2018 Melissa Levin Emerging Artist Award

I am honoured and delighted to be one of two recipients of the 2018 Melissa Levin Emerging Artist Award juried by the Textile Museum of Canada. This museum is a favourite of mine and with this award, I will be researching their collection of South Asian garments, textiles and fibre collections. Stay tuned for a public presentation on my work at the museum in Spring 2019 alongside Catherine Blackburn, the other recipient of this award.

_________

From the Textile Museum of Canada Press Release:

The Textile Museum of Canada is pleased to announce the winners of the 2018 Melissa Levin Emerging Artist Award - Catherine Blackburn and Meera Sethi.

“We are so pleased to be announcing Catherine and Meera as our 2018 Melissa Levin Emerging Artist Award Winners. This award allows us to foster the potential of artists at a critical stage of their careers and we look forward to supporting their growth over the next year. We are honoured to be continuing Melissa’s legacy as a mentor and artist.”

- Sarah Quinton, Curatorial Director

Now in it’s second year, The Melissa Levin Emerging Artist Award helps emerging artists conduct self-directed activities such as art production, apprenticeships, residencies, and research. The Textile Museum of Canada supports the applicant’s customized program of research and access to the Museum’s library, exhibitions, and permanent collection. The award is in memory and honour of Melissa Levin (1958-2015), an artist, mentor, and teacher whose career as a textile and costume designer was synonymous with her exuberant love of colour and pattern.About Melissa Levin

Melissa Levin (1958-2015) was an artist, mentor and teacher whose career as a textile and costume designer was synonymous with her exuberant love of colour and pattern. This award was established in honour of Melissa’s passion for mentoring emerging artists, with generous donations made by family, friends and communities. www.melissalevinartist.com

The Textile Museum of Canada is the only museum in Canada that explores ideas and builds cultural understanding through the universally relevant media of textiles. Located in the heart of downtown Toronto, the Museum’s permanent collection spans nearly 2,000 years and consists of more than 15,000 artifacts.

The Textile Museum of Canada is a non-profit cultural and internationally renowned educational institution, which marked its 40th anniversary in 2015. A leader in the digitization of collections and interactive environments, the Museum has been recognized the world over for innovation in the development of landmark educational, research, and creative initiatives.

Open seven days a week, the Museum is located steps from the St. Patrick subway station and just a few blocks from Toronto City Hall and the Art Gallery of Ontario. The Museum Shop specializes in textile related merchandise including books and toys and globally sourced artist-designed and artist-made products such as scarves and jewelry. More information about the Museum and its exhibitions can be found online at textilemuseum.ca.

For more information, please see the full press release.

First Place Quest Art 2018 TD Thor Wealth Management Art Prize

I am thrilled to share that my painting Poonam Aunty from the Upping the Aunty series has won first place in the Quest Art 2018 TD Thor Wealth Management Art Prize! It was an honour to be selected for this work in particular. Read more about the prize. The work will be up as part of a two-month prize exhibition at Quest Art in Midland, Ontario, Canada.

Begum: New Paintings / Solo November 23-29, 2017, Toronto

Please join me for a solo exhibition of my new series of paintings: BEGUM from November 23 - November 29, 2017 at The Freedom Factory in Toronto.

Details:

BEGUM by Meera Sethi
November 23 - November 29, 2017
*ONE WEEK ONLY*

at The Freedom Factory
22 Dovercourt Road (just South of Queen St. West), Toronto, Canada
Gallery hours: 12 noon - 6pm daily or by appointment

The venue is partially accessible. Please see details on the Facebook event page.

OPENING RECEPTION: Thursday, November 23, 6 - 9 pm
Music by DJ Zehra. Performances by Hasheel.

BEGUM (Hindi for "queen") is a new series of paintings celebrating queer masculinities through an exploration of mixed media embellishments on canvas.

This exhibition is made possible with the assistance of an Ontario Arts Council Exhibition Assistance Grant. Thank you OAC!

Ramvati Aunty moves into the ROM

Ramvati Aunty from Upping the Aunty, my recent series of painting, has been acquired by the Royal Ontario Museum as a part of their permanent collection. This is a remarkable occasion for me as it is the first time my work is part of a public collection in Canada.

For ROM Senior Curator, Dr. Deepali Dewan, Ramvati Aunty engages in visual dialogue with other aspects of the ROM collection, especially original embellished Ravi Varma lithographs from the early 20th century, and may be displayed alongside them at a future time. These very lithographs inspired the Upping The Aunty series, making this an interesting pairing.

NYU A/P/A Institute Artist Talk

On November 16, 2016 I was invited to participate in a public conversation at New York University entitled “Fashion Diaspora” with artist Ayqa Khan, academic and author of Fashioning Diaspora: Beauty, Feminity, and South Asia American Culture (Temple UP, 2016) Vanita Reddy, academic Sharon Heijin Lee, academic and author of The Beautiful Generation: Asian Americans and the Cultural Economy of Fashion (Duke UP, 2011)Thuy Linh Tu, and myself. It was an engaging post-Trump evening of sharing artwork, research and ideas on the ways in which we can look to fashion as a way of understanding diaspora. We had a full house and a lively discussion. You can watch a recording of the entire evenings proceedings and see photos from the event. A very special thank you to The Asian/Pacific/American Institute at NYU for the opportunity to share my work in New York.