Due to war, societal instabilities and climate change, more and more people around the world and within Canada are being forced to move. Artist Faisal Anwar is inviting people to participate in his new interactive artwork and reflect on what “HOME” means to them. Anyone can post a photo on Instagram and tag it with #APlaceICallhomeProject. The tagged photo will be added to a large-scale installation of photographs in motion and will be projected on a wall located at 492 Main Street in the Exchange District of Winnipeg. This artwork is part of The Exchange Biz’s “Lights On The Exchange Festival” taking place until March 21, 2023.
You are invited to add your photos of “HOME” to the projection by posting to Instagram and tagging it with#APlaceICallHomeProject
Artist Statement
“A Place I Call Home” #APlaceICallHomeProject
The migrant experience is defined by hybridity, the coming together of characteristics from the place of origin, residence and lived experiences. Migration and displacement from a place of birth result from many reasons, including forced exile, refugee asylum due to war or poverty, and often by choice for reasons ranging from oppression to perceived socio-economic opportunities. These experiences shape and transform our identity from the physical reality of displacement to our psychological reality.
In a migrant experience, multiple histories come into play at any given time, forming the basis of how modern societies are understood, embodying diversity and shared values and aspirations.
“A Place I Call home” is an experimental responsive, dynamic work that uses modern communication technologies and the power of images to examine how objects, spaces, and encounters shape memories, real or fictional, and their effects on the perception of what a ‘home’ is. It also recognizes how personal experiences construct identities, reveal how we know someone or form an association with the city and render new ways of understanding cultures, time, and life.
“A Place I Call home” invites people to share cell phone pictures, old or new, responding to an Instagram #tag, where each post is constructing a collaborative wall of memories. The collected images will be presented as an interactive, large-scale projection at a physical site. Echoes strive to create a supportive community, a home where many commonalities emerge, and new associations are made when people share their lives and experiences.
Artist Bio
Faisal Anwar is a Hybrid Artist, Curator Karachi Biennial 22, and creative technologist working between Canada and Pakistan. Founder of CultureLab.art, he explores the intersection of art, science, nature, and data, investigating pressing concerns on climate change, sustainability, and shifts in new emerging economies. He is also a co-founder of ArtAddress, mentoring and fostering creative ideas and dialogue. His creative computational thinking, research, and artistic practice branches through interactive installations, immersive environments, data-driven interventions, internet art, HybridNFT, and MetaVerse / Web 3.0. For information about Faisal Anwar visit, http://faisalanwar.ca IG: faisalanwarstudio
#APlaceICallhomeProject was curated by Manufacturing Entertainment, an artist and curatorial duo focusing on art-making technologies, and working across genres and disciplines, to strive for meaningful collaborations and community building. For more information about the project, go to https://manufacturingentertainment.com/aplaceicallhomeproject
Join us for the opening reception with the artist in attendance on February 3rd, 5:30 pm at the Cordova Cafe. This will be followed by a tour of the artwork and other events happening as part of the Lights On The Exchange Festival and First Fridays.
