Untitled (Self-Portrait)
CreateSpace Public Art Forum 2022
An artistic response to the 2022 CreateSpace Public Art Forum, a national forum virtually convening participants who identify as Black, Indigenous (First Nations, Inuit and Métis), racialized, rural and/or youth with disabilities and between the ages of 18-25. Participants were presented with online talks themed around public art practices, studio tours by artist facilitators, a Keynote Event by artist Lori Blondeau, and opportunities to engage with fellow peers to inspire their final creations.
Project at a Glance
Location: Toronto, Ontario
Artist: Teshawna (Tee) Gordon
Year: 2022
Program: Artist Capacity Building
45
CreateSpace participants
10
artist facilitators
1
keynote speaker
Artist Statement
Untitled (Self-Protrait) is a painting of me. I appear to be crying in the art work because my eyes are constantly watering and people ask if I’m ok. To be honest I’m not, but I’m not gonna cry about it. You know when someone asks you if you’re ok and you say yes, but inside, you know you’re not. You don’t feel either happy or sad or even mad, you’re literally just fine. The moral of the story is that art doesn’t have to be happy to be considered beautiful.
About the Artist
Teshawna (Tee) Gordon
Tee is an emerging artist that uses bold acrylic colours to create art pieces to express her feelings and thoughts. Tee would describe her art style as a combination of grunge-punk and emo. She is currently experimenting with different colours to create what is called “trippy patterns”.
CreateSpace Public Art Forum
STEPS Public Art believes public art has the ability to challenge the systemic inequities that exist in public space. In support of this important work, we facilitate artist capacity building programs that foster inclusive public art practices, build the capacity of underrepresented artists, and demonstrate how public art can help reimagine equitably designed cities.
CreateSpace Public Art Forum is a digital forum that virtually convenes participants who identify as Black, Indigenous (First Nations, Inuit and Métis), racialized, rural and/or youth with disabilities and between the ages of 18-25. This forum fosters connections, builds understanding across geographies and cultures, as well as provide emerging equity-seeking artists with the skills, relationships and support needed to develop public art practices. Visit the online gallery to view all artistic responses by the 2022 forum participants.
CreateSpace Public Art Forum is supported by Canadian Heritage, Canada Council for the Arts and CIBC.
