Black Nuance Shade presented by The Rude Collective

The Rude Collective presents: Black. Nuance. Shade. as part of our Pride Toronto17 programming in collaboration with Blank Canvas Art Gallery. This event is Part 1: Black. Nuance. Shade which is an art show with performances with Part 2: Rude 3rd Edition: Shade following up as the late night dance party featuring more artwork. Black. Nuance. Shade.: The Rude Collective takes a different route in the conversation surrounding race relations within the LGBTQ community here and abroad. This art show aims to further uncover and discuss what exist at the intersection of "black" and "queer", fully acknowledging that this is only SOME of the infinite nuanced identities that can exist within the community. We have carefully curated a show that attempts to showcase some of these intricacies, the beauty and the struggles that come with the black queer lens. Expect to be stimulated with visuals, scents and sound that take the attendee on a jouney that is equal parts limitless as it is a peak into the artists' realities. Performances by: Tee Bay Visual Presentation by: M.I. Blue "Black. Nuance. Shade." Featured Artists: Mikael Owunna: Mikael Owunna is a queer Nigerian-Swedish American photographer. He is based in Washington D.C. Mikael's photography specializes in documentary and portrait work. His mission with his photography is to elevate marginalized community voices. In 2012 as a Fulbright scholar in Taiwan, Mikael collaborated with Prof. Christine Yeh of USF on an art and photography project for 1st and 2nd grade Taiwanese aboriginal (Atayal) youth titled "I am Atayal". This project was featured in a full floor exhibit at the National Taiwan Museum during summer 2014 and has toured almost a dozen museum and aboriginal cultural spaces in Taiwan since then. Mikael is currently pursuing a new documentary project, titled "Limit(less)", exploring the fashion and style of LGBTQ Africans across North America and Europe and working to debunk the myth that being LGBTQ is "un-African". "Limit(less)" was featured at the Never Apart Gallery in Montreal in February 2017. Brianna Roye: A freelance photographer from Toronto, Ontario, who identifies as a queer androgynous woman. Specializing in portraiture, fashion, and music/event photography, Brianna captures the very essence of the theme and/or person she is photographing. She is also Head of Photography for the collective Omit Limitation and a photographer at Blank Canvas, a POC owned art gallery in the city. Jah Grey: Jah Grey is a self-taught photographic artist primarily focused on portraiture. Inspired by exploring his own vulnerabilities and the vulnerabilities of those around him, Jah skillfully uses the power of his images to share the deep and meaningful stories behind his subjects. Jah’s work acts to educate and encourage society to unlearn the teachings that act to separate us in order to advocate for a more fluid and diverse world. His photographs consistently remain rooted in the struggle for social justice and his innovative style redefines the social norms of masculinity and pushes against the constructs others place on our bodies and personal identities. Kawaal: Kawaaal is a mixed media artist, from Toronto. A lot of her work involves disrupting normative discourse pertaining to trivial societal matters. Kawaal is heavily invested in creating conversations around the avoided topics that are either culturally sensitive or just plain uncomfortable. Kawaal's other work involves video and sound design. Kawaal is currently focused on creating immersive installations and capturing experiences around food and fashion. OLUSEYE: Informed by Yoruba mythology and the geometric form, Oluseye fuses the human, the sculptural, and the traditional in his search for the archetypal balance between the spiritual and physical self. Combining acrylic, charcoal, pastel and steel wire, he embarks on an intersectional exploration of black male identity, existentialism, sexuality and outsider cultures. Inevitably, he stretches the boundaries of traditional Yoruba thought and iconography, placing it within a contemporary milieu that is inclusive of, but not limited to, cultural expression. His practice also includes expansive, photo-based, social installations which are often interactive and serve as an extension of current conversations on race and identity. Informed by popular culture narratives, complicated by ideas of the “other”, and executed with an awareness of human-digitized tension, scarcity, and desirability, Oluseye's work is inherently dynamic in its provocation of introspective and communal exploration. Oluseye works between Toronto, Canada and Lagos, Nigeria. We strive to and actively ensure that this space will be one free of racism, homophobia, misogny/misogynoir, transphobia, anti-blackness and ableism. This space is fully accessible. This is a Pride Toronto 2017 Affiliated event. About The Rude Collective: Rude is an acronym for Real Unapologetic Diverse Expression. We are a collective of individuals whose main objective is to create positive spaces for queer folks (especially queer people of colour). It is an affirmative, positive response to the reaction to queer culture by the mainstream gay culture. Queer culture is too explicit, sexual, too far left, weird and different. Often times, our existent in spaces is considered RUDE as we are not welcome in many queer spaces. It’s the reclaiming of the different and the RUDE and positioning it as a positive thing. It is also a response to those who deem cultural expression of minorities which is in many cases misunderstood, as something rude. Dancing, language, art, visual arts from these communities are many times considered rude. We are here to be the voice for those whose mere existence can sometimes be rude and to create a space for this type of expression through a dance party that focuses on Queer POC-centric music and expression and allows those individuals to enjoy themselves in an environment curated for that type of expression. About Blank Canvas: Blank Canvas Gallery is an art house and open space powered by Omit Limitation. With a large 1200 sq. ft. gallery that you can customize to your needs. The space is decked out with white walls and black trim also featuring one of a kind furniture made by a local Toronto artisan. Blank Canvas is considered to be one of Toronto’s very first “DBC” Spaces (Done by Community) an inviting atmosphere where people of all walks of life can come together and enjoy Toronto’s underground art culture. A Blank Canvas is the ultimate freedom of expression where you can capture and create whatever your imagination and creativity wills it. Over the years Omit Limitation have had the opportunity to connect, vibe and collaborate with over a hundred creatives from multiple artistic disciplines and Blank Canvas is our way to extend our initiative. We created a place for artists around the city to call home. A safe, unique and inclusive space for creatives to help bridge the gap between emerging artists and professionals in Toronto.