New Voices is ACWR’s new 6 x 6 foot billboard located on the external wall of ArtSpeak gallery, right on the alleyway. The billboard, which features interchangeable letters, will be a place for language-based exhibitions and for concrete and experimental poetry installations. The initial focus of this program is to provide an outlet for underrepresented and marginalized voices in our community, including new generation artists, new immigrant artists, artists of colour, indigenous artists, artists with disabilities, francophone artists, and 2SLGBTQ+ communities.

Visit the New Voices Webpage HERE

Order a limited edition New Voices tote bag HERE

Meet the Artist:

Alex-Andrei “Alexei” Ungurenaşu writes from the perspective of an outsider-become-insider. As a Romanian-Canadian artist living in Windsor, ON, they craft poems, zines, paintings, and collages summoning the various places where they lived and visited. Writing started as a hobby for Alexei, and it eventually led to them becoming Windsor’s youth poet laureate for 2021-23. Alexei draws much inspiration from their studies in literature and philosophy, with existentialism and romanticism serving as direct influences. In their poems, Alexei uses words to bridge the distance – be it physical, emotional, or temporal – between themselves and the places, people, and moments that they miss. When they aren’t reading or writing, Alexei seeks ways of staying involved in the local arts community. They are a member of the Vanguard Youth Arts Collective, and they often run events with the Art Gallery of Windsor and the University of Windsor’s Humanities Research Group.

Artist Statement:

With my installation, “Hold, Twist, Release,” I embrace the billboard’s spatial constraints. These are the actions and images that matter the most to me right now; since I can only fit two or three words per line, I carefully picked these words as one would pick flowers for a bouquet. I used the space that was “left” to suggest a story in this poem as well as to mark my temporary presence in this space.

 

 

 

 

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July 15, 2021 - August 15, 2021

Arts Council Windsor & Region

1942 Wyandotte St E
Windsor, N8Y 1E4 Canada
Phone: (519) 252-2787