DAY 494 | Endlösung? Vancouver Art gallery tells white people to 'stop talking, enjoy discomfort, check their privilege, and vocalize their ignorance'

CONCEPTIONS OF WHITE

SEPTEMBER 9, 2023 - FEBRUARY 4, 2024

VANCOUVER

Curated by Canadians John G. Hampton and Lillian O’Brien Davis, the exhibit’s mission statement includes the following:

Conceptions of White is an exhibition offering context and nuanced perspectives that help viewers grapple with contemporary configurations of white identity. The exhibition examines the origins, travel, and present reality of ‘whiteness’ as a concept and a racial invention that classifies degrees of civility/humanity.

Select historical objects and artworks illustrate white origin myths within their historical context, revealing whiteness as a North American, settler-colonial invention of the 17th century, created alongside ‘Blackness’ and ‘Aboriginality.’ The contemporary artists in this exhibition complicate this historical foundation by examining how these acts of racialization are felt today through concepts of white guilt, anxiety, supremacy, benevolence, fragility, and power.

Together, the diverse narratives, images and concepts presented in Conceptions of White examine the existential, experiential and ethical dimensions of engaging in classifications of Whiteness, while also drawing on the conceptual connections between colonial Whiteness and the aesthetic, social and philosophical meaning we ascribe to the colour white. The exhibition is framed through a biracial lens with both curators seeking a clearer understanding of their own relationship to Whiteness.

“Conceptions of White is the product of extensive research on the part of the curators and artists, and the resulting exhibition prompts thoughtful consideration of the show’s relevant themes,” said Vancouver Art Gallery CEO & Executive Director Anthony Kiendl, “This exhibition asks us how our history and contemporary moment have been built with the aid of mobilizing visual information, sometimes with very specific and effective ends. This exhibition contributes to the Gallery’s extensive history of presenting exhibitions that connect art to ideas in the realm of visual culture and social history. We believe the Gallery is a vital space for our public to engage with challenging ideas and to be a safer space for debate and learning.”

Source: Vancouver Art Gallery

British Airways' binary & non-binary crew uniforms

Last year BA relaxed the rules around its strict uniform policy and went gender-neutral to allow male pilots and crew to wear make-up and carry handbags.

And, at the start of this year, BA unveiled a new uniform for the first time in two decades designed to 'take the airline into the next chapter'. 

Although the new uniforms were gendered, BA's policy now allows staff who identify as a certain gender to wear that clothing.

 
BA's self-styled 'Pride Hero' Bradley Gibbons, who is non-binary, posted a picture at work in the new dress, after the airline’s non-binary and gender fluid staff won the right to wear the women’s uniforms. (Source: MailOnline)

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