“Foreign Dreams” exhibition highlights migrant worker experiences
Credit to Author: Canadian Immigrant| Date: Fri, 11 Oct 2024 20:27:31 +0000
Simranpreet Kaur Anand
with Conner Singh VanderBeek
A true story of direct action
41.25” x 32.75”
Photo-printed canvas
2024
Collection of the Artists
The Workers Arts & Heritage Centre (WAHC) hosted the opening reception of the Foreign Dreams exhibition on Saturday, September 21. Curated by Simranpreet Kaur Anand, a multidisciplinary artist focusing on diaspora and identity and Conner Singh VanderBeek, a cultural researcher and musician, the exhibition features the work of community artists Sunny Arora, Alejandro Franco Briones, Red Tree Artists’ Collective, Santosh Chandra Sekar, and Jujhar Singh.
Held in collaboration with Laadliyan, a group empowering South Asian women, and the Naujawan Support Network, an organization advocating for workers’ rights, the exhibition documents curators’ engagement with Punjabi community activists, emphasizing immigrant stories and community resilience. Highlighting the history of migrant workers in Canada through visual and media arts, the exhibition also incorporates objects from WAHC’s permanent collection, reflecting on the struggles and contributions of these workers. VanderBeek and Anand were in a small village in Punjab, India researching a traditional form of weaving when they saw first-hand the helplessness of a vast majority of locals who wanted to move to Canada for a “better life”.
“We spoke to countless families whose dream was to relocate to Canada because of the economic circumstances in Punjab. Hundreds of Punjabi youth are now in Canada, toiling in financial precarity and stuck navigating the vagaries of the immigration process,” says VanderBeek. The curators have used weaving and quilting to create images of international students protesting, juxtaposing them with images of migrant agricultural workers in North America in the 70s and 80s that they found in the archives of the Canadian Farmworkers Union.
Simranpreet Kaur Anand with Conner Singh VanderBeek A true story of direct action 41.25” x 32.75” Photo-printed canvas 2024 Collection of the Artists
In recent years, the number of international students from Punjab studying in Canada has surged, reflecting Canada’s growing appeal as a study destination. According to the latest data from Statistics Canada, international student enrollments have seen a sharp rise across various academic levels, including undergraduate and graduate programs. Students from India, including Punjab, make up a significant proportion of these international learners.
In 2022-2023, Canada saw a record number of study permit holders, with the Indian student population representing a considerable chunk of this growth. Punjab is one of the leading Indian states sending students abroad, largely driven by opportunities in Canadian colleges and universities that offer diverse courses and pathways to permanent residency.
The exhibition documents the curators’ engagement with Punjabi community activists during their residency in Ontario, providing a deeper exploration of immigrant stories and their impact on Canadian society.
The exhibit runs at WAHC’s Community Gallery.
51 Stuart Street | Hamilton, ON | L8L 1B5 | 905 522 3003 x 29 www.wahc-museum.ca
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