With the end of the fall semester approaching, The FOFA and the VAV galleries are happy to invite you to a celebratory evening to commemorate the previous cohort of writers, designers, dancers and artists that formed part of the Annual Undergraduate Student Exhibition (USE), embodied urgencies ! Join us in celebrating the official launch of the USE 2024 print catalogue and highlight all the amazing creative work compiled in it. This evening, the torch will pass to the next cohort of artists and writers who will part of USE 2025 opening in January.

: November 15, from 5 - 8 pm
: VAV Gallery, 1395 René-Lévesque Blvd W., Montréal, H3G 2M5

About the catalogue:
This publication is a companion to the Annual Undergraduate Student Exhibition (USE) and contains four essays by Raviya Azad, Emiliano Guevara, Nicholas Linh, and Kioni Sasaki-Picou. It was designed by Myra Lintaman, Ayisha Thier, and George Teglas. It features the artworks of Katherine Barr, Cassi Camille, Catherine Desroches, Somaye Farhan, Lucy Gill, Maya Gasco-Gilmour, Levana Katz, Em Laferrière, Jorge Bernardo Lopera Doncel, Emma Mclean, Clara-Jane Rioux Fiset, Zebras Collective (Rianna Huynh and Yann-Marc Pignard), and the dance performances of Heather Anderson & Laura Borello Bellemare, Léa Bonenfant & Sage Fabre-Dimsdale, Anne-Marie Latulippe, and Aly Turgeon.

We will have live readings of the 2024 commissioned essays as well as copies of the catalogue for purchase (10$ cash only). Snacks and refreshments will be available.

This workshop explores the concept of ArtSpeak, otherwise known as International Art English, the jargon-heavy language used in the fine art world. Originally developed to legitimize and intellectualize art by bringing together theory and practice during the modernist and conceptual art movements, ArtSpeak has since become increasingly opaque and self-referential. We will examine its evolution and how it now serves as a form of gatekeeping, creating an invisible barrier around the art world. ArtSpeak helps uphold the otherwise unclear distinction between fine art and consumer culture, with its exclusivity reinforcing the intent behind fine art rather than any inherent quality of the work itself. This workshop is participatory and conversational.