Art Gallery Opening Reception
Date: Feb 9
7:00 pm
- 9:00 pm
Where: Level 3 Atrium
Opening Reception
You are invited to join us for a free public art gallery opening reception!
Daze Jefferies: stay here stay how stay explores transfeminine belonging in Newfoundland, using the ocean as an archival body to counter historical narratives. Through textile, wax, and multimedia, the artist honours intergenerational knowledge, embraces rural trans pleasure, and addresses discourse on trans and sex worker bodies with a narrative of care, intimacy, and resistance.
Sheilagh O’Leary's: A Sea Change is a tribute that spans three generations, exploring cultural erasure and resurgence through analogue portraits and cyanotypes. Inspired by her mother's experiences as a French-Mi'kmaw woman, the exhibit delves into complex interactions of embodiment, power dynamics, identity, and environmental stewardship, symbolizing life, renewal, and change
Jenny Yujia Shi: The End of a Line draws from her childhood in Beijing and immigration to Halifax at eighteen. Exploring displacement's impact, the autobiographical display spans a decade, offering a poignant glimpse into Shi's migration experience and reflections on Canadian citizenship, positioning herself within Canada's complex history.
There will be live entertainment by harpist Venessa Goodyear and refreshments available (cash bar 19+). Admission to the Art Gallery exhibitions will be free during the event.
See more about the artists here:
Daze Jefferies: Stay Here Stay How Stay | The Rooms
Sheilagh O’Leary: A Sea Change | The Rooms
Jenny Yujia Shi: The End of a Line | The Rooms
Image: Daze Jefferies. with/holding (2023). Mixed media, digital illustration, maternal grandmother’s handwriting. Courtesy of the artist.
Events & Programs
Join us each day for an interpretive guided tour in one of our galleries. From the story of the Cod fishery to visiting a current art exhibition to a Family Rainbow tour, there is something for everyone.
Each tour is approximately 30 – 40 minutes and is included in the cost of admission. Free for Rooms members.
Fishing for Cod
For centuries, fishing for cod has played a vital role in the lives of the peoples of Newfoundland and Labrador. Generations of fishing men, women and children made use of the land and sea to sustain them and spent their lives “making fish”.
Please join us for a conversation with Sophie Angnatok, an Inuk throat singer and drum dancer from Nain, Nunatsiavut.
Sophie has been practicing the art of throat-singing and traditional Inuit drumming for 20 years and plays an active role within her local urban Inuit community.
Learn about her love of Inuit culture, the knowledge she shares in the community, her relationship with The Rooms, and her experiences in the Inuit drum dance group, Kilautiup Songuninga (Strength of the Drum).
Sophie performed for the Canadian Prime Minister during the Truth and Reconciliation apology for Labradorimut, the Governor General of Canada, and the Lieutenant Governor of Newfoundland and Labrador. In 2024, she was the inaugural recipient of the Chris Brookes Memorial Award for “artists effecting positive change in the world”.
This is a free event but a ticket is required. Please reserve your free ticket online or by calling (709)757-8090.