Wikipedia

Zainub Verjee

Zainub Verjee CM,[1] (born in 1956) is a Kenya-born Canadian video artist, curator, writer, arts administrator and public intellectual.

Zainub Verjee
CM
Born1956
Nairobi, Kenya
EducationBA, Business Administration and Economics, Simon Fraser University
WebsiteOfficial website

Biography

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Born in Nairobi in 1956, Verjee is a fourth generation Kenyan.[2][3] She moved to Canada in the 1970s to study economics at Simon Fraser University.[4] [5][6][7][8]

Career

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In the 1990s, she worked for a decade as the Executive Director of the Western Front Society[9] in Vancouver.[10][11][12][13] She was also known to have be an active arts administrator in the field of cultural policy and cultural diplomacy for over 30 years.[14][15][16][17] These decades of work in the sector led to boarding and committee appointments, and speaking invitations on national and international forums.[18][19]

In addition to holding positions at Women in Focus, Citizen’s Forum on Canada’s Future -The Spicer Commission, Canada Council for the Arts, and Department of Canadian Heritage, she was engaged by Gordon Campbell, Canadian diplomat and the 35th Mayor of Vancouver on his Vancouver Arts Initiative. One contribution her board of appointment accomplished is the B.C. Arts Board leading to formation of the B.C. Arts Council.[20][21]

In the 1980s-2000, she worked on cultural policy work in Canada and internationally on issues of artist labour, racial equity and culture trade.[22][23][24] She was appointed in 2017 as the Director of the International Art Gallery at the Jubilee International Arts Festival in Lisbon.[25] Appointed in 2015, Verjee is currently the Executive Director of the Ontario Association of Art Galleries.[20][26]

Verjee has been embedded in the history of women’s labour in British Columbia.[27][28][29][16][5]

She co-authored a letter, on behalf of 75000 artists, to the Prime Minister of Canada on the issue of Basic Income.[30] This paved the way for her to head a movement on the cause of Artists’ Basic Income, which has become an international issue.[31][32] [33] [34]

In the summer of 2021, she had a solo show Speech Acts at Centre A:Vancouver International Centre for Contemporary Asian Art.[28][35][36][37]

She was Film Distribution Manager at the Women in Focus Society, Vancouver. She was involved with the British Black Arts Movement of the 1980s.[11][14] Verjee offered the connecting link between the Black British Art Movement and Vancouver.[38] In 1989 Verjee cofounded In Visible Colours with Lorraine Chan of the National Film Board,[39] an international film and video festival and symposium featuring the work of women of colour.[4][40] At the Courtauld Institute of Art in a keynote[41] on In Visible Colours as an experiment in solidarity, Third cinema, women and birth of an aesthetic she spoke of as a witness to the unfolding of the decolonization process. It was the same time period when a new Afro-Asian solidarity emerged in the form of the Bandung Conference—a counter to the West, and a non- Western basis for organizing a non-alignment front to counter the Cold War.[42] Following the success of In Visible Colours, she was invited by the Jeanne Sauvé Youth Foundation to lead a workshop on International Forum 1992: globalization and nationalism at the first International Conference for Young Leaders, Montreal.[43] In 1992 she was awarded National Film Board Fellowship as part of New Initiatives in Film for women of colour and aboriginal women.[44]

She led the Artists’ Coalition for Local Colour, raising racism charges against the Vancouver Art Gallery.[45][46][47][13]

She was appointed as a Member of the Order of Canada in 2023. She lives in Mississauga and Vancouver.[48]

She was contributor to a special double issue of the Capilano Review.[49][50][51]

Artist

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Her artworks have been shown at the Venice Biennale, Museum of Modern Art, NY, Portland Institute of Contemporary Art, Portland US, Centre d’Art Contemporain de Basse-Normandie, France, Museo de Arte Carrillo Gil, México, D. F. (Mexico City, Mexico), M.S.U. Baroda, India, Embassy Cultural House, London, Art Gallery of Alberta and resides in private and public collections (Vancouver Art Gallery, Canada).[52][22][53]

Selected exhibitions

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  • 1993, Racy-Sexy: Race, Culture and Sexuality, Centre A, Vancouver.[39]
  • 1994, New Canadian Video, Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY.[4]
  • 1995, TransCulture, Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy.[4]
  • 1997, Traversing Territory, Part II: Road Movies in a Post-Colonial Landscape, Portland Institute of Contemporary Art, Portland, OR.[4]
  • 1997, Tracing Cultures III, Ismaili Jamatkhana and Centre, Burnaby, BC.[4][2][54]
  • Anon. The Instability of the Feminist Subject : A Series of 20 Postcards by Artists. Banff, Alta: [The Banff Centre for the Arts], 1992.DOSSIER: 321 - BANFF CENTRE FOR THE ARTS, The (Banff, Alta)
  • Paterson, Andrew J.. Time, Space & Realities : An Exhibition of Video Tapes by John Orentlicher, Doug Porter, Catherine Richards, Janice Tanaka, Zainub Verjee. Toronto, Ont.: A Space, 1995.
  • Cron, Marie-Michèle. Circonvolutions. Montréal, Qc: Opera, 1995.DOSSIER: 390 - OPERA : OUVERTURE PANCULTURELLE POUR L'ÉCHANGE ET LA RÉALISATION DE L'ART / PANCULTURAL OVERTURE FOR EXCHANGE AND REALIZATION OF ART (Montréal, Qc)
  • Kibbins, Gary and Philip, Marlene Nourbese and Campbell, Colin and Barber, Bruce and Christakos, Margaret and Paterson, Andrew James and McLeod, Kathy and Shaw, Nancy and Jeffries, Pat and McCormack, Thelma and Robertson, Clive and Diamond, Sara and Harry, Isobel and Adams, Don and Bean, Robert and Norman, Abigail and Sullivan, Joan and Waterson, Georgia and Yael, B. H. and Amis, Ric and The Ontario Coalition for Abortion Clinics. Fuse 11: 3. Fall. (1987).
  • Anon. Video Out Distribution Catalogue. Vancouver, BC: Satellite Video Exchange Society, 1996. DOSSIER: 390 - SATELLITE VIDEO EXCHANGE SOCIETY (Video Inn + Video Out, Vancouver, BC)
  • Anon. 1996 Video Reference Guide Catalogued by V/Tape. Toronto, Ont.: V Tape, 1996. DOSSIER: 390 - VTAPE (Toronto, Ont.)
  • Henry, Karen and Fife, Connie and Albahari, David and Jamal, Sherazad and Suleman, Zool and Xiao-ping, Li and Thomson, Grace Eiko. Tracing Cultures. Burnaby, BC: Burnaby Art Gallery, 1997. DOSSIER: 353 - BURNABY ART GALLERY (Burnaby)

In 1993 Verjee presented Ecoute s'il pleut (Listen if it's Raining), a French/English video poem to allow the viewer to experience the fullness of silence.[55]

  • Zainub Verjee, "Tautology 45", 2020, digital Image, Embassy Cultural House.[56]
  • Group Exhibition, 2020 Governor General's Award Visual and Media Arts, Art Gallery of Alberta.[57]
  • Group Exhibition, 2020 Redacted Artist Labour The Royal Society of Canada (RSC) and University of Alberta online project.

The Engaging Creativities: Art in the Pandemic.[58][59]

  • 2021 Solo Show, Speech Acts:Zainub Verjee at Centre A.[28][35]
  • 2021 Group Exhibition, Asian Triennial Manchester.[60]

Honours

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In February 2020 she was awarded the 2020 Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Arts for “outstanding contribution to the arts”.[61][62][63][64] In 2021 she was conferred an honorary doctorate by the OCAD University recognizing her outstanding contribution to arts, racial and gender equity [65][66][67] She was elected as a Senior Fellow of the Massey College at University of Toronto in the fall of 2021.[68][69][70] Earlier she was appointed as McLaughlin College Fellow at the York University.[71][72][73] In 2022, she was conferred Doctor of Fine Arts, honoris causa, by Nova Scotia College of Art and Design NSCAD University, Halifax[74][75] She was the recipient of the honorary degree of Doctor of Fine Arts given by Simon Fraser University, Burnaby in the Spring Convocation of 2023.[76][77][78][79][80] Her contribution to the pioneering prison theatre program in Canada and for integral role in the formation of the British Columbia Arts Council was recognized by University of Victoria by conferring her with an honorary degree of Doctor of Fine Arts in Spring Convocation in 2023.[81][82][83][84][85]

References

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  1. ^ General, Office of the Secretary to the Governor (December 22, 2023). "Governor General announces new appointments to the Order of Canada and promotions within the Order". The Governor General of Canada.
  2. ^ a b Ismailimail (October 4, 2017). "Nomadic Architecture showcased two decades ago at Burnaby Jamatkhana". Ismailimail. Retrieved March 11, 2018.
  3. ^ National Gallery of Canada (January 27, 2006). "Artists in Canada". Artists in Canada. Retrieved March 11, 2018.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Heather, Rosemary (September 25, 2017). "In Visible Colours". Canadian Art. Retrieved March 11, 2018.
  5. ^ a b "Author - Zainub Verjee". canadianart.ca. Retrieved 2021-04-30.
  6. ^ "Kinesis". Vancouver: Vancouver Status of Women. 1990-10-01.>. Kinesis.
  7. ^ "Innovation and Its Discontents: How Our Broken Patent System Is Endangering Innovation and Progress, and What to Do About It - Leonardo, Volume 39, Issue 2". leonardo.info. April 2006. Retrieved 2021-04-30.
  8. ^ Verjee, Zainub (2016). "Elsewhere, within Here: The Politics of Home". Asian Diasporic Visual Cultures and the Americas. 2 (3): 310–322. doi:10.1163/23523085-00203010.
  9. ^ Whispered Art History : Twenty Years at the Western Front. Arsenal Pulp Press. 1993. ISBN 978-0-88978-261-7.
  10. ^ Verjee, Zainub (March 2012). "Essay: Ahasiw is Canada". ghostkeeper.gruntarchives.org. Retrieved 2021-04-30.
  11. ^ a b Diamond, Dr. Sara (2015). "Action Agenda: Vancouver's Prescient Media Arts" (PDF). isea2015.org. Retrieved 2021-04-30.
  12. ^ Para-Sites: A Casebook Against Cynical Reason edited by George E. Marcus University of Chicago Press, Apr 15, 2000 - Art - 493 pages
  13. ^ a b rajah, Niranjan. "Zainub Verjee: From Signifier To Signified". otherplaces.mano-ramo.ca. Retrieved 2021-04-30.
  14. ^ a b "In Visible Colours".
  15. ^ "AGM Appoints Four New Members to the Board of Directors". mymississauga.ca. 2017-06-14. Retrieved 2021-04-30.
  16. ^ a b "Steering Committee". talenttolead.ca.
  17. ^ Ismailimail (September 14, 2016). “Women in Leadership: Zainub Verjee Reflects on the state of culture sector and offers inspirational insights". Ismailimail. Retrieved November 26, 2018.
  18. ^ "Canadian Filmmakers Distribution Centre". cfmdc.org/. Archived from the original on 2017-09-26. Retrieved 2021-04-30.
  19. ^ "Welcome to the Art Gallery of Mississauga!". artgalleryofmississauga.com. Retrieved 2021-04-30.
  20. ^ a b Quach, Veronica (15 July 2015). "Ontario Association of Art Galleries appoints new Executive Director". oaag.org. Retrieved 2021-04-30.
  21. ^ Gemma, Sierra Skye. "Room's Cover Art Contest Closes December 15". roommagazine.com. Archived from the original on 2020-07-20.
  22. ^ a b "Zainub Verjee". EMBASSY CULTURAL HOUSE.
  23. ^ "Zainub Verjee: Will the COVID-19 crisis prod us to truly embrace a Canadian culture that gives agency to artists?". The Georgia Straight. June 4, 2020.
  24. ^ "Zainub Verjee: Can the arts world fight systemic racism in a real way instead of resorting to tokenism?". The Georgia Straight. June 16, 2020.
  25. ^ Merchant, Abdulmalik (2018-08-14). "Perspectives on the International Art Gallery at the Aga Khan's Diamond Jubilee Celebrations in Lisbon". barakah.com. Retrieved 2021-04-30.
  26. ^ "Zainub Verjee appointed as the New Executive Director of Ontario Association of Art Galleries". 2015-07-20.
  27. ^ "Zainub Verjee".
  28. ^ a b c "Speech Acts: Zainub Verjee | Centre A".
  29. ^ "Artist - Zainub Verjee". vtape.org. Retrieved March 11, 2018.
  30. ^ Sandals, Leah (16 July 2020). "Artists and Advocates Push for Universal Basic Income in Canada – Canadian Art". canadianart.ca. Retrieved 2021-04-30.
  31. ^ "Case for Basic Income for the Arts". basicincomecalgary.ca. July 15, 2020. Retrieved 2021-04-30.
  32. ^ Schneider, Tim (July 20, 2020). "The Gray Market: Why the Entire Art World Should Back Canadian Arts Workers' Push for Universal Basic Income (and Other Insights)". Artnet News. Retrieved 2021-04-30.
  33. ^ "Creative Directions 2020 Program". monash.edu. School of Media, Film & Journalism. Retrieved 2021-04-30.
  34. ^ "Artpreneur 2020".
  35. ^ a b "Stir Q&A: Zainub Verjee talks about the death of languages, neon, and the status of the artist". 15 August 2021.
  36. ^ "Zainub Verjee talks about the death of languages, neon, and the status of the artist". 23 August 2021.
  37. ^ "Resistance as an Act of Public Pedagogy - Western Front".
  38. ^ Rajah, Niranjan. "Zainub Verjee: Signifier to Signified". www.otherplaces.mano-ramo.ca.
  39. ^ a b Davis, Heather (2017). Desire Change. Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press. p. 283. ISBN 978-0-7735-4937-1.
  40. ^ "In Visible Colours": Women in Focus by Monika Gagnon, C Issue 25 Spring 1990
  41. ^ "1989 This is Tomorrow: de-canonisation and decolonisation". courtauld.ac.uk. 9 November 2019. Retrieved 2021-04-30.
  42. ^ Verjee, Zainub. "In Visible Colours - The Making and Unmaking of the Women of Colour and Third World Women International Film and Video Festival and Symposium". otherplaces.mano-ramo.ca. Retrieved 2021-04-30.
  43. ^ Yip, Hoi Yee; Deutsch, Steve (1993). International forum, 1992--globalization and nationalism : proceedings of the first International Confererence for Young Leaders, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, May 23-30, 1992. Jeanne Sauvé Youth Foundation. Laval, Quebec: Éditions du Méridien. ISBN 9782894159927.
  44. ^ "Zainub Verjee - trailblazer for her generation". iicanada.org. 6 December 2020. Retrieved 2021-04-30.
  45. ^ Rosenberg, Ann (December 7, 1991). "Racism Charges against Gallery Aired". The Vancouver Sun.
  46. ^ Jamal, Sher-Azad (Jan–Feb 1992). "Where Outreach Meets Outrage–Local Colour and The Vancouver Art Gallery". Front: 19–21.
  47. ^ Koh, Karlyn (1994). "Local Colour Challenges VAG". Ubyssey. 74 (27): 3–5.
  48. ^ "Order of Canada appointees – December 2023". Governor General of Canada. 22 December 2023. Retrieved 2023-12-28.
  49. ^ "Fall 1991: Struggle: Local and Global (Special Double Issue Featuring BC Women Writers & Artists)". thecapilanoreview.com. Retrieved 2021-04-30.
  50. ^ "Struggle: Local & Global Issue book launch - Western Front". Western Front Society. 2 November 1991. Retrieved 2021-04-30.
  51. ^ The Capilano Review, Capilano College, 1991
  52. ^ "Zainub Verjee | Art Gallery of Alberta". www.youraga.ca.
  53. ^ Bowen, Deanna (2019). Other Places: Reflections on Media Arts In Canada (first ed.). Toronto: Media Arts Network of Ontario and Public Books Toronto. ISBN 978-1-9992748-0-1.
  54. ^ Burnaby Art Gallery; Henry, Karen A; Connie Fife; Manning, Dolleen (1997). Tracing Cultures. Burnaby, BC: Burnaby Art Gallery. ISBN 0-920123-29-5.
  55. ^ VTape. "Ecoute s'il pleut (Listen if it's Raining)". vtape.org/. Retrieved March 11, 2018.
  56. ^ "Hiding in Plain Sight Exhibit". Embassy Cultural House.
  57. ^ "Governor General's Awards in Visual and Media Arts 2020 | Art Gallery of Alberta". www.youraga.ca.
  58. ^ "Home". covidcreative.ca.
  59. ^ "Zainub Verjee".
  60. ^ "Home". atm.mmu.ac.uk.
  61. ^ "Governor General's Awards in Visual and Media Arts". Governor General's Awards in Visual and Media Arts.
  62. ^ "Zainub Verjee (@Zainubverjee): 2020 Governor General's Visual and Media Arts Award Winner". ismailimail.blog. February 20, 2020. Retrieved 2021-04-30.
  63. ^ "Eight Artists Win Governor General's Awards in Visual and Media Arts". Canadian Art. 19 February 2020.
  64. ^ Smith, Janet (February 19, 2020). "Dana Claxton and Ken Lum win 2020 Governor General Visual and Media Arts Awards". The Georgia Straight. Retrieved 2021-04-30.
  65. ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: Zainub Verjee conferred Honorary Doctorate by OCAD University at the 2021 Convocation. YouTube.
  66. ^ "Zainub Verjee conferred with an Honorary Doctorate for her exceptional contribution | (@zainubverjee)". 30 July 2021.
  67. ^ "OCAD University awards five new honorary doctorates | OCAD University".
  68. ^ "Zainub Verjee elected a Senior Fellow of Massey College". Ismailimail. 21 September 2021.
  69. ^ "Zainub Verjee elected a Senior Fellow of Massey College". 20 September 2021.
  70. ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: Senior Fellow Luncheon with Zainub Verjee: Teleos, nomos, ethos and the Massey Report. YouTube.
  71. ^ "College Fellows".
  72. ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: Massey Report at 70: Current Impasses and Prospects of Canadian. YouTube.
  73. ^ "Dr. Zainub Verjee (@zainubverjee) appointed as a fellow of McLaughlin College at York University". 3 August 2021.
  74. ^ "NSCAD University announces its 2022 honorary degree recipients". 11 April 2022.
  75. ^ "Zainab Verjee (@zainubverjee) bestowed honorary degree by NSCAD University, Halifax, Canada". 19 April 2022.
  76. ^ "Two Artists to Receive Honorary Degrees at Simon Fraser University". Galleries West. March 16, 2023.
  77. ^ "SFU announces 2023 Honorary Degree recipients". www.sfu.ca.
  78. ^ Smith, Charlie (March 18, 2023). "Cultural critic Zainub Verjee and contemporary artist Stan Douglas among those who will receive SFU honorary degrees".
  79. ^ "Zainub Verjee, Executive Director of Galeries Ontario/ Ontario Galleries, bestowed an Honorary Degree by Simon Fraser University, Canada". March 27, 2023.
  80. ^ "SFU June 2023 Convocation Ceremony A". 7 June 2023 – via www.youtube.com.
  81. ^ "Spring 2023 Honorary Degree Recipients". Retrieved 2024-01-04.
  82. ^ "Spring 2023 Convocation Ceremony – June 16, 2:30 p.m." 17 June 2023 – via www.youtube.com.
  83. ^ "UVic convocation includes honorary degrees for VANDU co-founder, arts trailblazer". Times Colonist. June 4, 2023.
  84. ^ "Zainub Verjee awarded Honorary Doctorate". Retrieved 2024-01-04.
  85. ^ "Zainub Verjee Delivered the Commencement Address at University of Victoria (Canada)". June 26, 2023.
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