Adrienne Crossman, an assistant professor in the School of the Arts, is the curator of (un)happy objects, a group exhibition at Artcite, an artist-run centre in Windsor. Running until November 20, the exhibition explores concepts of queer identity, race, feminism and cultural heritage through humour, pop culture and unexpected materials.

 

The exhibition takes inspiration from Sara Ahmed’s piece about happy objects, in which Ahmed analyzes how certain figures, including “unhappy queers” and “feminist killjoys,” subvert the assumed ideal of “happiness” within traditional family structures.

 

There will be a panel discussion with Crossman and the participating artists on Saturday, November 6. Go to Artcite’s website to find out more.

 

We chatted with Crossman about the exhibition and the evolution of their curatorial practice.

 

Can you tell me a little about the exhibition?

 

The show is called (un)happy objects, and it features the work of Shellie Zhang, Vida Beyer, Madelyne Beckles and Kaythi.

 

The title takes its inspiration from Sarah Ahmed’s piece about happy objects, where she shows how these “types” – like the feminist killjoy – are symbols of people who have valid concerns and problems – but because no one else wants to acknowledge them, they end of getting scapegoated as the cause of the problem. In fact, what they’re calling attention to are actually systems of oppression.

 

That writing was the inspiration for how I approached the show – working with artists who deal with subject matter related to queerness, race, migration: all things that can be difficult or not polite to talk about around the typical WASP-y dinner table.

 

All of their work is meant to spark conversation, but through really inviting means, like a hooked rug, neon lights, holographic rainbow vinyl, or videos with really bright colours.

 

They’re using aesthetic means of invitation that seem fun and then bring you into something you might not have gotten into otherwise. They’re a warmer invitation to have these conversations within that discomfort.

 

COVID delayed the show for more than a year, but you’d been working on it for even longer than that. Has the pandemic affected the show at all?

 

The show was conceptualized years before the pandemic, when I was still in grad school – I’ve been working on it for three years. It was originally supposed to have been installed in June 2020, then it got rescheduled to June 2021, then delayed again – and now we’re actually able to have it in person.

 

We launched a micro-website which is the virtual companion for folks who couldn’t come. We had funding for a publication, but when we knew the exhibition wasn’t going to be as in person as we would have liked we decided to create 100 screen-printed posters instead – something that was light and easy to mail. Folks who couldn’t be there in person still could get a piece of physical ephemera.

 

 

How would you say your curatorial practice has evolved?

 

I definitely bring a lot more confidence to curating now, because the first show I curated was only a couple of months out my undergrad. This is the second show I’ve done at an institution where there was funding – three of the shows I’ve done have been in DIY spaces, where you have an idea, you put out a call, and we all work for free because we want to bring something together.

 

In this project, we had funding for a publication, funding for a designer, full CARFAC fees for all the artists, a curatorial fee for me, a fee to write the essay and put the panel together. It feels like the most well funded and established project I have been a part of as a curator.

 

What’s been really interesting is that the Arts Council Windsor & Region and Artcite partnered on the exhibition, but for the panel we also worked with the Art Gallery of Windsor and the School of Creative Arts at the University of Windsor, so there are four partners working together.

 

What do you think would surprise people about curating?

 

So much of curatorial is administration and project management. There is part of it that’s having a vision and getting the works together and working with artists – but what people don’t see is that the work is 20 per cent creative and 80 per cent project management. It’s me liaising with the all the institutions, all the artists, the designers, the installers. For this show, I actually drove to Toronto, picked up all the work, then drove to Windsor and installed all the work.

 

It’s not charming, but it needs to be done!

 

You’re a practicing artist – how has that influenced your curatorial practice?

 

One of the artists told me I was coming at the exhibition like an artist – a little more creative and experimental, rather than from a traditional curatorial framework. Curating feels collaborative to me. I trust the artists and their process.

 

Being an artist coming into curatorial has given me a lot of flexibility, and it’s also informed the way I speak with artists – because I’m also an artist who has worked with curators.

 

One thing that was enjoyable in this show was that I got to write a curatorial essay where I had the  chance to talk about how all the works related and what my vision was. I like being able to reflect on a show and bring that vision together through other people’s work.

 

What are you hoping people take away from the exhibition?

 

A poster! You can order one on the microsite.

 

Seriously, though – Artcite has had a history of mostly showing white artists, and while they’ve shifted their programming and made a commitment now to showing BIPOC artists, that hasn’t always been the case.

 

I hope that people who see the show realize that there’s more out there in terms of artists, and more to think about – art can defy expectations in certain ways. People sometimes just think of art as paintings on a wall, and have a limited view of what it can do. I want to expand their view about what art can be.