Highlighting the Overlooked

OCAD U School of Continuing Studies presents an online exhibition showcasing artworks from participant in the ArtWorksTO program. This exhibition explores topics linked to identities that are often overlooked in society while bringing about awareness and appreciation for universal themes such as transformation and belonging. The six artists draw from personal and diasporic experiences to create works that highlight the shaping of identity through human connections.

Saretta Khan

Saretta Khan is a multidisciplinary graphic designer/artist with a deep passion for painting and mixed media art. She recently completed the OCAD U School of Continuing Studies and ArtWorksTO Cohort 2023 program, which allowed her to refine her skills and deepen her love for painting. Saretta enjoys experimenting with various art forms, including textile art, embroidery, watercolor, oil painting, acrylics, and more. Currently, she is focusing on portrait painting using both oil and acrylic mediums, and she continues to experiment with different styles, applying her knowledge of color theory, textures, and blending techniques.

Her art is influenced by diverse cultures and environments. She draws inspiration from the places around her, whether urban or natural, which impacts her choice of colors and subjects. She is also fascinated by how visual elements can convey ideas and emotions.

Carmina Miana

Carmina Miana is an Ottawa-based interdisciplinary artist whose work in stop motion animation, fibre, sculpture, and photography examines the complexities of care and sacrifice, as well as the histories embedded in materials. Drawing from her Filipino diaspora experiences, Miana's art invites viewers to engage with themes of transformation and belonging.

Rebecca Lacroix

Rebecca Lacroix (Langevin) is a queer French-Canadian, Toronto-based illustrator. A designer by trade, Rebecca uses digital linework, watercolour, and brushwork to depict figures and identities often overlooked in our society.

Supplanting the traditional male gaze of the art world, Rebecca’s work focuses on capturing these overlooked women and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people, documenting them through a uniquely queer and female gaze. A self-taught artist, she has exhibited her works in group shows at Graven Feather Studio, Fempocalypse2022, and the Daniels Spectrum.

Serene Chan

Serene is a Chinese-Canadian creative and an expert daydreamer, utilizing her passion for storytelling to produce digital and traditional imagery that evokes child-like wonder and captures nostalgia. With an artistic journey spanning over 9 years, Serene has established herself as a freelance traditional painter and digital illustrator, lending her creative support to independent musicians, writers, and fellow artists. Her work is a delightful fusion of her interests in books, mental health, East Asian culture, and the boundless realms of fantasy.

Beyond her artistic pursuits, her versatile background includes her academic education in business and her years of entrepreneurial experience, having founded and nurtured three successful start-up ventures. Through her art, she strives to create awareness and appreciation for the beauty of Asian cultures and the stories of marginalized communities. Her creative endeavors are a testament to her dedication to building bridges of understanding and fostering a more inclusive world. When Serene is not painting, her hands stay busy sewing, crafting, and thrift flipping. Serene’s work has been featured at Toronto Pearson Airport, College TTC station, Gardiner Museum, Oriole Community Centre, Scarborough Museum, Downsview Airport, VIBE Arts, and more.

Sahar Askary Hemmat

Sahar Askary Hemmat is a Toronto-based multimedia artist born and raised in Iran. She completed her Bachelor Degree in Photography at Tehran University of Art (2018) and her MFA in Documentary Media at Toronto Metropolitan University (2020). Her artworks span various artistic mediums, including photo, video, textile, and installation, and the subjects of her works are driven by her lived experiences, focusing on memory and place, and how place identity is formed.

Sahar uses auto-ethnographic approaches as a method of self-reflection in her art, delving deeply into personal narratives that intersect with broader socio-cultural and environmental themes. Her work is heavily influenced by the notion of displacement, both personal and geographical, and how identity is shaped through the ever-shifting dynamics of place, memory, and belonging. She explores the fragility of cultural heritage and personal, often hidden, stories that reflect collective histories.

In her project Gav-Khouni, Sahar reflects on her personal connection to Esfahan and its disappearing river, Zayandeh Rud, a metaphor for both environmental and personal loss. Through photography, collage, and sound, her work invites viewers into a space of reflection on identity, place-attachment, and the impact of environmental change.

Sahar has participated in several group exhibitions in Canada and internationally. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Newcomer Arts Award (2022), and her latest residency at The Ray Ferris Creative Tech Springboard (2023) led to the exhibition of her work Breaktime at The Bridge. Her practice continues to explore the intricate relationships between memory, identity, and place, sparking public dialogue on these profound and universal themes.

Joy Adeola

Joy Adeola is a Nigerian-Canadian photographer. Through storytelling, she explores interpersonal bonds, following the changing rhythms of our relationships with ourselves and others. Her work combines vivid contrast and an intimate warmth to uncover the beauty and nuanced complexities often hidden in our everyday lives.

Exploring the intricate tapestry of human connections and our interaction with the world around us, her work celebrates the beauty and complexities often hidden in our everyday lives. By magnifying the overlooked facets of life, she unveils a hidden richness, inviting viewers to pause and appreciate the myriad of stories unfolding around them.