after I die sometimes bothers me. In response, I make my own duvets and perform this ritual publicly and repeatedly wherever I go to simultaneously celebrate death and my own existence.”

In a time where travel has been difficult, the artist has felt it right to return to nature, here in Québec, a place she calls home. “Through inserting my body into Québec’s landscape, I hope this work opens conversations about immigration, home and belonging, questioning how we continue to see ourselves in each other, and how we work together to present a contemporary Québec that is grounded in the inclusiveness and equality that we all deserve, regardless of race and culture.” More information on the artist: chunhuacatherinedong.com

This project is the fourth contribution to a long-term photographic mission that will cover the entirety of the Québec landscape between now and 2024-2025. Through this mission, Rencontres is also seeking to establish a national photo archive collection devoted to the Québec landscape.

Contemporary Art in the Public Space – CAFKA Biennial

CAFKA Biennial -Contemporary Art in the Public Space
Date: May 27-June 27, 2021
Location: Various bus shelters, ION stations, and billboards throughout Waterloo Region and Cambridge

I am very pleased to announce that my work “I Have Been There” is presented by CAFKA – Contemporary Art Forum Kitchener. Nine pieces of 47”x68′ and six pieces of 48”x70”  photographs are exhibited at various ION stations and bus shelter stations in Waterloo region. Two pieces of 10ft x20ft billboards are installed in different locations in Waterloo.

Chun Hua Catherine Dong presents “I Have Been There,” an on-going public intervention performance that explores belonging, diaspora, and existence in public spaces. Each time Dong travels to a new place, she creates a beautiful duvet with Chinese traditional embroidered silk fabric. Covered by the duvet, she lies on the ground in front of historical sites, landmarks, tourist attractions, and other significant places or events around the world. She repeats this performance as a poetic expression of her diasporic identity and engagement with different cultures and spaces. Working within the gap between body as image and body as experienced reality, Dong uses her body as a primary material in her work, creating visual narratives that enable audiences to experience performance unexpectedly and directly in public spaces. She started this performance in 2015, and has performed in 15 countries, 33 cities, and over 250 different sites.

For a local press, TheRecord’s article about this work, please visit here
For more info about this work, please visit here
For more info about CAFKA Biennial, please visit here

This public art project is generously supported by the region of Waterloo.

Twelve Visionary Women Artists 2021_By Art Canada Institute

It is my great honour to be listed as one of Twelve Visionary Women Artists in Canada by Art Canada Institute for International Women’s Day 2021 . For more info about the list, please click here, or click the link below

https://www.aci-iac.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Art-Canada-Institute-Newsletter_Choose-to-Challenge_Twelve-Visionary-Women-Artists.pdf

“In honour of International Women’s Day next Monday, we are highlighting Canadian women artists across the country who have achieved outstanding accomplishments in their careers and paved the way for others to succeed in the art world. Taking a cue from this year’s IWD hashtag and theme—#ChoosetoChallenge—which celebrates women’s successes, promotes awareness against bias, and calls for action for equality, we are looking at works that show women reflecting on their place in the arts and in society and boldly confronting gender imparity. Although there is still much progress to be made, the selection below reveals how far women from diverse communities have come. It also highlights the crucial role of artists in imagining and shaping a more equitable world, one where we celebrate women’s independence, strength, and ambition.”

Sara Angel

Founder and Executive Director, Art Canada Institute

Capture Photography Festival

I am very excited to announce that my new work, ” The Misfits,” will be part of Capture Photography Festival in Vancouver 2021, presented by Richmond Art Gallery and Richmond Public Art Program. Please click here to see the Festival’s announcement. For more information about this work, please click here

Shaun Dacey, Director, Richmond Art Gallery states “It is an honour to work with Catherine on the Capture installation at Aberdeen station. The jury were excited about her proposal which speaks directly to Richmond’s Chinese residents and extends a 2D  installation into augmented reality. We can’t wait to launch it in April 2021.”

Cultural Diversity Award in Visual Art

I am very pleased to announce that I am awarded the Cultural Diversity Award in Visual Art 2020, by The Conseil des arts de Montréal. Please visit here for more information.

Montréal, December 11, 2020 – The Conseil des arts de Montréal is pleased to announce the winners of the 2020 Cultural Diversity in Visual Arts Award. This award is given out in conjunction with the City of Montreal’s Prix d’excellence en arts visuels program, in partnership with the Contemporary Art Galleries Association (AGAC). Consisting of a $10,000 cash prize, the award goes to an artist from a diverse cultural community or a visible minority who is over the age of 40 and has more than five years of professional practice in Québec to their credit. The artist must have previously exhibited or participated in exhibitions in their country of origin, whether in Québec or outside the province. The award recognizes a visual arts approach or production presented in Montreal in the media of painting, sculpture, photography, drawing, etching or mixed media. It supports the strategic goals of the Conseil des arts de Montréal, for which an inclusive arts scene is a priority.

Screening -THEY at Chinese Women Artists Video Art Festival

Screening: THEY
Festival: Chinese Women Artists Video Art Festival in Mexico City
Date: Feb 2- 7, 2021

THEY
The film available upon request
2017
29’20

Ellas es una instalación cinematográfica de cuatro canales que lleva al público al mundo de cuatro mujeres para examinar de cerca su vida cotidiana ritualizada, sus obsesiones, sus luchas y sus determinaciones de ser quienes son. Las cuatro mujeres son diferentes, pero se reflejan entre sí: se enfrentan a transiciones difíciles, relaciones ambivalentes y deseos que las perturban mientras celebran sus propias existencias de una manera subversiva pero casi meditativa. “Ellas” en esta película son tanto singulares como plurales, refiriéndose a las mujeres como individuos únicos que son plurales, pero cuyos cuerpos han sido marcados como el otro.

Mi enfoque del tema en esta película está subrayando los cuerpos de las mujeres como un sitio para la transgresión y resistencia social y política. Mediante el uso de gestos simbólicos, ritmos poéticos y repeticiones, esta película revela una reflexión compleja sobre cómo las identidades están mediadas no solo a través de las pantallas sino cómo nos llegan a través del tiempo. Esta instalación se basa en tradiciones cinematográficas y de performance, esforzándose por crear nuevas narrativas visuales que permitan al público experimentar la dimensión temporal del cuerpo directamente, al mismo tiempo, proporcionando una clave para comprender el poder corporal en la era digital.

For more info about the work, please visit here
For more about the Festival, please visit here

Triennial – Physis: Production of Nature, Human and Technology

It is my great honour to be part of the Triennial, “Physis: Production of Nature, Human and Technology,” 2020 WuHan 5th Documentary Exhibition of Fine Arts,  at HuBei Museum of Art in China. Opening is November 20, 2020. Six pieces of my performance photograph from “Alone Together” series will be exhibited in the museum. For more information about “Alone Together,” please click here. For more info about the exhibition, please click here

Exhibition date: November 20, 2020 – March 7th, 2021
Address: HuBei Museum of Art,
1 Sanguandian, Donghu Road, Wuhan, Hubei, 430077
curator: Fu XiaoDong

 

 

Prix en art actuel du MNBAQ

I am very pleased to announce that I am shortlisted for Contemporary Art Award at Le Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec ( Prix en art actuel du MNBAQ), for more information, please visit here

Le Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, en collaboration avec RBC Fondation, est fier de dévoiler les cinq artistes finalistes de la quatrième édition du Prix en art actuel du MNBAQ, un prix bisannuel qui se démarque au Canada. Chun Hua Catherine Dong, Stanley Février, Chloë Lum et Yannick Desranleau, Marigold Santos ainsi que Walter Scott, ont été retenus par le jury composé de Georges Azzaria, directeur de l’École d’art de l’Université Laval, Nathalie Bachand, commissaire indépendante et autrice, Eunice Bélidor, directrice de la galerie FOFA de l’Université Concordia et membre du comité externe d’acquisition du MNBAQ, Katrie Chagnon, professeure associée au département d’histoire de l’art de l’UQAM, Audrey Genois, directrice générale de MOMENTA | Biennale de l’image, et Bernard Lamarche, responsable du développement de la collection et conservateur de l’art actuel au MNBAQ.

Depuis l’an dernier, les cinq finalistes se partagent une bourse de 10 000$, chacun se verra donc remettre un montant de 2000$. « Nous traversons tous ensemble une période difficile où les artistes sont particulièrement touchés par les conséquences de la fermeture temporaire de lieux d’exposition, de l’annulation ou le report d’événements artistiques. Nous souhaitons nous inscrire dans un mouvement de maintien des activités essentielles et contribuer ainsi à soutenir des artistes et nous préoccuper de la vitalité de la communauté des arts visuels du Québec », souligne Annie Gauthier, directrice des collections et des expositions au MNBAQ.

Un second jury se réunira prochainement afin de déterminer le grand gagnant selon les critères établis – soit l’exigence d’une carrière étendue sur plus de 10 ans, la qualité et le caractère soutenu de la production ainsi que la reconnaissance par le milieu d’une réelle contribution artistique. Son nom sera révélé par l’équipe du Musée par la suite. L’exposition du futur lauréat est pour l’instant prévue à l’automne 2021 au MNBAQ, moment où sera lancée sa monographie.

 

Group Exhibition – Human Learning. What Machines Teach Us

Exhibition: Human Learning. What Machines Teach Us
Date: February 05th, 2020 – April 17th, 2020
Opening: February 4th, 2020 6-8pm
Gallery: Centre Culturel Canadien, Paris
Address: 130 rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, Paris

Produced by the Canadian Cultural Centre in Paris as part of the official programme of Nemo, the Biennial of Electronic Arts Ile-de-France, in partnership with Elektra (Montreal) and with the support of Région Ile-de-France.

Human Learning. What Machines Teach Us is an exhibition that documents the world using the technologies that shape it. The works in the exhibition feature a large variety of styles: interactive devices that make us learn their playabilities, generative installations whose processes are entirely autonomous and digital creations made out of digital forms.

The concept of artificial intelligence emerged in the 1950s. It served as a vehicle for an imaginary world immediately adopted by science-fiction writers who endowed machines with the ability to “think”. In the 1980s, the idea that machines could themselves learn, by deduction, appeared. This is known as “machine learning”. Finally, since the turn of the millennium, the term “deep learning” has been used for the processing of vast quantities of data by computers.

We have taught everything to machines and continue to supply them so that they pursue the “desire” for autonomy we would like to grant them. Isn’t it time that we started thinking that we, too, learn from them by observing their specificities or qualities? If there is one community that observes the world to give us its interpretations of its transformations, it is the artistic community.

Artists have always made use of the tools and materials of their times. Thus, more and more of them are turning to the creative potential of digital technologies, which are also used by researchers in their laboratories. In doing so, they accept what the machines offer them while adding an element of unpredictability to their creations. Sometimes, they distance themselves from their works, which run so that their modes of actions may be observed better. Machines or robots are also the subjects of photographs or films that other artists produce to encourage new forms of empathy in us. It is not an application or a service that does not work as soon as it opens. From the special-effect filters of mass-market software to the networks of artificial neurones that artists share with researchers. They both learn and appropriate these technologies by rubbing shoulders with them.

We have a certain proximity with the works that emerge from the use and/or observation of the technologies that shape our relationship to the world, to others and to ourselves. Recognizing the technologies of our daily lives in an artistic context makes us envisage them differently. Knowing that it is through contact with others that we build ourselves, it is about time to think about the “mechanical” other we increasingly frequent without being too aware of it. Dedicating an exhibition to machines and ideas or the resulting aesthetics amounts to accepting their teachings.

Works by Matthew Biederman, Emilie Brout & Maxime Marion, Grégory Chatonsky, Douglas Coupland, Chun Hua Catherine Dong, Emilie Gervais, Sabrina Ratté, David Rokeby, Justine Emard, Louis-Philippe Rondeau, Samuel St-Aubin, Skawennati, Xavier Snelgrove & Mattie Tesfaldet, with an exterior installation by Olivier Ratsi.

Guest curators: Dominique Moulon and Alain Thibault
Associated curator: Catherine Bédard

Exceptionally open on Saturday April 4, from 10am to 6pm for Paris Art Fair.

For more info about the work, please visit here
For more info about the exhibition, please visit hereand here

Solo Exhibition – In Transition

Solo Exhibition: In Transition
Exhibition: January 2nd to February 2nd 2020
Vernissage: Thursday, January 16th 2020 from 5 – 8pm
Artist Talk: Thursday, January 16th 2020 at 5:00pm
Gallery: Downtown Gallery at Ottawa School of Art
Address: 5 George Street , Ottawa,  Ontaria, K1N8W5

Free to the public – Everyone welcome

A hyperreal vision of our near future, exploring how humans and robots coexist and bind together with one destiny. Through performative gestures and expressions by creating different interactions between a robot and the artist herself, this work provides an alternative perspective for a better understanding of ourselves, our bodies, our emotions, our responsibilities, and our relations with non-human others. In Transition also raises questions about binary system, about how to challenge boundaries of self/other, culture/nature, and human/machine, moving beyond traditional gender, feminism, and politics, creating a new social relation that expands and amplifies humanity.

For more info about the work, please visit here
For more info about the exhibition, please visit here

Copyright Chun Hua Catherine Dong 2022. All Rights Reserved.