I AM YOUR RELATIVE
Open Call Submissions
Jeffrey Gibson, a Member of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians and Half Cherokee is an interdisciplinary artist based in Hudson, New York. His artworks make reference to various aesthetic and material histories rooted in the Indigenous cultures of the Americas and in modern and contemporary subcultures. He is known for creating visually rich paintings and sculptures that mix materials, saturated colours, patterns, images, and text to celebrate and amplify the voices of individuals and communities both past and present.
This exhibition I AM YOUR RELATIVE is a site-specific project, co-commissioned by MOCA and the Toronto Biennial of Art. The brightly coloured stages are adorned with posters, textiles, and stickers designed by Gibson with support from hist. These words and images, drawn from artworks and texts he has created in the past decade, celebrate Indigenous individuals, forms, aesthetics, and materials.
I AM YOUR RELATIVE is an exhibition geared towards presenting underrepresented narratives and uplifting historically silenced voices. With this, Gibson asked the public to submit a snapshot of their story through a submission of digitally rendered visual media.
The purpose of this Open Call is to collect images which represent individual perspectives, experiences, and narratives, thus creating a collaborative representation of the many stories that have gone unsaid and untold.
While this digital collection does not begin to scratch the surface of the untold narratives experienced through North American history, we hope that it creates a safe space to share experiences.
Housed alongside these Open Call submissions is a temporary library of locally acquired and donated children’s books. This visual archive, which prioritizes Indigenous, Black, Brown, and queer voices, speaks to strategies of storytelling and place-making and to what histories are remembered and how.
158 Sterling Rd.
Toronto ON Canada
M6R 2B7
Charitable Registration
No. 87891 4118 RR0001
