Grounding: States of Gender | artLAB Gallery
January 9 – 29, 2026 
Curated by Soheila Esfahani, this exhibition features the work of artist Gita Hashemi. Reproducing an Iranian woman’s auto-ethnography in a visually-striking immersive installation, 'Grounding' was created over an 8-day livestreamed durational performance in February 2017. Heralding the global #Me-Too movement and the #WomanLifeFreedom uprising in Iran, in this installation Hashemi puts gender-based violence and disparity – in fact, the very construction of gender itself – in sharp focus and places the audience fully immersed in it. Opening Reception: January 8, 2026 | 4:00pm – 6:00pm
AT THE EDGE: REVOLUTION | Cohen Commons
January 9 – 29, 2026 
This exhibition revolves around the fight for peace in a world filled with conflict. From struggles of individuality amidst rapidly changing political climates to humanity's efforts to make the world a better, kinder place, 'AT THE EDGE: REVOLUTION' provides viewers the opportunity to see the current state of today's world through an artistic lens. Curated by artLAB Gallery Intern Katelyn Halter. Opening Reception: January 8, 2026 | 4:00pm – 6:00pm
Inspiring Minds: Natasha Beaudoin
MFA candidate Natasha Beaudoin is featured in Western's 'Inspiring Minds' showcase. 'Inspiring Minds' seeks to broaden awareness and impact of graduate student research, while enhancing transferable skills. Beaudoin is a portrait artist whose practice explores the intersection of classical painting techniques and contemporary digital culture. Rooted in the dramatic chiaroscuro of Caravaggio, her work fuses historical tenebrism with the artificial glow of screens and the visual language of modern photography.
Centre for Sustainable Curating Publication Wins Two Awards
The risograph-printed catalogue for the exhibition The Air of the Now and Gone, curated by Professor Kirsty Robertson and Sarah E.K. Smith at Carleton University Art Gallery won two awards at the 48th annual Galeries Ontario / Ontario Galleries awards on Dec 1, including Patrick Côté for design and Kristi Leora Gansworth for the essay “Sacred Mirror, Blood of the Earth”. The publication was printed at the Centre for Sustainable Curating using their risograph duplicator.
New Appointment for Postdoctoral Fellow
Dr. Amanda White, former Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Visual Arts at Western University and collaborator of the Centre for Sustainable Curating, has been appointed Canada Chair in Sustainability, Ecological Justice, and Climate Action in Creative Practices at Emily Carr University of Art + Design. Her research program will explore how research-creation can support sustainability and ecological justice and inspire cultural and environmental change.
CBC Interviews Christine Sprengler
Art history Professor Christine Sprengler was interviewed by the CBC last month. 'London Morning' host Andrew Brown posed the question “How much does nostalgia play into our happy holidays?” The discussion expanded into a consideration of how nostalgia works, its pitfalls and therapeutic potential, as well as the role that popular culture plays in the generation of the sentiment.
MFA Candidate Creates Collaborative Mural on Campus
To commemorate their 50th anniversary, The School of Occupational Therapy in the Faculty of Health Sciences recently unveiled a mural in Elborn College that was created by MFA candidate Natasha Beaudoin. The large-scale mural consists of thirty-two 20"x 20” canvases on which Beaudoin sketched and outlined her design. Students participated in a paint night event to fill in the outlines, completing this collaborative mural. Beaudoin describes the artwork as a multi-layer landscape, made up of the sky, the people, and the Earth, all wrapping around into the five threads of learning valued in the occupational therapy program.
CSC in Article by The Economist
The work of the Centre for Sustainable Curating was featured in an article in the November 21 edition of 'The Economist,' written by Lou Stoppard, “Long Read: The Grab List: How Museums Decide What to Save in a Disaster.”
MA Alum Publishes New Book
MA Art History alum Matthew Purvis has recently published 'The Pornographic Delicatessen: Midcentury Montréal’s Erotic Art, Media, and Spaces' with Concordia University Press. According to the publisher, the book "offers an important examination of the development of erotic art and design in the city’s postwar and Quiet Revolution era."
