AXIS Curatorial

AXIS is a socially-engaged curatorial collaborative composed of Noor Alé and Claudia Mattos. In their joint curatorial practice, Alé and Mattos are committed to producing exhibitions, projects, and screenings of contemporary art that respond to the pressing social, cultural, and political conditions of our time.

Together, they curated Unfortunately, It Was Paradise (2020) at the Visual Arts Centre of Clarington, in collaboration with the Barjeel Art Foundation, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates; Durham Art Gallery; and Video Pool, Calgary; EXTRACOLONIAL: Reflections for Action (2020) at Sur Gallery, Toronto; and LAW & (DIS)ORDER (2020) and All is well on the border (2017) at Vtape, Toronto.

In late 2019, Alé and Mattos participated in the Shanghai Curators Lab, a curatorial residency program organized by the Shanghai Academy of Fine Art, Shanghai International Art City Research Institute, and Power Station of Art.

PUBLIC ART: Billboard on Shaw by Yelaine Rodriguez

April 22, 2022 - June 5, 2022

Billboard on Shaw presented by Critical Distance, featuring EBBÓ (Sacrifice): Orula, The Witness, by Yelaine Rodriguez, 2021.

This edition of the Billboard on Shaw features an image from EBBÓ (2021), a new production by Yelaine Rodriguez, commissioned by Americas Society. EBBÓ (1998) is an opera-oratorio by Cuban composer Louis Aguirre and librettist Rafael Almanza. The piece is an expression and reinvention of Afro-Caribbean religious, aesthetic, and musical heritage.

EBBÓ (Sacrifice): Orula, The Witness is curated by Noor Alé and Claudia Mattos (AXIS Curatorial) and presented in conjunction with their exhibition OF THE SACRED, a Core Program of the 2022 Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival.

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EXHIBITION: Of the Sacred

April 22, 2022 - June 4, 2022

Curated by AXIS Curatorial (Noor Alé and Claudia Mattos) and featuring Farah Al Qasimi, Kaya Joan, Bea Parsons, Yelaine Rodriguez, Whyishnave Suthagar, Of the Sacred is an exhibition that gathers a selection of artists who examine the divine through a highly personal lens, attesting to belief as a means of unearthing histories of colonialism, translocation, and individual circumstance.

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