The 16th edition of the Montreal-based HTMlles festival is showcasing a month-long exhibition, “On a Human Scale,” featuring works from artists Fili 周 Gibbons, Hailey Guzik, Lee Wilkins, and Nada El Omari.
The festival is produced by the feminist, artist-run centre for media arts and digital culture, Ada X. The exhibition, which is curated by Dounia Bouzidi, aims to delve deeper into the experiences of people who have historically been excluded from regimes of visibility, legitimacy, and power.
“Thinking about a time where everything is constantly changing and trying just to slow down and rethink how we do things when it comes to technology,” Bouzidi said.
Her practice is based on curatorial approaches informed by decolonial and diasporic perspectives. She felt inspired to become a curator because she aims to bring people back to a story and expose them to different points of view.
Now, five years into her career, she feels thrilled about all the opportunities she has gotten so far.
“I’m really grateful for working with Ada and other institutions, and I feel like I’m really lucky,” Bouzidi said.
One of the main challenges she’s faced is writing numerous proposals for exhibitions and magazines. She says that, as a curator, one has to be refused many times before getting accepted or invited. Ada X is the first exhibition space she’s been invited to so far.
She says a key strategy to pushing through the hardships is taking care of oneself. In the future, she hopes to have more fun projects and work with large institutions.
“I’m wishing (for) longevity,” Bouzidi said. “So, like, to continue to create and write, I don’t know, for 30, 40 years. We’ll see.”
Interdisciplinary artist Fili 周 Gibbons created a piece named Cloud Well that’s part of the “On a Human Scale” exhibition. It centres around honouring their grandparents, who passed away a few years ago.
Most of the videos and sounds people can see in the piece come from a trip Gibbons and their mother took back to Taiwan last November.
“There are these reflective panels and mirror images in the work that are kind of meant as a reflection for oneself or a reflection for others to think about,” Gibbons said.
Gibbons has been in the arts field for two-and-a-half years. They started as a cello player, and gradually, over time, they became more interested in various types of music and art.
Some of the main challenges they’ve faced so far is figuring out how to reach people other than their friends or community in the arts field and diversifying their funding sources.
Gibbons says one of the ways they navigate those challenges is by having a strong community network.
“And you work hard, but you don’t make it about that, and you try to make it about the joy and the connection and what matters as part of that,” Gibbons said.
As an interdisciplinary artist, they’re interested in the connections between different kinds of material and how they interact to create a world or an experience for people.
“I feel really good,” Gibbons said. “It’s like the first time we’ve done a full-on installation that was really that, without any performative aspects, without any music playing. And it just stands on its own as a piece. So I feel that it’s doing something with the energy and with the people (who) share the exhibit that I’m very happy about, and I’m very grateful for that opportunity as well.”
Gibbons says their exhibition is beneficial for people who attend, as “it’s like a space of rest.”
They added that they might create more international projects in the next few years. For now, there’s a project in the Philippines that they’re trying to work on in 2027.
“I think that just to try and imagine being able to make a career, to be well, to be among people, and have a support circle is, like, really, the most important thing,” they said. “And if we can travel, if we can share the work, you know, with whatever opportunity or time that life has, that’s great. I think we just want to try to hold on to what we can and try to pass that on to the future, you know? That’s all we got.”
The “On a Human Scale” exhibition runs until May 30. More information can be found here.
