BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//GayOut//Event Export//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN METHOD:PUBLISH BEGIN:VEVENT UID:398558@gayout.com DTSTAMP:20261106T074714Z DTSTART:20261106T183000Z DTEND:20261106T203000Z SUMMARY:Mind and Body – November Vernissage DESCRIPTION:Come join us for an evening of art and celebration!  Friday November 6th\\, 6:30-8:30pm at the Ottawa Trans Library.  Featuring the artwork of:\\nMaddie Alexander:\\nMaddie Alexander (They/He) is a trans a rtist\\, archivist\\, and arts worker based in Halifax\\, NS. He holds a BFA from OCAD University (2016)\\, and an MFA from NSCAD University (2020 )\\, where they received The Reznick Family Fund for Student Creativity. Their work has been exhibited locally and internationally\\, with partici pation in residencies such as CSAV– Artists’ Research Laboratory at F ondazione Antonio Ratti (Como\\, Italy)\\, and Haystack Open Studio Resid ency (Maine\\, USA). He was a 2025 AGO x RBC Emerging Artist-Researcher\\ , as well as an Artist in Residence at the SPAO Photographic Arts Centre. His practice has been supported by Arts Nova Scotia\\, and the Canada Co uncil for the Arts.\\nHis artistic practice explores lived queer and tran s experiences through an autoethnographic approach\\, blending archival m aterials and personal records. Their research based projects centre theme s of desire\\, failure\\, care and dissonance and are often site responsi ve and rooted in community collaboration. While his work reflects contemp orary concerns\\, it frequently draws on the visual and cultural historie s of 1980s and ‘90s queer activist aesthetics\\, primarily the DIY prin t and installation practices of that era. Blending analogue and digital p rocesses is a reflection on the fluid and layered nature of their trans e xperience\\, coming together to construct something that feels real and w hole.\\nHis current work uses sunprinting and video documentation as a me dium to explore his research into the historic and ongoing barriers trans folks face in accessing care. They feel a deep kinship between the chemi cal\\, time-based nature of sunprinting and the process of HRT (Hormone R eplacement Therapy)— both requiring patience\\, faith\\, and a sense of magic. Through this\\, they see their work as an act of reclamation: of narrative\\, of agency\\, and of time itself. Using medical ephemera and documentation\\, this work is deeply informed by their own experiences ac cessing care as a trans person.\\n”\\nKay Nordman:\\nArtists Statement – The piece explores how it feels to exist in a marginalized body\\, pa rticularly a trans and queer body\\, where I feel simultaneously either f etishized or discriminated against because of the body I occupy. Placing the figure in such an intimate way reflects the vulnerability that comes from being marginalized.\\nAs for a personal artists statement – I’m Kay Nordman (they/them)\\, a Fine Arts student studying Drawing and Paint ing at OCAD University in downtown Toronto. I enjoy making art that inter sects gender and sexuality theory with the body and our contemporary/digi tal age.\\nWake Darrah Cook-Kero: \\nWake Darrah Cook-Kero (he/they/hir) is a neurodiverse transmasc comic illustrator\\, writer\\, and character/ creature designer. His family occupies the unceded territory of the Mi’ kmaq people in New Brunswick\\, and he is a settler on the unceded territ ories of thexwməθkwəy̓ əm (Musqueam)\\, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish)\ \, and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. He earned a BFA at Emily C arr University of Art & Design in 2020 and a diploma of Youth Justice at Douglas College in 2026. His comics and illustrations centre the beauty o f the trans body\\, the connection between the visually monstrous and the socially marginalized through fictional graphic narrative\\, and hot bab es with swords. Through Wildstar Press\\, Wake has published the body-hor ror comic Iris and was featured in the pirate-themed anthology Songs of t he Sea. Other projects T4T: A Transmasc Zine\\, Cryptid Crew\\, and Sex E d for Trans Men created alongside his husband\\, River Huckleberry Kero. Their current project is Starstruck\\, a queer romantic sci-fi graphic no vel\\, and Wake’s latest exhibition was at the Vancouver Outsider Art F estival 2025.\\nArthur Alves: I make art about my everyday experiences an d trans existence. I love to include as many details as I can and I love to capture moments and dreams and fantasies that would otherwise be passe d by\\nSameena Anis:  Sam is a Queer\\, Brown and Disabled artist. They use many mediums\\, such as illustration\\,\\ncomics\\, printmaking\\, fa bric and textiles\\, ceramics\\, resin and other sculptural work\\, and d igital\\nsuch as film and animation. They love playing with colors\\, cha racters and conceptual visuals to\\nshare stories.\\nI am a South Asian\\ , queer\\, disabled\\, new generation\\, multi-disciplinary artist\\, wor king in craft\\n(textiles—embroidery\\, rug making\\, weaving\\, cerami cs and paper) and visual arts (drawing\\,\\npainting\\, printmaking\\, zi nes and comics).\\nBorn in India\\, I moved to the UAE\\, and immigrated to Canada in 2014. I found it isolating\\, lonely\\,\\nand had difficulty making friends\\, these are the themes I explore in my art—not belongi ng here\\nor anywhere. I express this through visual characters and ficti on storytelling\\, using imagery of\\nloss and loneliness and colours to express moods. I embrace each medium in the craft\\,\\nusability\\, and s torytelling\\, e.g. in ceramics\\, I embed stories visually while making it functional.\\nAs a low-income artist I find affordable materials such as fabric from thrift stores and free\\ncommunity-based supplies. That is how I got into zine culture (small\\, independently published\\nbooks)\\ ; where the focus is affordable\\, DIY art for the community\\, and inclu de experimental craft\\,\\ne.g. pins and embroidery patches. I enjoy comb ining mediums as I find multidisciplinary art to be\\nmore expressive and unique.I am inspired by zine culture to apply a sense of community and\\ nreusability in craft. I continue to make art as a form of therapy and us ing storytelling I can\\naddress my loneliness\\, struggles with relation ships\\, and isolation.\\nI seek to continue experimenting and developing my skills in various craft mediums so I am able\\nto express myself more authentically and find community through my characters and worlds.\\nI a m interested in making art for this project because I particularly love p ublic art! I love\\nshowcasing my art in public\\, to see how people woul d appreciate it and whether they can relate\\nto my stories. I love seein g other artists’ art on banners\\, murals\\, and sculptures all around\ \nOntario. Public art always livens a place up\\, making it more colourfu l and welcoming.\\nC. R. Gill:\\nBiography\\nC.R. Gill (they/them) is a t rans/non-binary artist exploring subjective experience and the absurditie s of life. They were born and raised on the east coast of Canada and now make their home in Ottawa\\, Ontario. They work in oil paint\\, water sol uble encaustic\\, wax\\, and mixed media\\, creating portraits\\, still l ife\\, and botanical paintings.. C.R. Gill was trained in classical figur e painting and drawing by Sarah Marie Lacy at The Drawing Room (Ottawa\\, ON\\, Canada) and painting by Michelle Tully at Studio Escalier (Argento n-Chateau\\, France\\, online). They are Secretary of the Board of Direct ors for Studio Space Ottawa and a member of the Ottawa Society of Botanic al Artists (OSBA). They have exhibited in group shows in Ottawa\\, Cornwa ll\\, Kingston\\, and Toronto.\\nWebsite: https://www.crgillart.com\\nBlu eSky: @catalyst-artworks.bsky.social\\nInstagram: @catalyst_artworks\\nSt atement\\nAs a trans/non-binary artist C.R. Gill (they/them) is intereste d in the subjective experiences and absurdities of people. Their work pla ys with connections between the absurd\\, death\\, nature\\, and the driv e to live authentically. In particular\\, they are fascinated by big emot ional footprints and exploring moments of transformation\\, transition\\, humour and joy. They see art as a means to start conversations through e ncouraging curiosity about ourselves and others in an ongoing process of discovery and confrontation. They delight in painting trans and non-binar y people\\, and are working on a series of portraits of trans and non-bin ary people.\\n \\nhttps://www.gayout.com/usa-canada/canada/ottawa/events /mind-and-body-november-vernissage-2026-11-06-2 LOCATION:Ottawa Trans Library\\, 1104 Somerset St. West URL:https://www.gayout.com/usa-canada/canada/ottawa/events/mind-and-body-november-vernissage-2026-11-06-2 STATUS:CONFIRMED END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR