CC&GG Voices

Museums and art galleries have historically underrepresented non-male, non-white and LGBTQ2IA+ artists. In attempts to remediate this inequity, these same cultural institutions are altering and expanding their collections management policies and mandates, toward diversifying their permanent collections and exhibition programming.

With the Voices exhibition, the Canadian Clay and Glass gallery invites us to look at the elements which make up our identities, and listen to voices of thirty-five artists from across Canada. Alongside them are five artworks taken from the CC&GG Permanent Collection. Also included is the product of a ceramic plate-making project developed to illustrate the community’s views on diversity, equity, and inclusion. These dishes were given a special space in the gallery, accompanied by a drawing activity for children to draw their own designs.

Walking through the exhibit felt like flipping through the diaries of it’s artists. Each artwork could be read individually, exposing the glories and challenges of personal identities. Harmoniously, when looked at as a whole, a snapshot of Canada’s diversity is unveiled. I was most impacted by the depiction of the human life-cycle. A piece relating to motherhood, transitions into one highlighting childhood, placed next to a work speaking to experiences of sexual identity.

Overall, this exhibition is a gathering of “voices” that are representative of the Kitchener-Waterloo Region and the greater Canadian landscape.