Jamelie Hassan (born 1948) is a Canadian multidisciplinary artist, lecturer, writer and independent curator.
Early life and education
Hassan was born in
London, Ontario
London (pronounced ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River, approximate ...
, to a Lebanese immigrant family and grew up in an
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
speaking household with ten siblings. Her maternal grandfather and her father travelled from mountain villages in Lebanon to North America in the early 1900s, fleeing Turkish military conscription and
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
.
After completing her high school studies, Hassan travelled to Rome in 1967 and to
Beirut
Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...
in 1968, where she studied at the Academy of Fine Arts, Rome and then the Académie libanaise des beaux-arts, Beirut. This trip to Lebanon confirmed her Lebanese cultural background. Upon her return to Canada, she established an artist's studio and became active in the cultural community of London, Ontario. She sold her first work of art in 1971.
Hassan is a Graduate of the University of Windsor in
Windsor, Ontario
Windsor is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, on the south bank of the Detroit River directly across from Detroit, Michigan, United States. Geographically located within but administratively independent of Essex County, it is the southe ...
. In 1978–79, she travelled to
Baghdad
Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon. I ...
, Iraq, and studied Arabic at
Al-Mustansiriya University
Mustansiriyah University (Arabic: الجامعة المستنصرية) is a university in Baghdad, Iraq.
History
The original Mustansiriya Madrasah was established in 1227 (or 1232/34 A.D. by some accounts) by the Abbasid Caliph Al-Mustansir ...
. Extensive travel continues to enrich her work, which often reflects this artist's respect for popular, traditional and indigenous art forms.
Themes
In 1976–1977, Hassan was politicized by encountering postcolonial cultures during her travels in Central and South America. Hassan started exhibiting ceramics or
fiberglass
Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass ( Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass clo ...
objects called 'actualizations'.
Her installation-based art practice spans over thirty years and is both personal and political. It addresses worldwide concerns on racism, the subjection of women, cultural interactions, colonialism and political conflicts. Hassan often works with traditional or contemporary cultural artifacts, to make cross-cultural references, such as cultural displacement, Argentinian dictatorship (''Los Desaparecidos'', 1981), or the narratives of intersecting cultures (''Boutros Al Armenian / Mediterranean Modern'', 1997).
A survey exhibition in 2009 at
Museum London
Museum London is an art and history museum located in London, Ontario, Canada. It is located near the forks of the Thames River. It started its operations in 1940 with London Public Library and amalgamated with London Regional Art Gallery and Lon ...
in London Ontario, combined elements of photography, text, ceramics, neon light and video to tie in language and the politics of place that connects Hassan as a Canadian artist to her Arabic background.
In 1983, Hassan co-founded the London artist cooperative, Embassy Cultural House, serving on its board from 1985 to 1990.
Projects and collaborations
Among the projects in which Hassan has taken part are:
* curating the Havana/London Exchange in 1988
* ''Indian Summer'', an exhibition shown in several locations in London and Brantford in 1990.
* a collaborative bookwork titled ''Jamelie-Jamila Project'' with Jamila Ismail in 1992.
* ''Trespassers and Captives'' in 1999, an examination of colonialism through the collections of the historic Eldon House in London, Ontario, that included an interdisciplinary writing project published as its catalogue.
* Pasiechnik, Jenelle M. Embodied Engagements: The Artwork of Jamelie Hassan & Soheila Esfahani in Translations, Exhibition catalogue, Campbell River Art Gallery, Campbell River, BC. 2020
Major exhibitions
Selected solo exhibitions
* ''Jamelie Hassan'' (2013),
Wilfrid Laurier University
Wilfrid Laurier University (commonly referred to as WLU or simply Laurier) is a public university in Ontario, Canada, with campuses in Waterloo, Brantford and Milton. The newer Brantford and Milton campuses are not considered satellite campuses ...
, Waterloo, ON, curated by Suzanne Luke.
* ''Re-enacting Resistance'' (2012),
Art Gallery of Windsor
Art Windsor-Essex (AWE) (formerly known as the Art Gallery of Windsor) is a not-for-profit art institute in Windsor, Ontario, Canada.
Established in 1943, the gallery has a mandate as a public art space to show significant works of art by local ...
, Windsor, Ontario, curated by Srimoyee Mitra
* ''Jamelie Hassan: At the Far Edge of Words'', survey exhibition (2009–2013), curated by
Melanie Townsend
Melanie Townsend (1968 - December 19, 2018, London, Ontario, Canada) was a Canadian curator and writer on contemporary art, Head of Exhibitions at Museum London, and President of the Ontario Association of Art Galleries.
Biography
Townsend was ...
,
Museum London
Museum London is an art and history museum located in London, Ontario, Canada. It is located near the forks of the Thames River. It started its operations in 1940 with London Public Library and amalgamated with London Regional Art Gallery and Lon ...
, London, Ontario, and Scott Watson, Morris & Helen Belkin Art Gallery,
University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks among the top thre ...
, Vancouver, British Columbia; travelled to the
University of Lethbridge
, mottoeng = '' Let there be light''
, type = Public
, established =
, academic_affiliations = Universities Canada
, endowment = $73 million (2019)
, chancellor = Charles Wease ...
Art Gallery, Lethbridge, Alberta; Dalhousie University Art Gallery, Halifax, Nova Scotia;
Carleton University
Carleton University is an English-language public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to serve returning Wo ...
Art Gallery, Ottawa, Ontario; MOCCA, Toronto, Ontario; publication Museum London and Belkin Art Gallery
* ''The Films of Jamelie Hassan'', a film program curated by Miriam Jordan and Julian Jason Haladyn, Museum London and the Film Department of the University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario.
*''King’s Kian: In & Out of Place (2007)'', King's University College, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario
*''Smurfistan (2004)'', La Chambre Blanche, Québec City, Quebec
*''Sister Speak to Me, A Tribute to Zahra Kazemi'', organized event including premiere screening of film (collaborative documentary film produced with Tyson Haller) and forum, London Public Library, London, Ontario
*Caribbean Books (2002), exhibition (collaboration with Richard Bolai), Caribbean Contemporary Arts, Port of Spain, Trinidad
*''L’espace de l’alphabet (2000)'', with performance by Jim Drobnick, Oboro Gallery, Montreal, Quebec
*''Trespassers & Captives (1999)'', artist in residence, Eldon House & London Regional Art & Historical Museums, London, Ontario with catalogue
*''Aldin’s Gift (1996)'', Art Gallery of York University, North York, ON; Art Gallery of Windsor and Boutros Al Armenian/Mediterranean Modern, 2381 Windermere, Windsor, Ontario (1997); Publication /978-0921972174
*''In the Realm of Freedom'' (1996), YYZ Gallery, Toronto, Ontario
*''Seek Knowledge Even Onto China'' (1995), Artspeak Gallery, Vancouver, British Columbia
*''Si-murgh et La Montagne du Lotus'', ''Chine (1993)'', La Chambre Blanche, Québec City, Quebec
*''The Conference of the Birds'' (1992), Or Gallery, Vancouver, British Columbia
*''Two Women in One'' (1991),
Presentation House Gallery
The Polygon Gallery (formerly known as the Presentation House Gallery) is an art gallery in North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atla ...
, Vancouver, British Columbia Publication: ''The Jamila Jamelie Project'' (a collaboration and bookwork with writer/performer Jamila Ismail) (published 1992)
*''Inscription'' (1990), Dunlop Art Gallery, Regina, Saskatchewan; Publication text by Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak
*''vitrine 448'' (1988), Mercer Union Gallery, Toronto, Ontario
*''Primer for War'' (1985), Mount St. Vincent University Gallery, Halifax, Nova Scotia
Selected group exhibitions
*''Embodiment'' (2017–2018), Museum London, London, Ontario
*''From the Vaults: Recent Acquisitions'' (2017–2018), Museum London, London, Ontario
*''Carry Forward'' (2017–2018), Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery, Kitchener, Ontario. Curated by Lisa Myers, touring to Rodman Hall Art Centre, St. Catharine's, Ontario and Dunlop Art Gallery, Regina, Saskatchewan
*''Deconstructing Comfort, Open Space'' (2017), Victoria, British Columbia, curated by Michelle Jacques, France Trepanier and Doug Jarvis
*''What is left? What is Right? (2017)'' Forest City Gallery, London, Ontario, curated by Christina Battle and Jenna Faye Powell
*''Cold Front'' (2017), McIntosh Gallery, Western University, London, Ontario
*''Geopoetics'' (2017), Stewart Hall, Point-Claire, Quebec, curated by Kasia Basta
*''Here: Locating Contemporary Canadian Artist'' (2017),
Aga Khan Museum
The Aga Khan Museum (french: Musée Aga Khan) is a museum of Islamic art, Iranian (Persian) art and Muslim culture located at 77 Wynford Drive in the North York district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The museum is dedicated to Islamic art and ob ...
Art Gallery of Ontario
The Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO; french: Musée des beaux-arts de l'Ontario) is an art museum in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The museum is located in the Grange Park neighbourhood of downtown Toronto, on Dundas Street West between McCaul and Bev ...
, Toronto, Ontario, curated by Wanda Nanibush
*''Uncovering Artists' Books, survey exhibition (2016–2017)'', Grimsby Public Art Gallery, Grimsby, Ontario, School of Art Gallery,
University of Manitoba
The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a Canadian public research university in the province of Manitoba. *''The World is a Garden: Ron Benner & Jamelie Hassan'' (2013), La Biblioteca Andrés Henestrosa, Oaxaca, Mexico, curator Freddy Aguilar, with some works installed in the courtyard of this restored colonial site which was converted to a library and exhibition space.
*''A Circle of Friends: The Doreen Curry Collection (2013),'' McIntosh Gallery, Western University, London, Ontari *''In Order to Join'' (2013–2015), Museum Abteiberg, Monchengladbach, Germany, and Goethe-Institut, Mumbai, India, curated by Swapnaa Tamhane and Susanne Titz
*''Magic Squares: The Patterned Imagination of Muslim Africa in Contemporary Culture'' (2011), Textile Museum of Canada, Toronto, Ontario
*''Location-Dislocation'' (2011), Jackman Humanities Institute,
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 ...
, Toronto, Ontario
*Where will you be in eternity? Assemblage/Series (2011), Thielsen Gallery, London, Ontario
*Conflict Resolution site installation for LOLA (2011), in
Victoria Park Victoria Park may refer to:
Places Australia
* Victoria Park Nature Reserve, a protected area in Northern Rivers region, New South Wales
* Victoria Park, Adelaide, a park and racecourse
* Victoria Park, Brisbane, a public park and former golf ...
, London, Ontario
*''A(l)lure of the Local'' (2010), Museum London, London, ON
Awards and recognition
In 2001, Hassan received a Governor General's Award in Visual and Media Arts in recognition of her artistic achievement. Her activism, curatorial work and contributions to the artist-run centre movement in Canada were also mentioned by the jury in their statement.
In 2018,
OCAD University
Ontario College of Art & Design University, commonly known as OCAD University or OCAD, is a public art university located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The university's main campus is spread throughout several buildings and facilities within d ...
, Toronto conferred honorary doctorate degrees upon four prominent Canadians: visual artist Jamelie Hassan, fashion journalist
Jeanne Beker
Jeanne Beker, (; born 19 March 1952) is a Canadian television personality, fashion editor, and author.
Family
Jeanne Beker was born in Toronto, Ontario to father Joseph Beker and mother Bronia Beker, two Jewish Holocaust survivors born in Ko ...
Baycrest Health Sciences
Baycrest Health Sciences is a research and teaching hospital for the elderly in the North York district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is fully affiliated with the University of Toronto. Baycrest was originally founded in 1918 as the Toronto J ...
.
Further reading
*"The Lands Within Me: Expressions by Canadian Artist of Arab Origin." Canadian Museum of Civilization Publication, 2003.
National Gallery of Canada
The National Gallery of Canada (french: Musée des beaux-arts du Canada), located in the capital city of Ottawa, Ontario, is Canada's national art museum. The museum's building takes up , with of space used for exhibiting art. It is one of the ...