Credit: Desmond Tompkins, Lover Boys (detail), 2023, collage print.
Pass the Mic!
Experience a variety of art created by people who find themselves typically outside the mainstream art world.
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Free
Pass the Mic! privileges art created by people who find themselves typically outside the mainstream art world. Artists include those who identify as, but are not limited to, Indigenous, Black, Persons of Colour, non-white, persons with disabilities, of any gender, of any sexuality, of any level of mental wellness, and as members of any other minoritized or marginalized community. Local artists within these communities are given the microphone to express and share their stories through a visual or written form. They range from personal narratives to stories from a loved one whom they believe deserves the spotlight.
Responding to an open call issued by the Semiahmoo Arts Centre, artists selected for the exhibition work in a variety of media, including paintings, mixed media, writing, and performance. Themes range from personal experience to critiques of current societal and political issues. Some artists choose to focus on regional topics, such as local painter Hang Shu’s loving watercolour rendition of Grandview Heights Secondary School. Others take a deeper, more personal approach, such as Desmond Tompkins collage print Lover Boys (seen above).
Pass the Mic! will be temporarily de-installed from January 2 to January 9, 2025, while the Surrey Arts Centre is repainted. After it is reinstalled, the exhibition will continue on to February 9, 2025.
About Semiahmoo Arts Society
Semiahmoo Arts Society (SAS) is an umbrella organization dedicated to supporting the arts community in White Rock and South Surrey. SAS has been operating arts education programs since their formation in 1970. This focus has increased since they were offered the opportunity to run the Arts Wing at the South Surrey Recreation and Arts Centre in 2014. All their education programs are taught by practicing artists with instructional background. Over the past year, they have added to their programming with Community Outreach and low-barrier activities, supporting a diversity of underserved individuals and families to engage through arts and culture.
Origin of exhibition: Semiahmoo Arts Society