Once I walked into the gallery, I started to see why Latitude 53 chose Cross Cut. The group exhibition features videos and animated artwork of seven artists from the Art From Here program. Each side of the room has either a screen showing short films or a sheet of animation frames. It was like standing in the middle of a video production.
According to visual artist, composer and musician Dwayne Martineau, the Art From Here program is “a knowledge sharing collaboration among local artists.” The four mentees produce videos, photos or animations to respond to the three mentoring artists’ former works.
Martineau was one of the Art From Here artists last year. Now, he finds his prior teaching experience makes him a good fit in the mentor position. He calls the mentees “kids.”
“I only refer to them as kids because they’re younger, but they’re not kids,” says Martineau. “They’re bringing a lot of the experience of their own to the sessions as emerging artists. Each one of them has a really specific voice in their diverse background.”
For example, multidisciplinary artist Kev Liang tackles his queer, second-generation Chinese-Canadian identity, and is opening his first solo exhibition later this year. And Cree filmmaker Seth Arcand recently finished the New Indigenous Voices program held by CBC and the National Screen Institute. His work continues to create a space for Indigenous filmmakers to take risks with their crafts.
“This is not a program where mentors know more than the mentees, or are ahead of them in any way,” says Martineau. “We mentors are glad to be here to present what we know in our areas that the kids may not have encountered in their careers.
“Sometimes when we have conversation sessions together in the gallery, I’d look at the surrounding artworks and ask myself, do they really need to learn from me?”
Walk in for Cross Cut at Latitude 53, until August 20.
