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Merray Gerges

Merray Gerges writes around art rather than about it. She studied art history at NSCAD and journalism at King’s in Halifax, where she co-founded and co-edited CRIT, a free biannual criticism publication. Her reporting and criticism have appeared in Canadian ArtC MagazineMOMUS, Hyperallergic and more, addressing issues ranging from the radical potential (and shortcomings) of intersectional feminist memes and art selfies, to art-world race politics. At Canadian Art, she was editorial resident in 2016, and assistant editor from 2017 to 2019. She's currently the editorial fellow at C Magazine.
I Need to Know Where I’m Standing

I Need to Know Where I’m Standing

Following her Sobey win, a conversation with Kapwani Kiwanga on audiences, critique strategies and when critics get it wrong

The Dirty Work of Repatriation

The Dirty Work of Repatriation

In her new Quebec exhibition, Kapwani Kiwanga asks viewers to return soil from where it was taken—a “gesture of reparation,” the curator calls it. But what is the work really doing?

How to Get Over Your Homesickness

How to Get Over Your Homesickness

Spoiler alert: you won’t. But Nadia Gohar’s exhibition “Foundation Deposits” makes an earnest attempt

When Allyship Breaks Down

When Allyship Breaks Down

Aruna D'Souza's forthcoming book Whitewalling: Art, Race & Protest in 3 Acts reviews three incidents in the long and troubled relationship between race and the art world.

In the Studio with Lido Pimienta

In the Studio with Lido Pimienta

Since her Polaris Prize win last year, Lido Pimienta’s music profile has soared. Less known, however, is her making of art textiles, paintings and prints

So What If Art Selfies Are Narcissistic?

So What If Art Selfies Are Narcissistic?

As a big Yayoi Kusama show opens in Toronto, selfie-shaming is also in the air. But the fact is, selfies are vital to situating people of colour within largely white art institutions

In the Studio with Sameer Farooq

In the Studio with Sameer Farooq

Building museums of found objects and casting packing materials in porcelain, Farooq questions how citizens are told to think about their pasts

Suzy Lake Censored at Chinese Photo Festival

Suzy Lake Censored at Chinese Photo Festival

After several rounds of preliminary government vetting, Chinese officials pulled the Toronto artist's works at the eleventh hour

In the Studio with Michèle Pearson Clarke

In the Studio with Michèle Pearson Clarke

This Toronto-based artist’s photo and video works ask what it means to make Black people visually knowable

Forms of Repair
Remembering Teto Elsiddique

Remembering Teto Elsiddique

Friends and colleagues remember a talented artist who died suddenly this fall, just as his work was garnering increasing acclaim.

White Supremacists Target Anti-Monument Performance

White Supremacists Target Anti-Monument Performance

White supremacists recently made an appearance at Life of a Craphead's Toronto performance.

The Pictures Change, But the Myths Persist

The Pictures Change, But the Myths Persist

A new exhibition featuring archival American news photos of Canada illustrates how so many of the country's central myths remain unchanged.

In the Studio with Deanna Bowen

In the Studio with Deanna Bowen

Toronto artist and Guggenheim fellow Deanna Bowen takes us into her studio—sharing family photographs, archival research and a pair of meticulously recreated KKK robes

How Radical Can a Film Festival Be?

How Radical Can a Film Festival Be?

On the 30th anniversary of Images, Toronto’s first experimental film festival, its director wonders if identity and formalism must be mutually exclusive.

In the Studio with Patrick Cruz

In the Studio with Patrick Cruz

Patrick Cruz studied painting, but it was his time at clown school that encouraged him to embrace intuition in his art.

Shirin Neshat on Exile and Feminism

Shirin Neshat on Exile and Feminism

In a recent Canadian talk, the exiled Iranian artist Shirin Neshat took on Trump, feminism, the art world's shortcomings and more.

A Surrealist Film, Written by Children

A Surrealist Film, Written by Children

Merray Gerges interviews Joële Walinga, director of Cave Small Cave Big, a surrealist short film written and designed by two five-year-old girls.

Xenofeminism and New Tactics for the Left

Xenofeminism and New Tactics for the Left

An open-ended, multi-voiced, online manifesto repositions feminism, technology and the political left.

Isaac Julien: On Political Expediency

Isaac Julien: On Political Expediency

UK artist and filmmaker Isaac Julien is in Toronto to revive two older works at the ROM—ones that feel uncannily relevant to current politics. Merray Gerges interviews.

Art in 2016: A View from Toronto

Art in 2016: A View from Toronto

This year, art in Toronto has been defined by links—both failed and successful—between online and IRL exhibitions, and between politics and culture.

The Aesthetics of Senselessness

The Aesthetics of Senselessness

After the US election, what does contemporary art look like? A contemplation at La Biennale de Montreal, the day of Trump’s victory.

Duane Linklater Imagines Indigenous Futures

Duane Linklater Imagines Indigenous Futures

Artist Duane Linklater includes work by his grandmother, Ethel, and son, Tobias, in a Toronto show that spans generations and geographies.

Can the White Cube Ever Be a Nightclub?

Can the White Cube Ever Be a Nightclub?

Many museums and galleries have been holding nightclub-style events in an attempt to win new audiences. This transformation is tough, Merray Gerges writes.

Notes Towards an In(con)clusive Identity Politics

Notes Towards an In(con)clusive Identity Politics

How can you ever be yourself in the art world when your self is a neocolonial commodity?

#BlackLivesCDNSyllabus Uncovers A Vital Archive

#BlackLivesCDNSyllabus Uncovers A Vital Archive

#BlackLivesCDNSyllabus, a crowdsourced anti-oppression project, has some great reads from old art mags. What is its impact in the art world and beyond?

Slut Island: Montreal’s Queer Feminist DIY Haven

Slut Island: Montreal’s Queer Feminist DIY Haven

Founded in 2013, Slut Island pushes back against music-festival mainstream. Here, festival co-founder Ethel Eugene shares thoughts on this week's launch.

GothShakira: High Priestess of Dank Feminist Memery

GothShakira: High Priestess of Dank Feminist Memery

GothShakira's Instagram shares relatable narratives, lamenting misogynist men, referencing bell hooks and flaunting her astrology expertise.

What’s Your Flavour? On Being a Critic of Colour in February

What’s Your Flavour? On Being a Critic of Colour in February

Is it advisable for a critic of colour to take Black History Month to task—especially when asked to do so by white editors? Merray Gerges reflects.

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