Author: tempadmin

Shion Skye Carter — in the wake of a sleeping machine (vol. 1)

Morrow | 910 Richards Street, Suite 204
Sept 4 – 7, 2025

in the wake of a sleeping machine is an ensemble work researching the relationship between collective movement patterns, light, colour, and interactive soft sculptures to architect, refract, and transform space and time. Expressing the vitality of community connection that challenges the consumption-driven, individualist system we are embedded in, this performance takes an abstract approach to explore how a community can work together to respond to change, adapt, and continue moving forward.

The image begins with a rhythmic ensemble, a conjoined globular form; each body a cog in a machine, unaware of their dependence on one another. They’ve moved this way for years; the light is just now illuminating this static machine. One cog breaks out, shattering the cluster. In its ruin, each piece gains sentience.

in the wake of a sleeping machine opens 7pm on Thursday, September 4th at Morrow, 910 Richards Street, Suite 204. Tickets, showtimes, more information about the venue can be found here:

TICKETS Here

Choreography
Shion Skye Carter

Performers
Kaya Tsurumi, danielle Mackenzie Long, Shana Wolfe, Kayla DeVos

Lighting Design
Andie Lloyd

Original music
Sapphire Haze

Outside eye
Erika Mitsuhashi

Apprentice
Liz Kiss

Props
studio molo

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Shion Skye Carter (she/they) is a dance artist originally from Gifu, Japan, based in Vancouver, Canada on the unceded, traditional lands of the Coast Salish peoples. Through hybridizing choreography with heritage art forms like calligraphy, altering physical spaces using materiality, and creating movement with a sensitive intensity, Shion’s artistic practice investigates identity and reflects on the complex human experience. Recent presentations include b12 free radicals (Berlin), Tangente (Montréal), Live Art Dance (Halifax), Art Gallery of Ontario (Toronto), and L’AiR Arts Atelier 11 (Paris). They’ve performed with companies including Action at a Distance (Vanessa Goodman), Furious Grace Dance Theatre (Anya Saugstad), Wen Wei Dance, plastic orchid factory, and Odd Meridian Arts (Ziyian Kwan). Shion holds a BFA in Dance from SFU, and is the recipient of the Iris Garland Emerging Choreographer Award (2021) and the Chrystal Dance Prize (2023).

danielle Mackenzie Long (they/them) seeks to use new media and film to liberate gender non-conforming dance artists to create work that surpasses gendered bodies through various means of visual presentation and audience access. Their creative practice has been nurtured through engagements with artists and organizations such as Action at a Distance/Vanessa Goodman, Shion Skye Carter, self checkout/Lamont, FORM, New Works, Company 605, and Toronto Dance Theatre among others. danielle holds gratitude and appreciation to work on and be held by the stolen and unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations.

Kaya Tsurumi (she/her) is a freelance dancer, dance filmmaker, and choreographer. She has danced in projects across Vancouver, New York, and Japan, collaborating with Sidra Bell Dance New York, Ziyian Kwan/Odd Meridian Arts, and Conan Amok, among others. Her choreography has been presented at Boombox and at dance film festivals across Canada, including F-O-R-M’s commissioned film program. Kaya received her formative training from Arts Umbrella and Modus Operandi.

Kayla DeVos (she/they) is a human being made of approximately 7 octillion (7,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000) atoms residing on the ancestral land of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh territories (Vancouver, BC). Kayla organizes their atoms to laugh, grieve, drink decaf coffee, rest, create dance, hike, and imagine new futures to resource artists and their relationships to material resources through bookkeeping and somatic financial education. My practices are deeply influenced by phenomenology, and its reflection of an indigenous worldview that confirms our inseparability from the world around us; I find myself in the Other.

Shana 愛 Wolfe (she/her) is a Japanese-Canadian freelance dance artist based on the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations. She has collaborated with local companies including Company 605, OURO Collective, Dance Novella and Inverso Productions, as well as independent artists such as Cindy Mochizuki, Raven Grenier, Shion Skye Carter and Anya Saugstad. Thanks to these amazing artists, she’s had the privilege to perform in festivals both locally and internationally. Shana is also currently pursuing Kinesiology at Langara College.


Presented in partnership with Odd Meridian Society and Powell Street Festival Society, thanks to generous support from the Canada Arts Presentation Fund, administered by the Department of Canadian Heritage.

SHAPESHIFTERS — Curated by Carmen Levy-Milne | Alternator Centre for Contemporary Art, Kelowna

Sept 12 – Oct 25, 2025

For the first time ever, SUM gallery is expanding our activities to the Okanagan, thanks to a partnership with Alternator Centre for Contemporary Art in Kelowna! We’re proud to be a part of their Shapeshifters exhibition, curated by Carmen Levy-Milne.

In this exhibition, the collaborative artist trio Kendell Yan, Chris Reed, and Romi Kim will explore the intersections of queer monsters inspired by myths and stories from their unique cultures. A common thread woven through Chinese, Cree, and Korean folklore is the notion of shapeshifters, fictional beings that can transform themselves from one physical form into another. Including a series of lenticular printed photographs, an exploratory film, a performance, and a community centered workshop, the artists come to this project representing stories from their respective heritages while considering the intersections and compatibility between these folktales and their drag personas and gender identities.

Locals and visitors to Kelowna are welcome to the join the opening reception; 6 – 8pm on Friday September 12th. This special opening includes a live performance by Yan, Reed, and Kim; you don’t want to miss this! The opening is free and open to the public, with light snacks and refreshments provided.

Register Here

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Shapeshifters are a multidisciplinary QTIPOC artist collective based on the stolen lands of the xwməθkwəy̓ əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ílwətaʔ (Tsleil-Waututh) nations. Romi Kim (they/them) , Chris Reed (they/them), and Kendell Yan (she/they) are close friends, drag performers and accomplices. Also known as SKIM (he/him), Continental Breakfast (they/them) and Maiden China (she/they).

Shapeshifters have been collaborating since 2022. Their artistic practice is rooted in collective care, cultural and community histories, kinship, and queer liberation. Shapeshifters have exhibited work at Sum gallery (2022), the Vancouver Queer Film Festival (2023), James Black Gallery (2023), and Queer Arts Festival (2023).

Carmen Levy-Milne (she/her) is a curator and cultural worker born and raised on the unceded land of the xwməθkwəy̓ əm people. As a diasporic Jewish settler, her practice is primarily concerned with the philosophy of tikkun olam (“the repair of the world”), where she sees her work in the arts sphere as responsible for uplifting reparative, decolonial, and critical artistic responses to our broader social, political, and cultural circumstances. She holds an MA in Critical & Curatorial Studies from UBC and a BA in Communication and Cultural Studies with a Minor in Religion and Cultures from Concordia University. Her work has been featured by the AHVA Gallery, the Burnaby Art Gallery, Centre A, Deer Lake Gallery, and the Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery.

Presented in partnership with Alternator Centre for Contemporary Art, thanks to generous support from the Canada Arts Presentation Fund, administered by the Department of Canadian Heritage.

Emancipation Day — FREE Events at SUM Gallery

Gallery Exhibition | Drag & Burlesque Performances | Spoken Word Celebration

August 1st is Emancipation Day and we’re celebrating with a week of events at SUM gallery!

What is Emancipation Day, you ask? It’s the day in 1834 when the Slavery Abolition Act came into effect across the British Empire. We’re partnering with our friends at Hogan’s Alley to present a week of stirring art and riveting performance, all viewed through a uniquely queer Black lens.

 August 1 | 7–9 PM
We’re kicking things off with a night of jaw-dropping performances featuring Mx. Bukuru, As*trix Banks, Velvet Ryder, Saint Solstice, Rainbow Glitz, Luna Buckster, and spins by DJ Grooveheart! Join us for a special reception featuring food by local Black-owned restaurants. This event is 18+.

 August 1–8, open daily 12 – 6pm*
August 1st also sees the launch of our weeklong exhibition, featuring the interdisciplinary work of Valérie d. Walker and the SUM gallery debut of Uzo, a young fashion designer focussing on crochet couture! *Note: SUM gallery will be closed Monday, August 4th.

 August 3 | 2 PM
Spoken word and poetry take centre-stage on Sunday afternoon as Addena Sumter-Freitag, April Sumter-Freitag, and Siobhan Barker present work that is at turns fearless, moving, and raunchy.

All of our events are FREE to attend but registration is recommended.

We’re located at #425, 268 Keefer St. See you there!

RSVP FOR FREE

Unsavoury Witness — Alejandro A. Barbosa

Apr 16 – Jun 6, 2025

Unsavoury Witness is a photo-based installation that includes laser-engraved photographs, photographic murals, intermedia, print media, and court transcripts from the Supreme Court of British Columbia on the 2001 murder of Aaron Webster in Stanley Park. This immersive exhibition foregrounds homophobia’s intimate connections with public spaces, institutionalised systems, societal responses, queer bodies, and desire.

Alejandro A. Barbosa combines photography and excerpt with placemaking to conceptualise pause as an agency of justice. By working from official documents and media archives surrounding a pivotal case in the history of homophobic violence in Canada, they complicate the certainties of queer pleasure and integrate the inconsistencies of justice when prejudice, silence, and risk intersect desire. Within the safety of SUM gallery, the exhibition is crafted as a diorama where artist and viewer intersect the public figure of the witness toward a queer ethics of memorialisation. Unsavoury Witness is Alejandro A. Barbosa’s debut solo presentation in Canada, their first with SUM gallery, and is curated by long-time mentor Patryk Stasieczek.

Unsavoury Witness is generously supported by The Parachute Fund and the Deux Mille Foundation. This exhibition is part of the 2025 Capture Photography Festival Selected Exhibition Program.

Register for the opening reception here:

Register Here

ABOUT ALEJANDRO A. BARBOSA

Alejandro A. Barbosa (they/he) is a 2SLGBTQIA+ latinx visual artist and curator born in Argentina who lives and works on the unceded, traditional and ancestral territories of the Coast Salish peoples—the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations. Alejandro’s practice focuses on lens-based media and investigates the flaws of representation, queer lived experience, and the politics of looking.  Alejandro holds an MFA in visual art from the University of British Columbia, and a BFA in photography from Concordia University. They work as a Sessional Lecturer at the University of British Columbia and Non-regular Faculty at Emily Carr University of Art + Design. Their work has been exhibited and collected in Canada, Argentina, Peru, and the United States.

ABOUT PATRYK STASIECZEK

Patryk Stasieczek is a Polish Canadian 2SLGBTQIA+ visual artist and curator currently working as an Assistant Professor of Photography at NSCAD University. Patryk’s practice explores photography as an embodied, interdisciplinary queering of image histories, actions, and materials. Their research is informed by their investment in pedagogy and delves into the emergent conditions of photography and the physical relationships images create as forms of experiential knowledge. Patryk’s work as an artist and curator has been featured in collaboration with the Pensacola Museum of Art (USA), Peripheral Review (CA), Centre Clark (CA), Libby Leshgold Gallery (CA), and the Magenta Foundation (CA).

Mirrors — Michael Morris and Dion Smith-Dokkie

Feb 6 – Apr 4, 2025

Mirrors presents a series of watercolour nudes created by Michael Morris during his Berlin residency in the 1980s. Unique in Morris’ predominantly abstract oeuvre, these paintings depict hustlers, artists, and friends, many of them posing in front of a mirror, so that their form could be captured from different angles. Some three dozen nudes, none of which have ever been exhibited publicly, are presented alongside six newly commissioned paintings — “reflections” on Morris’ work — by West Moberly First Nations artist Dion Smith-Dokkie. Curated by Rodney Sharman, Mirrors reflects on how the queer community’s relationship with AIDS has changed over the last forty years while highlighting the myriad issues that younger queer people continue to face today. Morris’ nudes, painted daily during the height of the AIDS crisis, create a body of overtly queer expression that is sensual, colourful, and safe, a private reflection of community at a time when queer people were very much villainized. By contrast, Smith-Dokkie’s works turn the viewer’s gaze upon himself: these nude self-portraits, situated in the bedroom or the bathhouse, are a sensuous, intimate, and vulnerable departure from the artist’s otherwise abstract body of work.

Join us for the opening reception on February 6, from 6 – 9pm, where both Smith-Dokkie and Sharman will be in attendance. SUM gallery is grateful for the time, guidance, and generosity of Michael Morris’ longtime partner, Rahmi Emin, as well as the support of the Parachute Foundation, the Audain Foundation, the Deux Mille Foundation, and the BC Arts Council.

Register Here

ABOUT MICHAEL MORRIS

Michael Morris (1942–2022), a pioneering abstract painter and printmaker, made enduring contributions to film, photography, video, installation, and performance. Achieving international acclaim early, he helped shape Vancouver’s 1960s art scene and is celebrated for his collaborative practice and versatility as an artist, curator, and cultural leader. In 1970, Morris co-founded Image Bank with Vincent Trasov, a conceptual platform for mail art projects involving figures like Eric Metcalfe and General Idea. He later co-founded the Western Front Society, an artist-run centre for new art across disciplines. Morris passed away in Victoria, BC, on November 18, 2022, at age 80.

ABOUT DION SMITH-DOKKIE

Dion Smith-Dokkie (he/they) lives and works between northeast BC and Vancouver. A painter by trade, he is interested in topics like location and place, infrastructure, communication, and the body. This body of work marks a return to figuration and easel painting, in the wake of Michael Morris and in response to his watercolour nudes. Dion holds an MFA from the University of British Columbia. Recent shows include The Inaugural Lind Biennial at the Polygon Gallery, Land Breaths at the Art Gallery of Grande Prairie, and it hides in the light at The Bows in Calgary. Artistic philandering aside, Dion is a shy gay man and a member of West Moberly First Nations.

ABOUT RODNEY SHARMAN

Rodney Sharman, curator, is an internationally acclaimed composer, performer, educator, and arts advocate based on Musqueam territory in Vancouver. Currently the Victoria Symphony’s Composer-Mentor-in-Residence, he has held residencies with Early Music Vancouver, the Victoria Symphony, Vancouver Symphony, and the National Youth Orchestra of Canada. Dr. Sharman was President of the Canadian League of Composers (1993–98) and the Canadian Section of the International Society for Contemporary Music (1991–95), returning in 2016 to support Vancouver’s World New Music Days. He has served as President of the ISCM’s Canadian Section since 2019, continuing a career dedicated to championing contemporary music and fostering artistic collaboration.

Curatorial Cocktails

Curatorial Cocktails: Curator Talk with Rodney Sharman — Apr 4, 6 pm

On April 4 we bring our Mirrors exhibition to a close with Curatorial Cocktails featuring our exhibition curator, Rodney Sharman. Join us for an informal chat at the gallery, where Rodney will give his unique insights into the paintings of both Michael Morris and Dion Smith-Dokkie: how these particular works are unusual for both artists and how each responds to queer issues of their time.

To celebrate this event we’ll be serving specially curated cocktails, available by donation, made by our very own mixologist-in-residence, Tabitha McIntyre!

For the art collectors out there, this will also be an opportunity to purchase works by both Michael Morris and Dion Smith-Dokkie. For price lists and more information, please reach out directly to SUM gallery director Mark Takeshi McGregor: mark@queerartsfestival.com.

This artist talk is free to attend but registration is required as space is limited.

REGISTER HERE

SUM AiR—January 2025

Jan 7 – 31, 2025

SUM-AiR is excited to announce January’s artist residency. Paige Bowman (@birdfingersss), Soren Dyck (@taliruq), Addison Finch (@zebrafiinches), Jamie Lauder (@mxlauder), Liam Murley (@liam.lovelock) and Dee Twentee (@dees20stitches) will be using this residency to create work for a group exhibition at the SUM Gallery in the fall of 2025. Each artist will be creating work in response to their individual relationship to gender as non-binary, gender non-conforming and trans artists.

Through this residency + subsequent exhibition the group aims to not only shed light on these important issues, but also to celebrate the diversity of gender identity within us all.