New summer exhibition, film festival announced by Oakville Galleries

From the work of German artist duo Hedda Roman to Canada’s only outdoor, avant-garde film festival, the Summer 2024 Exhibition & Outdoor Film Festival at Oakville Galleries features something for all lovers of the arts.

The free summer event opens June 22 and features the exhibition opening by Hedda Roman, entitled Rogue Planet, at Centennial Square from 3 to 5 p.m., followed by a Summer Party and the kickoff of the Sunset Kino film festival from 6 to 10 p.m. in Gairloch Gardens.

Hedda Roman, who will be in attendance, is a Düsseldorf-based artist mesh composed of Hedda Schattanik and Roman Szczesny.

Interweaving cinematographic elements with surreal animation, literature, drama, sculpture, photography, and drawing, the German duo create, among others, immersive video installations as well as computer-generated images.

Through artificial intelligence technologies, Rogue Planet explores the complexities of fictional biography, origin, and identity.

Central to this exhibition is Oldboy, an avatar and Latent Space Traveller, whose poetic dialogues bridge digital realms with reality.

“This exhibition explores themes of appropriation, conquest, and the friction between the Self and essentialism, and also questions notions of identity in the age of machine learning,” said the local gallery in a release. “Oldboy’s existence challenges more traditional concepts of origin and identity, reflecting the transformative impact of digital technologies and AI on our understanding of selfhood.”

The exhibition, which intertwines art, technology, and human experience, is designed to be an engaging thought-provoking experience.

“Ultimately Rogue Planet encourages deeper contemplation on the influence of digitalization on identity as well as the authenticity of our personal and collective stories,” added the release.

The Goethe-Institut Toronto supported the exhibition.

Founded in Austria in 2017 by Séamus Kealy, Sunset Kino continues now at Oakville Galleries with this year’s theme being “Everything is a Lie.”

The film festival, which features films and videos by Canadian and international artists and runs from June 22 to July 11, “explores narratives that inform our current world, encouraging deeper consideration of the influence of digitalization on identity and the authenticity of our personal and collective stories.”

“The program thus ventures into themes of truth and fiction; reality and virtuality; distortion and essentialism; disinformation, propaganda and representation; as well as how art, film, ideas and politics all intersect in a rapidly changing world,” said Oakville Galleries release.

Those planning to attend are asked to dress appropriately and brig their own seating and blankets as all films will be shown outdoors in Gairloch Gardens.

There will be refreshments on site and picnics are welcome.

Should there be any inclement weather, screenings will be indoors in the Studio, adjacent to the Gallery.

The Program is as follows:

Saturday, June 22 | 8:30 pm
Films by Catherina Cramer, Daphne Fietz, Fynn Rybbeck, and Silke Schönfeld
Programmed by Hedda Roman

Thursday, June 27 | 8:30 pm
Films by Aideen Barry
Programmed by Séamus Kealy

Thursday, July 4 | 8:30 pm
Films by Rehab Nazzal, Ali Kazimi, Jayce Salloum, and Sanaz Sohrabi
Programmed by Faisal Anwar & Tazeen Qayyum

Thursday, July 11 | 8:30 pm
Films by Adrian Paci
Programmed by Séamus Kealy

For more information, visit here.