REBEL KNOWLEDGE SYMPOSIUM 2024

Food and Housing Injustice

Steal All the New Art: Artwashing & Gentrification in Hamilton and Beyond

Gentrification remains a hot topic across the GTA as housing markets and rental prices continue to rise and spread in the surrounding areas. In Hamilton, new businesses and hip art economies conceal evictions, cheap renos, the fentanyl crisis and an orchestrated push of poor people out of our cities. Using street art and posters, city streets and traffic boxes have become sites for conversation about displacement, class, artwashing and gentrification. We will be showcasing years of street posters flipping the narrative on the artwashing of Hamilton neighbourhoods created by activists in the city.

The Art of Addiction

Addiction affects many people in many different ways, and can be difficult to talk about. Using art, this installation presents the experiences and messages of people living with addiction in our community. While considering what is presented, we also reflect on what is absent and why; whose voices are missing, whose have been erased, and whose are no longer with us. By weighing equally what is seen and what has been made invisible, we can begin to observe the art of addiction.