Latest news with #AGB
Irish Independent
6 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Independent
AGB management relieved to get championship off to winning start
Wicklow People Today at 12:30 Championship differs from League in that momentum counts for less. One good run of results in the League could make the difference. In Championship, you need to deliver a winning performance nearly every day at the start, and certainly every day at the finish. Past results count for less. There are no prizes handed out on the first weekend of the Wicklow Senior Football Championship; it has always been thus. But even in the round-robin era, an opening-week win is still valuable. Arklow Geraldines Ballymoney (AGB) secured that on Saturday night, but they also delivered a very good performance, which not all of the weekend's winners will be able to say.
Hamilton Spectator
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Hamilton Spectator
A Curve, Not a Line: 50 Years of Passion, Progress, and Perspective at the Art Gallery of Burlington
'Time is anything but a line. It's a helix, a spiral — generations building a collection through generations of makers, scholars, and curators who have been in this space,' says the Art Gallery of Burlington's Artistic Director and Curator Suzanne Carte. Carte uses this idea of non-linearity to describe the organic evolution of the Art Gallery of Burlington's (AGB) permanent collection. With its latest exhibition, 'A Curve, Not a Line,' the gallery invites audiences to step into a reimagined version of its 50-year legacy. 'A collection is built not only by makers but by scholars and curators who have contributed to this space,' Carte explains. 'To think it was built from point A to point B negates all the work that happens in between, the relearning we can do from the objects, the artists, and the many individuals who have donated their time and energy to telling stories.' Over the past five decades, the AGB has become a national leader in contemporary ceramics, now home to over 4,000 pieces. But Carte, who joined the gallery in 2019, sought to uncover the personal, communal, and emotional narratives behind each object. She approached the collection as a listener, collaborator, and storyteller. 'It takes a full team to do this,' she says. 'Our collections manager teaches me so much. And physically handling these works during the installation gave me a bodily experience of the collection, a privilege, especially when considering objects that were meant to be touched, used, brought to your lips, sat on, or stood on. Holding them with my white glass gloves; this space is a privilege I'm acutely aware of. For me, the learning happens through tactility and experience, rather than reading.' Carte spent time in the vault, understanding the collection's depth and its weight — literally and metaphorically. 'The title 'A Curve, Not a Line' speaks to the idea that collections don't develop in straight paths,' she says. 'They loop back. They spiral. They shift depending on who's telling the story.' Rejecting a chronological or medium-specific structure, Carte drew inspiration from a moving exhibition she once saw at the Brooklyn Museum, curated by a director retiring after decades of service. 'He picked all his favourite works; they were his legacy, and he put them all together in one room. As an audience member, I thought, 'What is even happening here? This is bonkers. No curator would ever throw all this together.' But once I understood the intention, it was so touching and joyous.' She wanted to channel that spirit: to focus not just on aesthetics, but on the totality of the collection. 'We have works that are brilliant demonstrations of ancestral techniques, pieces made with different clay bodies, sculptural forms, whimsical, and functional alike. It was important to look at the whole picture,' Carte says. 'And to invite a team to help choose what they found meaning in.' That sense of collectivity echoes the spirit of community gatherings like Culture Jam, which Carte recalls fondly. 'It's that feeling you understand, the heart. And this is the heart, right? The art. The ability to bring people together and find deeper meaning in these pieces. Not just looking at them, but seeing into them.' Carte organized the exhibition thematically around gestures and experiences: words and movements that come from the body and emotions. Across several gallery rooms, more than 200 works are displayed in clusters. Ceramics are suspended from ceilings, embedded into floors, and placed at unexpected heights, inviting viewers to crouch, stretch, and move. 'I wanted to create an embodied experience,' she says. 'To make people aware of their physical relationship to the objects.' She also dismantled traditional curatorial hierarchies by inviting staff from across departments, not just curatorial roles, to help select works and write exhibition texts. 'It brought so much life and a different lens to the collection,' Carte says. 'We want everyone to feel like they belong in this space.' This collaborative approach mirrors the collection's evolution: shaped over time by artists, collectors, donors, curators, and community members. 'The idea of permanence suggests something fixed, but we want people to understand this collection is constantly evolving,' Carte says. 'It responds to the times, to the people, to the questions we're asking.' That responsiveness is vital in a Canadian art context reckoning with exclusion and erasure. A Curve, Not a Line makes space for voices long marginalized in museum narratives. 'We're thinking about what voices are missing, what makers have been underrepresented, and how we can ensure this is a collection for the future,' Carte says. 'One that reflects the fullness of our communities.' That future-oriented vision includes showcasing emerging, racialized, queer, and otherwise underrepresented artists. Carte is also committed to addressing Indigenous representation in the collection, currently at just 1%. 'Curating isn't just about selecting and displaying objects,' she says. 'It's about listening. We need to reconcile with the fact that our collection includes only 1% Indigenous representation. And we're talking about an art form as old as the Earth itself. It needs a greater connection to the land's stewards and water protectors.' Building that representation, she says, is a key priority, through Indigenous Shared Circles and new acquisitions that honour artists previously overlooked. Carte's reflective and inclusive approach has resonated widely. Artists are grateful to see their earlier works revisited. Visitors have commented on the warmth and accessibility of the show. And Carte herself remains moved. 'One of the most beautiful parts of this process was discovering how much care had gone into building this collection over the years,' she says. 'Every piece has a story. Every story connects to someone.' While the exhibition honours five decades of art and community, it also looks ahead. Carte hopes A Curve, Not a Line inspires visitors to consider the stories public collections can tell and the roles they can play in shaping them. 'This isn't just about looking back,' she says. 'It's about imagining what comes next.' As the AGB continues to evolve, Carte is committed to keeping the collection alive: growing, shifting, and shaped by many voices. 'We want to build something that reflects who we are,' she says. 'Not just who we've been.' A Curve, Not a Line is on view at the Art Gallery of Burlington through the fall. Visitors are encouraged to take their time, move with the curves, and listen closely, because in this space, every spiral has a story to tell. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Hamilton Spectator
06-06-2025
- General
- Hamilton Spectator
Levelling the Playing Field at Burlington's Accessible Sport and Art Fair
This article has been corrected; in the main photo, Teresa Campbell, Supervisor, Sports Development, was not identified correctly, and that has now been rectified. On May 31, Tansley Woods Community Centre was host to the Accessible Sport and Art Fair. The event was put on by the City of Burlington and was intended to be an opportunity for citizens to learn about the many programs that operate in Burlington and are fully accessible. Booths were set up in a recreation hall, with a number of local organizations present, including the Burlington Lions Club, the Burlington Public Library, Student Theatre, Special Olympics, and the Art Gallery of Burlington (AGB). On the opposite side of the building, demo rooms were prepared with activities hosted by groups in attendance, including wheelchair basketball, pickleball, adaptive rugby, improv, and arts and crafts workshops. Cheryl Hurst, who sits on the City of Burlington's Accessibility Advisory Committee, describes her personal connection with accessibility in her youth, which inspired her to take action. 'Growing up, I did have a good friend who had some different challenges, and we would see those roadblocks,' Hurst said. 'So I just didn't want other people to have to face those if they didn't have to.' Hurst explained the kind of work the Accessibility Advisory Committee does around the city. 'We come to different community events and try to have communication with different community members, and we want to get as much feedback as we can from them,' Hurst said. 'What their personal experiences are, good things, challenges, things that we can work with.' 'Then we provide input and feedback to different city [staff] members and different departments,' Hurst continued. Hurst gave a recent example of the city doing a renovation of a major Burlington park. 'They came to our meeting and brought their plans, and then we gave our input and feedback on things that they've done really great and suggestions about other changes that might be helpful,' Hurst said. Hurst said that many people at the event were unaware of the many programs available throughout the city with accessibility options. 'That speaks to [the fact that] maybe we're not communicating or sharing all of the great things that we do have in the city,' Hurst said. Hurst said that access to parks and further accommodation at intersections were also repeated concerns. 'Making sure that all of our intersections have the proper grading so that you're not just flying off of the curb, as well as the texture [of paving], so that if you have sight impairment, you can use your accessories and tools to be able to safely cross the street,' Hurst said. 'And when you push the button, the sound is there so that you know it's safe to cross.' Hurst said that the city is making strides in the right direction and is working to implement these changes at all intersections. Annie Webber, education coordinator at the AGB, was representing the gallery at the event. Webber said that the AGB is able to make the majority of events accessible with advance notice and help from community partners. Webber spoke about what the AGB hoped to gain from the event. 'We're here today to learn how we can improve our setup so that we have passive programming that's accessible and more regularly occurring programs that are accessible,' Webber said. 'We're looking to build our audience and our network of colleagues who have more expertise than we do in the field of accessibility.' Webber spoke about why having more accessible programming is so important. 'We want to welcome everyone, and we want people to feel cared for, thought of, and considered,' Webber said. 'We're happy that we can get in touch early enough to put those supports in place, but we also want people to be able to come in intuitively and experience the place in a way that's meaningful to them.' Webber said that the event was very useful for networking with other organizations, as well as making community members aware of what is already available. Attendees could also enter a raffle for prizes available at a table in the front entrance. Prizes included t-shirts, a life jacket, and safety gear for sailing. Prizes were all donated by the vendors present at the fair. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Fashion Network
21-05-2025
- Business
- Fashion Network
Ananya Goenka Bagaria launches as womenswear label
Former investment banker and University of Michigan graduate Ananya Goenka Bagaria has entered the fashion space with the launch of her eponymous womenswear label, Ananya Goenka Bagaria (AGB). The label has made its retail debut at Bombaim, an experiential luxury fashion store in Kolkata. 'I didn't come from fashion- I walked into it with intention," said Bagaria about her label's launch in a press release. "From boardrooms to boulevards, my journey has been shaped by quiet confidence and purposeful choices. AGB is not about dressing up, it's about dressing true. Because confidence isn't stitched into a garment- it lives in you. This isn't fashion meant to transform you, but to walk with you- wherever you're headed." The brand's first collection, 'Reign Your Narrative', presents tailored silhouettes softened by movement and detail. Cloud-hued satins, structured crepes, and sheer organzas form the fabric base, complemented by hand-finished touches and tonal embroidery. Garments in the collection include shirt jackets, waistcoats, and statement jackets with architectural collars, sculptural drapes, and cascading panels. AGB positions itself as a slow fashion brand for modern Indian women. Drawing from her global education and personal evolution, Bagaria's transition from finance to fashion has been shaped by a desire to create clothing that empowers through thoughtful craftsmanship, according to the designer.
CBC
28-01-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
A very strange weather phenomenon has struck the Art Gallery of Burlington
The first time Brampton, Ont., artist Misbah Ahmed experienced dry thunder was in 2020. The door of her maternal grandfather's house in Islamabad, Pakistan, had blown open, and when she went closer, she saw lightning streaking the sky and heard the quiet rumble of thunder — but no rain. During dry thunderstorms, rain evaporates before it can reach the ground. And with temperatures rising and a drier atmosphere, the storms could happen more often and increase the risk of wildfires. The phenomenon is the inspiration for Dry Thunder, Ahmed's first institutional solo exhibit, at the Art Gallery of Burlington in Ontario. A mix of paintings and ceramics, it explores the Pakistani-born artist's South Asian heritage. When AGB artistic director Suzanne Carte invited Sarah Edo to curate an exhibition, the Toronto native and former Gardiner Museum curatorial resident approached Ahmed, among other artists. The pair had worked together on Edo's first exhibit — 2023's Within and Without — at Toronto's Whippersnapper Gallery. "My curatorial practice is guided by an artist's attention to materials," Edo said. "I'm also really interested in artists that work with clay as a medium for storytelling, for archiving and for exploration." Last June, Edo visited Ahmed's studio, where a painting caught her eye. It was a night scene Ahmed remembers on the rooftop of her childhood home in Islamabad. "There were intense clouds everywhere and lots of lightning — the entire night, every night, the entire summer," she said. But she didn't remember any rain. In one painting, a memory is rendered in a moody palette of blues and greens and punctuated with a striking yellow — artificial light pouring out of an open door and illuminating two people sitting on a rooftop. Below are the silhouettes of stray dogs roaming the street (Ahmed often heard their howls during storms). Above, lightning flashes across a troubled sky. Ahmed's memories are sometimes fragmented, and her paintings allow her to put them together, capturing a moment that no longer exists in the way it once did. She says she has witnessed the city change a lot between her visits, and it's jarring. Since September, Ahmed has been an artist-in-residence at the AGB, where she crafted works for the exhibit pretty much until it opened. Her oil-on-mylar paintings are now on display, portraying contemporary night scenes of Islamabad centred around her identity. And many of the scenes are of rooftops. "There's something about the rooftop that is tied to my perspective as a woman and as a kind of outsider," Ahmed said. In Pakistan, she said, she feels hypervisible as a woman in public spaces, which she noticed acutely when hanging out with cousins who live there. As someone who visits from Canada, she sometimes feels a disconnect with her homeland. She said she can wear the "right" clothes and adopt local mannerisms, but people just know she doesn't live there. "I'm left with the rooftop as a place where I can observe life and culture in Pakistan," she said. Dry Thunder also includes ceramics exploring folk tales from different regions of Pakistan. The pieces focus on stories about a magical relationship with nature and how that changes over time. One of the ceramic vessels is inspired by the markhor, a species of goat, which lives in the mountains of Pakistan and was historically considered sacred. Pakistani hunters would leave offerings for the supernatural beings, or djinns, who they believed protected the animals. "There was this custom that if you were about to kill the markhor and you had it in your sight and you saw the djinn, you would have to stop," Ahmed said. "But if there was no djinn sighting, it meant that the kill could be made and your family fed." Two intricate tigers form the handles of another vessel with a marbled glaze in hues of brown. Here, Ahmed represents the tiger's symbolic importance as people in Pakistan and throughout the Pakistani diaspora reckon with the aftermath of British colonial rule. In the 19th century, tiger hunting was a way for the British regime to assert its colonial dominance over not only the people, but also the land. Ahmed uses the tiger in her work to pay homage to her family's south Indian heritage. Her paternal grandparents were from Hyderabad, in southern India, and Mysuru (also known as Mysore), a city in southwestern India's Karnataka state. Ahmed remembers a quote from Tipu Sahib, the 16th-century sultan of the Kingdom of Mysore: "Better to live one day as a tiger than a thousand years as a sheep." Known as the Tiger of Mysore, he fought several wars against the imperialist British East India Company and was killed in battle in 1799. "The tiger, when pulled from this reference, is a symbol of continuing to resist colonial structures and colonial powers," Ahmed said.
