Worldings + Future Worldings
The hub for all things Worldings and Future Worldings. On this page you will text, photos and video documentation from the multi-year project consisting of cross cultural exchange, international artist residencies, workshops, exhibitions and a conference.
March 2021 - September 2024
Table of Contents
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Item description
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2021 - 4 Months
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May 29 - September 4, 2021
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NIROX + Xwalacktan
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Item description
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Griffin Art Projects + Similkameen Art Residency (All 6 Artists)
Future Worldings cohort at Similkameen Artist Residency with residency coordinator, Alexandra Bischoff
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Emily Carr University
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Description text goes here
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TEXT HERE
Jillian Ross
(February, 2021)
Master Printer Jillian Ross (right) with printers Chad Cordeiro (left) and Sbongiseni Khulu (centre);the core collaborative team for William Kentridge’s Triumphs and Laments Woodcuts series (2016 – 2020) published by David Krut Workshop.Photograph by Richard Kilpert at the Centre of Arts Education, Zeitz MOCAA, Cape Town, December 2019. Courtesy of artist.Artist talk given by jillian during her Griffin Art Projects Residency.Worldings Digital Residency
(2021)
Griffin Art Projects participates in an international residency exchange in partnership with the Bag Factory in Johannesburg, South Africa to taking place in August and September 2021.
This residency opportunity will connect Canadian artists with South African-based artists Pebofatso Mokoena, Lebogang Mogul Mabusela, and Wezile Mgibe over the course of an intensive two-month creation period.
During the time artists had the opportunity to meet virtually, build a relationship and engage in critical dialogue fostered through scheduled studio visits and discussion sessions, and to think through de-colonial futures together. This program will culminate in a live virtual open studio session featuring the artists in conversation over Zoom.
Meet the Residents
Xwalacktun
Master Squamish and Kwakwaka'wakw sculptor and carver
Nura Ali
Visual artist, community organizer and social activist, living and working in Calgary, Alberta
Lebogang Mogul Mabusela
Multidisciplinary artist and a self-proclaimed monotypebabe and zinequeen based in Johannesburg
Sun Forest*
First-generation Korean Canadian artist working across sculpture, video, performance, and new media
Wezile Mgibe
Art practitioner whose interdisciplinary practice encompasses performance, film, installation as a tool for social change
Pebofatso Mokoena
Interdisciplinary artist working at the intersection of painting, architecture, and personal narratives
*Formerly Josephine Lee
Drawing from private collections in Western Canada as well as a selection of previous works, including the decades long film cycle, Drawings for Projections (1989 – 2020), this exhibition also features new works from the Kentridge Studio, South Africa produced during 2020’s global pandemic. William Kentridge: The Colander explores the critique of political structures in Kentridge’s printmaking and filmmaking—looking at the layered, kinetic and collaged nature of his formal working processes, to investigate the porousness and vulnerability of artmaking and life—as well as the processes of the studio in his 2020-2021 series, Studio Life
William Kentridge: The Colander
May 29 - September, 2021
Curated by Lisa Baldissera
William Kentridge, Triumphs and Laments Woodcuts: Refugees (1 God’s Opinion is Unknown; 2 Leaning on Air), 2018-2019.
Worldings: A virtual conference July, 2021
4. Future Worldings International Residency - South Africa
May 26th to June 30th, 2024
Griffin Art Projects is thrilled to announce the participation of esteemed artist Xwalacktun in a two-part residency in Johannesburg, South Africa, as part of the Future Worldings exchange! This residency will take place from May 26 - June 30, 2024 and is produced in collaboration with the Bag Factory, Johannesburg, and NIROX Residency and Sculpture Park, and is coordinated by guest curator Usha Seejarim and artist Kate Swart.
During his five-week residency in South Africa, Xwalacktun visited key Johannesburg sites, including the Constitution Hill Prison and Courthouse, the Credo Mutuwa Cultural Village and the site of Latitudes Art Fair. He met with students from the printmaking centre Artist Proof Studio, with renowned sculptor and conceptual artist Willem Boschof and with eminent South African artist William Kentridge, among other local artists, curators, academics and gallerists. Facilitated by artist Collen Maswanganyi, Xwalacktun also toured the Limpopo region, where he met with Master Carvers Johannes Maswanganyi and Dr Noria Mabasa. At NIROX, Xwalacktun participated in a ten-day woodcarving workshop titled “Carving X Two” alongside artists Dada Khanyisa, Collen Maswanganyi, Johan Moolman, Simon Moshapo Junior, John Nkhoma, Usen Obot and Ben Tuge.
5. Relief (Exhibition)
June 29 to September 2, 2024
The conclusion of esteemed artist Xwalacktun NIROX residency, culminated in the exhibition Relief, presented at the Villa-Legodi Centre for Sculpture curated by Sven Christian.
6. Future Worldings International Residency - Canada
May 25th to June 30th, 2024
Griffin Art Projects is thrilled to announce the participation of esteemed artist Xwalacktun in a two-part residency in Johannesburg, South Africa, as part of the Future Worldings exchange! This residency will take place from May 26 - June 30, 2024 and is produced in collaboration with the Bag Factory, Johannesburg, and NIROX Residency and Sculpture Park, and is coordinated by guest curator Usha Seejarim and artist Kate Swart. During his five-week residency, Xwalacktun will visit key Johannesburg and South African sites and meet artists, curators, academics and gallerists.
Meet the Residents
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Xwalacktun
Master Squamish and Kwakwaka'wakw sculptor and carver
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Lebogang Mogul Mabusela
Multidisciplinary artist and a self-proclaimed monotypebabe and zinequeen based in Johannesburg
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Wezile Mgibe
Art practitioner whose interdisciplinary practice encompasses performance, film, installation as a tool for social change
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Nura Ali
Visual artist, community organizer and social activist, living and working in Calgary, Alberta
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Sun Forest
First-generation Korean Canadian artist working across sculptural materials, video, performance, and new media
Learn More -
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Pebofatso Mokoena
Interdisciplinary artist working at the intersection of painting, architecture, and personal narratives
Meet the Curators
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Lisa Baldissera
FOUNDER
With a vision for building something meaningful, our founder brings a blend of big-picture thinking and hands-on experience.
They set the tone for everything we do. -
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Karen Tam
SALES MANAGER
Focused, approachable, and driven by results, our sales manager is all about building strong relationships. They help connect people to the right solutions—with clarity and care. -
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Eleanor Parks
MARKETING DIRECTOR
Creative and strategic in equal measure, our marketing director brings fresh ideas to every campaign. They turn insights into action and help our message resonate with the right audience.
Future Worldings International Residency - Canada
Photo Recap
7. Future Worldings Conference
May 25th to June 30th, 2024
Organized by the Aboriginal Gathering Place + Jake Kerr Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research at Emily Carr University, UBC Institute for Gender, Race, Sexuality and Social Justice, and Griffin Art Projects, the Future Worldings Conference considers approaches to shared “worldmaking,” employing a collective and collaborative methodology that arises from the contributions of partners, presenters and audience members.
The Future Worldings conference provides a forum to work alongside and with one another to articulate and reflect on our shared relations to the unfolding concerns of thinking through decolonial futures together. Future Worldings also considers how it may be possible to retain the specificities of site, body, history, access and cultural understandings in order to “world” together.
Conference Booklet
Video Replay
8. Future Worldings Performance
May 25th to June 30th, 2024
Griffin Art Projects is thrilled to announce the participation of esteemed artist Xwalacktun in a two-part residency in Johannesburg, South Africa, as part of the Future Worldings exchange! This residency will take place from May 26 - June 30, 2024 and is produced in collaboration with the Bag Factory, Johannesburg, and NIROX Residency and Sculpture Park, and is coordinated by guest curator Usha Seejarim and artist Kate Swart. During his five-week residency, Xwalacktun will visit key Johannesburg and South African sites and meet artists, curators, academics and gallerists.
7. Future Worldings - Exhibition
May 25th to June 30th, 2024
Griffin Art Projects is thrilled to announce the participation of esteemed artist Xwalacktun in a two-part residency in Johannesburg, South Africa, as part of the Future Worldings exchange! This residency will take place from May 26 - June 30, 2024 and is produced in collaboration with the Bag Factory, Johannesburg, and NIROX Residency and Sculpture Park, and is coordinated by guest curator Usha Seejarim and artist Kate Swart. During his five-week residency, Xwalacktun will visit key Johannesburg and South African sites and meet artists, curators, academics and gallerists.
Virtual Exhibition Walkthrough
Exhibition Documentation
We thank our funders
Canada Council International Exchange
BC Council - Xwalacktun SA Res
West Vancouver